Well, we are sitting in yet another Mercedes Dealership– this time a couple hours outside Quebec City– waiting to see if anyone can figure out what’s happening with our battery / starting issues, which have just gotten worse since Toronto. There’s a lot of great stuff to catch up on, but this last week has also been a little bit like the challenges of regular life, just happening while on the road. We’re doing well, generally in good spirits, but it would be misleading to pretend there aren’t some real challenges to this experience, and I’m always a fan of realistic portrayals. That said, here are some highlights from the last week!

Toronto! Our time in the city was full of good food and fun sights. When we arrived in town, we checked into the Planet Traveler Hostel, which was well located, very clean and well-run, and had a hostel dog named Shadow! Then we headed to the Distillery District where we had some great pastries before walking along the waterfront to the CN Tower– that really tall tower in every picture of Toronto– where we watched the sun go down and the lights come on. It was a great way to get an overview (literally) of the city upon arrival.

The next day, we prioritized markets and good food. At the St. Laurence Market, we tried the famous Peameal Bacon Sandwhich (delicious), and got chicken, chocolate croissants, meat pies, and Portuguese custard tarts to take home for later. All very delicious. The market was crowded but fun. Back by our hostel, Kensington Market was having a “pedestrian Sunday” street festival with everything blocked off to cars for several blocks. The streets were full of performers, music, DJ’s, drummers, and more good food. We had delicious pupusas, churros, and a mochi covered strawberry while wandering and taking in the sights.

Upon picking up Hazel and leaving town the next afternoon, we decided to alter our plans and opt out of another city (Ottawa) in favor of a day to do laundry and catch up on rest. We definitely want to return to the area and visit Ottawa and Montreal, among other cities, but knew we were tired and could use a rest before the next parts of our trip. This is the big difference between “vacation” and life on the road. While we’re so excited for all the things we’ll see on this trip, it is necessary to schedule in time to sit still, and sometimes you just need to switch things up. We got a last-minute site at Rideau River Provincial Park, where we sat out thunderstorms, went into town to go shopping, and did a bunch more laundry. We did visit the charming town of Kemptville, where there was a delightful coffee shop (Bubba and Bugs, a rainbow crosswalk, and a hardward store that had just what we needed.

From there, it was on the road again– this time to one of our planned splurge days of relaxation, a visit to the Spa Scandinave near Mont Tremblant, NW of Montreal. We have entered the land of French as the primary (and often sole) language! In many ways, it truly feels like we have crossed a border and ended up abroad in Europe. Almost everyone speaks some English, but it is clearly not the prefered language and is not always fluent. I never want to be a person who assumes that people will speak my language, especially where it isn’t the dominant language/culture, and I wish very much that I spoke some French, so I’ve been doing a lot of apologizing along the way.

The spa was fantastic. It had several hot pools, saunas, and steam rooms, cold plunge pools, waterfalls, and even a river plunge, and delightful indoor and outdoor relaxation areas. They recommend cycles of 15-20 minutes in heat, 30 seconds in cold, then 15-20 minutes of relaxation. It was delightful. I have no pictures, because pictures aren’t allowed inside, but it was a great experience.

We spent the night with a Boondockers host between Mont Tremblant and Montreal, in the Laurentian Mountains. The family was lovely and were in their driveway working on getting their van ready for an upcoming trip. We also had some repairs to do in our storage area, so we worked alongside one another after discussing past travel and experiences for a time.

From there, we skirted Montreal (we’ll be back someday when we can give it enough time and attention!) and headed for the Eastern Townships. We stopped at several fromageries, Fromagerie des Cantons, Brebis de Bromont, and Fromagerie Missiska, where we tasted and purchased a variety of delightful cheese. We also tasted local ciders and a delicious sparkling wine at Union Libre Cidre et Vin. The Eastern townships are as pastoral and scenic as advertised.

We spent the night at the lovely Auberge Lakeview Inn in Knowlton/Lac-Brome. Jumping ahead, but we had the pleasure of talking with the owner the next morning. She was interested in seeing our van setup, and we were interested to learn her stories of hotel ownership. She and her husband purchased the historic inn two years ago, and have been working very hard to improve and renovate it. She said she hopes to write a book someday about the experience, and I hope she will reach out when that happens– I’d love to read the stories! They have done a great job with this enormous undertaking, and it we really enjoyed our stay in this little town.

At dinner in Knowlton, we enjoyed music on a patio that was full of locals and visitors alike, and struck up a conversation with the couple at the next table over. They were visiting from Ontario, as they have many times in this area, and we learned that one of them had just retired from teaching. We enjoyed getting to know them a little, discussing education and travel, and were pleased to see them again the next morning since it turned out they were our neighbors at the auberge. They were nice enough to send us on our way with a bottle of wine from Ontario, and I look forward to opening and enjoying it somewhere along our journey!

The next day was unfortunately dominated again by battery issues, as the van wouldn’t start when we went to leave town. We spent some time making alternate plans and communicating with the various dealerships who have already provided service. We did get to visit the Abbaye de St-Benoit-du-Lac, an impressive building (and the inspiration for the more remote abbey featured in the Louise Penny mysteries. We spent the night in a truly beautiful boondockers site, with exceptional hosts who kindly used their English skills to welcome us and provide some suggestions for our travels the next day. The site was up the hill from their historic home in the small town of Danville, and backed up to a quiet woods. It was beautiful and I got a great night sleep there.

On our way to Quebec City, we made two important stops. First, we drove to Victoriaville, where we purchased several croissants and pastries from the fabulous Monsieur Croissants. They were SO. GOOD. Truly the croissant experience I’d been waiting for. Then we visited (at the suggestion of our hosts the night before) the Parc Marie Valorin, a botanical garden that features large “mosiacultures” or sculptures decorated with plants and flowers. It was a perfect suggestion and very enjoyable despite the exceptional humidity and heat of the day.

Upon arrival in Quebec City, we checked into our very nice hotel– the Hotel des Coutellier right in the old part of the lower city. It had easy parking and was another of our planned splurges since it allowed us to park safely and walk everywhere in the old city. The city was everything I hoped it would be. I love walking the narrow streets among meticulously preserved or rehabilitated old buildings. Even with the large number of tourists all around, it just feels like a special and fun place to visit. The Hotel Chateau Frontenac is as impressive as it looks in the pictures and you can see it from everywhere in the fortified old town. The views as you climb the hill just keep getting better, out over the St Laurence River and roofs of the lower town. It was painfully humid, so we waited until evening to walk around and get dinner. By then, it was more comfortable, and a lovely night for a walk.

We got up relatively early, had continental breakfast of pastries and juice (delivered to our room, as is standard at this hotel), and went out to walk more. It was fun to climb the hill and see things from that higher angle. We climbed up to the Citadel, then followed the fortifications around part of the old town before dropping down for lunch, visiting the Cathedral and Chateau Frontenac, and eventually retreating to the air conditioning and comfort of our hotel. It was an educational and fun visit to this old city, and also a nice chance to spend a quiet afternoon in our comfortable room while thunderstorms rolled in.

That pretty much catches us up to now! We will see what happens next as we are a little unsure how things will go with the van today. Fingers crossed!