I Fell In Love

Before this trip, I'd been to Canada a handful of times.  Whistler to ski, Ottawa and Montreal in the winter, and 3 or 4 trips to Vancouver during lovely temperate weather.  I'd always had a good time.

La Croix de Mont Royal.

But this road trip, with extended stays in tiny Canadian towns, getting to know the rural expanses in Alberta and Seskatchewan, the breathtaking beauty and hiking in Jasper and Banff, the big city bustle and islands off of Toronto, and then, adding Quebec?  Well, I'm in love.

Canada is now one of my favorite countries.

Right now, I'd like to spend several weeks just driving around, hiking, speaking French, and eating in Quebec.  But, unfortunately, we leave today.

I'll just have to comfort myself with the memories of the amazing meals we had in this wonderful province:

A delicious izakaya dinner in Montreal.

Best Lunch Ever.

Poutine lunch in Montreal.

Fondue dinner in a quaint old Suisse restaurant in Quebec.

Street art in Quebec.

Charcuterie and cheese lunch in old Quebec while watching all the tourists go by.

Street Art in Old Quebec City.

Crepe dinner in old Quebec, further from the central madness but still with plenty of fun people-watching.

The entrance to Old Quebec beneath the citadel.

On the mileage front, this week was very solid.  Mileage was 50+ for the first time in long time.  In addition to many miles of sightseeing, I actually fit in several running workouts, including 3 decent speed efforts on treadmills and a 10 mile slow run along the river to Ottawa.  The Ottawa river run was certainly the biggest adventure -- upon crossing to the other side (Gattineau, in Quebec) and searching for the trail that was shown on Google Maps, I was stopped by a security car and guard who honked, wagged his finger, and yelled at me in an incomprehensible (to me) Quebecois.

Best name for a pub across from a Cathedral.

Eventually, my French, rusty and neglected, overcame my daily Spanish study and explained that I was looking for the running trail, not planning any terrorist activities.  He informed me that the trail was not accessible on this side of the river due to construction and strongly suggested that I go back to the English side where the trail was easily accessible.  So that is what I did.