October 21, 2012 by Rae

Little Italy and Jean Talon Market, Montreal

Blog reader and occasional commenter Thierry wanted to meet up with me today to talk about some of the practical aspects of setting out on the road full-time in Canada. As he is based in a part of the city where my mother shops frequently, I asked if she was due for an excursion, hoping to get a ride in so that I could take public transportation out. Yup. So she dropped me off in Little Italy near the restaurant where I was supposed to meet Thierry.

As I had about an hour to kill, I decided to do some shopping. This being Sunday, a lot was closed, but the Italian grocery store Milano on St-Laurent was open so I decided to go pick up some treats. On the way there, I passed Anatol, a spice merchant. Being out of turmeric, I was tempted to go in, but I had a feeling my budget wouldn’t survive this shop. 🙂

Milano’s is a couple of doors down:

This store reminded me of one of my favourite shops in Ottawa’s Byward Market that I used to frequent often. It was full to the brim with wonderful products straight from Italy, as well as offering a full deli, cheese counter, fruit and vegetable section, and some North American groceries. Mindful that I would have to carry everything for hours, I made some careful choices of pesto, biscotti, gnocchi, Jerusalem couscous, and this awesome multi-coloured pasta:

I’ve been wanting to try squid ink pasta for some time, so this seemed like a non-intimidating introduction.

Heading back to the restaurant, I snapped a pic of iconic Montreal architecture:

Montreal is famous for these row houses with the huge exterior staircases in the front. Common lore from the time when the Church ruled Quebec with an iron fist claims that the staircases are outside so that neighbours could keep an eye on who was going into the houses to reduce moral depravity.

The other, more logical, claim has to do with the climate. While it might not make sense to have a big slippery staircase outside a building where it’s winter six months of the year, it does make sense to not waste energy heating an enclosed staircase.

I met Thierry at the appointed hour where I taught him the first lesson of his future life: that you need to be flexible in your plans. As it turns out, the restaurant was closed at lunch time! We walked around a little looking for a non-crowded place and he ended up directing us to the SoupeSoup lunch counter on Casgrain. It’s a tiny place serving up salads, soups, sandwiches, coffees, and desserts. The food was excellent and this was a great place to linger and chat.

After, we crossed the street to finish up the conversation at Jean-Talon Market, a large year-round market offering some of the best products from all over Quebec.

In the summer, there are a lot of exterior vendors, but there is an enclosed year-round space, too.

After Thierry left, I wandered around for a bit and finally splurged on some creamed honey and maple syrup, and ended up paying several dollars less than the sticker price because the vendor was closing up for the season!

There is something wrong with the maple syrup can. Can you guess what it is?

It was starting to spit after this, so I decided it was time to start heading for home. Tomorrow, I will introduce you to Montreal’s métro system!

August 19, 2012 by Rae

Fort Chambly (and a Bonus Side Trip to Downtown Montreal)

Canadian history is a bloody mess of conquests, racial tensions, thrilling battles, crushing defeats, and centuries-long grudges. How anyone can call our history boring is beyond me. It is such a shame that many Canadians know about, say, the battle of the Alamo or Custer’s Last Stand but know nothing about the raid on Deerfield or why the political situation in Quebec is as it is.

Canadians need to go to places like Fort Chambly and read the placards or to sites like Fort Lennox where history is brought to life. Our country was born here, along the Saint-Lawrence, Ottawa, and Richelieu Rivers. You can’t understand what it is to be Canadian today without understanding how it is that we got here. I believe that if more Canadians knew and appreciated their history, we would be able to get over our linguistic and cultural grudges and form a strong, united, country. But as long as we keep this nearly four-century year old resentment alive without understanding its basis, there can be no resolution.

Fort Chambly sits at the heart of Canadian history, rooted in the French-Indian Wars of the 17th century, the English conquest of New France of the 18th century, and the 1812 war against the United States.

Located on the banks of the Richelieu River, an important north-south link with New York state, Fort Chambly is now a park where families come to picnic and I used to spend long hours up a tree writing, reading, and day dreaming. I spent my late childhood and adolescence just a few blocks away and the grounds of the fort were like my second home

I’d been meaning to return to the fort all summer. Since I was due for a date with my grand-mother, I proposed that we go to Fort Chambly today. I felt a little trepidation at coming back for the first time in 15 years, but I was glad to see that it was the same place. The trees have grown a little, but that’s it.

I’ll put all the information in the photo captions, but will say that after we toured the fort, we enjoyed a picnic under the trees. Then, we drove to Saint-Lambert to drop off something for my aunt and I got spirited away on a short jaunt to downtown Montreal to see my cousin’s loft; hence the bonus Montreal pictures.

Merci pour la belle journée, grand-maman!

Fort Chambly from the parking lot. You used to actually see the Fort; the trees have grown!

The bridge from the parking lot to the Fort, looking towards the Bassin

Looking up towards Bourgogne Avenue (I took the bus to high school up there for a year).

I couldn’t believe how much the trees have grown!

the Bassin de Chambly (a large spot in the Richelieu River), with the marina (the water is FILTHY, so while there is boating, there’s no swimming)

The Bassin de Chambly

approaching the entrance to the fort

looking up river

entrance to the fort

names of some of the major military leaders who commanded the fort in the 17th and 18th centuries (names added at the end of the 19th century)

inside the fort

map of New France

most of the exhibits are about the fort in the late 17th century at the time of New France before the British conquest

Fort Chambly was built along the Richelieu between Albany and Montreal

map of the Iroquois Wars/French-Indian Wars, 1641 to 1701

looking downriver from Montreal to Albany

at the time, it took four hours to go from Chambly to Longueuil (now about 20 minutes!)

I remember this pottery

Fort Saint-Jean was the next fort south of Chambly

Fort Chambly was the last defensive outpost of Montreal

I remember this pottery

Albany and Montreal were rivals in the fur trade but Canada never attacked the city. In the 18th century, it took eight to make the journey by canoe. I made this route in just a few hours northward this spring.

from Albany looking up towards Montreal

Albany, 1760

Montreal, 1760

looking out towards the middle of the fort

Lake Champlain

I still love the plank floors

wow, this place hasn’t changed!

fierce Iroquois warriors

his tattoos are impressive!

He was a Mohawk chief known as Brant

the fur trade was the pillar of the New France economy

reasons for Fort Chambly: in short, to prevent invasion and to provide a staging ground for invasion

a tomahawk

a variety of snowshoes

remnants of a shovel

The population of New France was 4,415, of which the split was 30% soldiers, 30% women, and 40% civilian men. In other words, women were a commodity in short supply!

a musket

the raid on Deerfield was in 1704

New England prisoners from the raid were forced marched back to Fort Chambly with the woman forced into arranged marriages and the children given to French Canadian families

18th century wedding bands

18th century children’s clothing

children were stolen from their families and brought back to Canada to be raised French

17th century toys

a key

17th century tools

the existing fort was rebuilt from 1750 plans

how the fort was constructed

powder magazine

view from the powder magazine

powder magazine

we’re now on the second story and I am showing how the wooden turrets seen from outside are decorative (save one)

looking out over the Richelieu

the fort is square with loopholes and other defense mechanisms at each corner

I’ve always loved his sneer!

soldiers at work

that drum looks heavy!

sword

a 17th century screwdriver!

17th century personal effects of a soldier

a 17th century shoe

soldiers having dinner (the corn still looks good, the stew still looks like dog food)

in the 17th century, the daily ration was about 2,000 calories while today the military rations are about 2,500 calories

modern rations have changed!

soldiers grooming (there’s even one sleeping in the bed)

soldiers with families billeted in the village

soldiers at rest

a soldier “enjoyed a good life and a bad reputation”

tobacco

an imposing commander

Fort Chambly was surrendered to the English in September of 1760, just before the capitulation of New France

In1763, the King of France conceded defeat and handed New France to the British. Two hundred years later, the French would take back their country during Quebec’s Quiet Revolution. Two centuries of English oppression cannot be forgiven and now the English in Quebec are paying for the sins of their ancestors. How many generations will it take for this rift to be healed?

“All conquests go deep — they are among the deepest of human experiences.”

a dormer window looking into the courtyard

comparison of the population in different years

lovely window

a typical French Canadian homestead (seigneurie) was 10 times as long as it was wide and was set against the river

sample 18th century homestead

bread was a staple food, with wheat comprising 50% of the diet

other grains, like rye and corn, comprised 10% each of the diet

toys

we are about to go up to the watchtower (watch your head!)

it’s very claustrophobic up there!

gorgeous view from the watchtower

I always thought this model of a bird was pretty

entering the Albany room (named for the singer Albani), which holds temporary exhibits (currently about the War of 1812)

“For Canadians, the War of 1812 was about the successful defense of a small colony against attack by a much larger neighbor.”

a cocky 13-year-old boy did not believe the Americans would win

“For the United States, the War of 1812 was a second successful war of independence from Britain.”

I am really amused that the US thinks it won the War of 1812 because Canada didn’t conquer it.

Tony Blair apologizes for the British/Canada burning down the Library of Congress during the War of 1812.

While US and British relations normalized after the War of 1812, Native Americans were left vulnerable.

modern Britain has almost completely forgotten the War of 1812

back in the courtyard, we’re heading towards the luxurious (for the time) privies

this luxurious privy was over fast moving water, meaning no smells or diseases

looking up the rapids

looking towards the rear of the fort

Grand-maman packed lunch. It doesn’t look like much, but it got me to dinner, which is no small feat! We had crackers, cheese, almonds, a fig, half a banana, and a couple of bite-sized oatmeal chocolate chip cookies each, plus water. We ate on the grass in the shade of a big tree.

the watchtower we visited

the rear of the fort (with fake watchtowers)

In 1775-1776, during their War of Independence, the Americans invaded Canada. In 1812, we finally had enough and burned down their White House. 🙂

Saint-Jean was favoured over Chambly for defense starting in 1840

I used to climb this tree and read in its branches for hours!!!

The big hole was smaller back then, but the seat-like branch where I’d make myself comfy is still there

the tree looks a lot worse for wear now!

🙁

the father of one of my high school friends was the reverend of this church

the guard house (closed to visits)

my grand-mother thought it was hilarious that my best memory of this park and community centre was of the time I stepped in dog doo there!

The Ducharme residence (formerly a garrison, then converted to a stately home)

it’s for sale!

the house was bought in 1908 and used as a saddlery, then was converted to a residence in 1938

Fort Chambly is a National Historic Site

intersection of Bourgogne and Langevin, the street where I grew up. I took my bus here one year and resented it badly since I lived on the opposite end of the street (quite a distance) and the bus passed just a block from my house.

looking down Langevin street

I lived here from 1987 to 1998 (age 8 to 19). It’s not a mansion! There are three apartments; we lived in two and rented the third. The joke was that the guy who built it was missing only two tools: a level and a square. The house was a bunch of rooms added to each other and we actually discovered a secret room off the garage (cold cellar) and there was a secret passage going from my room to the downstairs apartment!

Bourgogne Avenue (further back, the street has really been developed into a touristy strip)

downtown Montreal, place Ville-Marie (building that looks like a carpenter’s pencil)

Place Bonaventure (the train depot, mega shopping centre, and the hub of underground Montreal)

the hideous Palais des congrès

we’re on the roof terrace of my cousin’s loft (shared space) looking at the Hôtel Inter-Continentel

church from the terrace

water tower?

National Bank headquarters (on the right, behind the crane)

close up of the Hôtel Inter-Continentel

closeup of the church

I like churches 🙂

Hydro-Québec headquarters (they have the monopoly to create and provide electricity)

August 2, 2012 by Rae

Catching Up With Friends in the NCR

Yesterday, Wednesday August 1st, I had a lunch date with my former colleagues at Industry Canada. I was delighted that what was supposed to be a quick meeting at the food court was turned into a proper reunion at a restaurant and that the organizer even remember that I love Thai food, so she reserved at La papaye verte (The Green Papaya) on Laurier right in front of the Museum of Civilization.

The old gang hasn’t changed, I apparently haven’t changed, and the work environment has changed. It was great to see everyone, catch up, laugh, and be reminded that I was lucky to work with those people for three years.

After work, I headed up to La Pêche (fishing), the community in the Gatineau hills where I lived for five years (one year in an apartment, one year renting my house, three years owning my house). The community has a number of villages, the biggest ones being Masham and Wakefield.

Wakefield is very picturesque and touristy. A popular thing for visitors to the National Capital Region to do is to take the steam train from Hull to Wakefield for a lunch at a quaint bistro and an afternoon of shopping in the boutiques. The steam train was having financial difficulties when I left and is not running this summer. I hope this is a temporary setback.

The drive to Wakefield along autoroute 5 was a little different as the autoroute is finally, after 30 years of planning, being extended. It used to stop at Tulip Valley, but not goes a few kilometres farther to Farmpoint, just before the grocery store. It will soon come all the way up to Wakefield and the junction with the 366 to Masham. There is no way that kind of road work won’t change life up in those sleepy little hamlets. Wakefield now has a Tim Hortons, a major sign that life is about to change radically.

I was early to meet my friend for dinner, so I decided to push on to Lascelles to see if the old homestead is still there. It is! There were cars parked out front, so I didn’t go up the laneway to get a better look at the house because I used to freak out when people did that.

Back in Wakefield, I parked outside the Black Sheep pub and grabbed an outside table at the Rutherford Bistro on the main floor of the pub. I had time to check out the menu before my friend arrived and was rather disappointed that my top two choices for dinner were sold out. I wound up having a decent buffalo chicken burger with delicious fries.

After gabbing for ages, I headed out to my friend’s house. She has been building it with her dad for six years as time and money are available. It is her dream home in her favourite place in the world.

The house is inspired by the Swiss chalet style, but is built with modern eco features, including walls lined with styrofoam and filled with concrete. The house feels really out in the middle of the bush, but she’s only a couple of minutes on a horrible dirt road from main highways and the autoroute. She can get to Ottawa in 25 minutes now and it will soon be no more than 20 minutes. The extra 10 minutes I had to drive to get to my house combined with the lack of services made a future there unappealing.

A lot of people, including politicians, have cottages in the hills and I think that the extended autoroute will bring more people to have their full-time home in the hills. Even without the autoroute, it takes much less time to commute from Wakefield to downtown Ottawa than it does to go from Orleans or Kanata (the eastern and western edges of the city respectively) to downtown.

The drive back from Wakefield was not without incident and I will get into that once I’ve caught up on sleep. 🙂

on Laurier Avenue in Hull looking at the Museum of Civilization

on Laurier in Hull looking across the Ottawa River to Ottawa

on Laurier Avenue in Hull looking at the Museum of Civilization

La papaye verte, a yummy Thai restaurant

driving north on autoroute five just out of Hull at the Chelsea limits; this was my commute for several years

the Gatineau River from main street in Wakefield

Wakefield

the Gatineau River from main street in Wakefield

June 8, 2012 by Rae

Through the U.P. Along the Shores of Gitche Gumee

I made it to the Soo Ontario!!!!!!!!! I left Thief River Falls, MN, at 5:45AM CST and pulled into my final destination at the Soo (no room at the first inn) at about 9:00PM CST (10:00PM EST). It’s been a very long day, not aided by the fact that the fastest speed limit all day was 55MPH. At least, most of it was through the U.P., the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, a gorgeous stretch of country.

This long day was soooo scenic. I love northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan! I went through a little bit of this area between the western and eastern tips of Lake Superior back in ’05 when I did my grand tour of the Great Lakes. I highly recommend making that road trip once in your life!

I really wanted to get across the border tonight to get it done, figuring that a couple more hours waiting to cross and then being interrogated wasn’t going to kill me at this point. So, of course, I only had to wait a minute and I got the nicest Canadian Customs officer I have ever dealt with!

Her: “Where are you from?”
Me: “Lethbridge, AB.”
Her: “My God, dear, what are you doing all the way out here?!” (that is verbatim, LOL!)

I explained that I was coming to visit family. She asked where I crossed and then we had a discussion about the fact that Montana extends into Saskatchewan. Bla bla.

Her: “Did you buy anything en route?”
Me: “I didn’t have time; I just drove straight through.”
Her, handing me back my passport: “Well, you be safe now. Have a good trip!”

No questions about booze, drugs, guns, nothing. She made my day. I wish I could have hugged her. 🙂

Tip: Like at Sarnia/Port Huron and, presumably, Detroit/Windsor, there is a bridge connecting the US and Canada. You will need to have some small change with you as there is a fare. Today, it was $3 both CAD and US. When I crossed at Sarnia/Port Huron in ’05, the dollars weren’t close to par so the amounts were different and I remember opting to pay in US dollars as it was better value!

My destination tonight was the Super 8 motel. That chain is my standby on road trips as it is always clean and sometimes is very nice. But they were full and told me to try the Comfort Inn across the road. I did and blanched when I entered the lobby in my super casual skirt and tee-shirt to discover this is a much more luxurious hotel than I normally stay at. Everyone in the lobby was dressed to the nines and the next person in line with a suitcase had on a business suit. But I was there and the clerk didn’t even blink when she saw me so I figured I might as well inquire about rates even though I was sure I’d be turning around and sleeping in my truck at the casino.

I asked about a single, non-smoking, and was told that the singles were actually mini-suites with king beds, and their least expensive option at $99. What?! Had the Super 8 had room, it would have been $88. What was an extra $11?! I took a room, went back to the truck to get all my valuables, and then hoofed it to my ‘tower’ room. Pictures are below. It is insanely luxurious. I love the shower and that there is a proper work desk. I actually feel comfortable walking barefoot in here.

First order of business was a very long shower, which included a test of all the bath products available. This is such a fancy place that there is both body and facial soap. 🙂

I’ll be heading to bed shortly. It’s 11:15 here, so I’m pretty sure a super early start tomorrow is unlikely. I have another 14 hours or so of driving to do, but it’s all familiar territory, so I’ll get home when I get home.

Driving the truck for such a long day has really made me see my Accents in a new light: I’m not even remotely sore. Moya pretty much drives herself, making her name very appropriate! I laughed when I stopped for gas just before lunch when a guy came up to me and said, “So, how do you like YOUR Ranger?” I looked up and saw Moya’s fraternal twin, a dark green topperless 2000 ‘sport’ Ranger. Not sure what makes it ‘sport’ since it’s not a side step model.

The pictures below are out of order as I finally got my camera pics dumped onto the laptop. So far on this trip, you’ve only seen what I’ve taken with my iPad. Tomorrow, I will see if there’s anything worth sharing from the phone since I didn’t bring the mini card reader adapter. That’s a crazy number of camera options, but I finally learned how to add pics to my posts from the iPad, so I’ve been favouring that camera since I’ve only cracked open the laptop a couple of times.

nice to land here tonight!

I gave a lady toilet paper at a rest area and she felt obligated to reciprocate with a box of Raisinets. Raisins and chocolate, I could not refuse. As for the drink, McDonald’s sizes are ridiculous! But all the sizes were $1 and I wanted a big cold drink. So half the cup is ice, two thirds of the rest is water, and there’s a shot of juice. 🙂

bird near Donna’s RV park

park near Donna’s RV park

lovely bridge in Stettler

the spiral maze

this reminded me of the pingo in Tuk!

looking at the spiral maze from the top of the hill

Stettler sunset

Stettler museum

the Roving Acres + half of Travels With Miranda 🙂

Rugby, ND, the geographic centre of North America

entering Minnesota

the truck ahead of me is one step up from the Ranger, the F150. Same colour as my truck but definitely beefier!

entering Wisconsin, a sorely under rated state

I love the French names in Wisconsin, like Eau Claire and Fond du Lac

It was noon when I hit the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center in Ashland, WI. I had a nap, then took the time to tour the museum before grabbing lunch and dinner (a Subways sandwich) down the road

Monarch butterflies land in Wisconsin in droves during their migration

more about Monarch butterfly migration

Lake Superior has the largest surface area of all the fresh water lakes on the planet

“The oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it.” Aldo Leopold

Lake Superior

Lake Superior from a viewpoint where I had my dinner

Lake Superior

I’m a direct descendant of Grosseillers, a French-Canadian explorer of this area

a hole in the clouds after an impressive storm (had I been an hour behind where I was, in Marquette County, MI, I would have had to find shelter because of a tornado warning!)

April 27, 2012 by Rae

Exploring St Charles, Missouri (and the Lewis and Clark Boat House and Nature Center)

Today, I took reader Gina’s advice and drove all the way to historic St Charles, Mo, to visit the historic downtown section as well as the Lewis and Clark Boat House and Nature Center.

‘All the way’ is about 3 miles from where Miranda is parked, at the Harrah’s Casino. 😀

It was cold in the rig today and it promised to be grey and miserable all day, so I decided that since I was up I might as well get an early start and have breakfast in St Charles before going to the museum, which opened at 10. It was only 9:30 when I was done, so I went over to Walmart, also in St Charles, to get a few things and discovered a gigantic Dollar Tree store next door. I have never seen one so big, and it was full of brand name products! The cashier teased me when I told her that ‘all those bags’ couldn’t all be mine, saying that she was watching me toss stuff in my basket like I was touring Ali Baba’s cave! Everything was on the list, however, and I barely had to get anything at Walmart.

I then drove to the historic downtown portion of St Charles, a formerly French-Canadian city that was the last bastion of civilization for the Lewis and Clark expedition. There is tons of free parking down near the boat house, just a block from the southern portion of Main Street.

I read the Lewis and Clark journals about 15 years ago, but I think they would make a bigger impression on me today, so I have downloaded the free Kindle version (readable on my iPad and iPod Touch using the Kindle app) and am looking forward to rereading about their journey now that I have pretty much covered their whole route to the Pacific Ocean.

The museum is small with entry costing $4. This includes a really good National Geographic movie about the expedition that had me glued to the edge of my seat!

After the museum, I walked up to Main Street and walked it from the southern to the northern end and back again, visiting a few shops and checking out the restaurant menus. The Little Hills Winery menu was particularly appealing and quite inexpensive, so I went in, but lunch was rather disappointing. The ciabatta bun was stale and the McCain-type seasoned wedge fries were tepid. The sandwich filling, however, was incredibly delicious and is one I would like to recreate at home! There was a moist and flavourful charbroiled chicken breast topped with thin slices of creamy Brie, two strips of crispy bacon, and a delicious apple and onion chutney, definitely worth the price of lunch.

I got an ice cream for the walk back to the car, made briskly as the sky was starting to spit. It’s now very windy and threatening to storm.

Check out the gallery for more information about my day.

this was a crazy intersection; I had no idea where to go and was so glad I could follow this car!

the Lewis and Clark Boat House and Nature Center

close up of the sign

Mention of St Charles by Clark

Portraits of Lewis and Clark (did you know that William Clark was a flaming red head?)

about Lewis

about Clark

mention of how well managed was the expedition and that only one man died

representation of a stone house at the time

the museum

this razor may have belonged to Lewis

list of articles, including the Lewis’ razor

a page from the Lewis geneology

description of Floyd, the man who died (probably of a ruptured appendix)

“I have been wet and cold in every part as I ever was in my life”–Clark

a little bit about their Shoshone guide, Sacagawea, the wife of a French-Canadian interpreter

about Sacawagaea’s son, the final member of the expedition

About the expedition’s triumphant return to St Charles. The men had been gone for 28 months and were presumed dead.

An hilarious story about a French Canadian interpreter with such poor eyesight that he mistook Lewis for an elk and shot him in the rear!

representation of this man, Pierre Cruzatte

I loved this statue of Lewis and Clark; it seems to capture their spirit

Reproduction of the type of clothes the French Canadian men would have worn (Lewis and Clark’s soldiers all wore military attire. When that was worn through, they made neat leather suits. The image of a roughly dressed expedition party is fictional.)