Notes from a Quebec touring of the Eastern Townships…(2023 edition)
Quebec visits are like visiting France, even more so these days with their language exclusion legislation, French everywhere. The only place English is used is in restaurants where menus have English though this is not guaranteed, likely the restaurant’s option.
Still, instead of repeating the cliched phrase, “like traveling in a local France,” which it is, I will emphasize numerous additional things that reinforce the ‘belle’ in the belle province.
The township towns are crowded one after the other, making it feel European in that you traverse quaint villages, one after the other, in short bursts of time. Our tour was intended as a revisit of the south and north shore communities northeast of Quebec City.
Drummondville
Overnight stop in Drummondville is a practical first leg. Though Drummondville has an excellent choice of highly praised restaurants, we chose the ubiquitous St. Hubert, the Swiss Chalet of Quebec and were very pleased with the tastiness and quantity of our order. There was enough for the next day’s lunch.
Recommended route. . . QC 132
The CAA triptik details the best routes to use to travel through the area in which we wanted to travel…between Kamouraska and Riviere du Loup. It is better to take the region in small chunks with repeated visits as each locality has much to enjoy.
Kamouraska…Walk the towns
Each town offers a variety of things to see, local beers and wines to enjoy and delicious ‘homemade cooking’ good foods must be tried. Local wines, regional cheeses and even smoked fish from area fishermen. In Kamouraska, be sure to lunch on the St. Lawrence shoreline at the Cafe du Clocher…soup and charcuterie plate for two, a must.
Riviere du Loup
Quaint, large enough to offer more than the small villages, but still small enough to give it the special warmth of rural Quebec. Visit the Quebec information centres when you see them and ask about tourist attractions in each area to benefit the most from what is available.
There’s a picturesque waterfall that should be seen and hiked called ‘La Chute’…nice, worth a visit.
Ferry crossing within the region
The St. Lawrence River can be crossed by ferry from Riviere du Loup the cost of which was just under $100. A very scenic approximately one-hour crossing with whale sighting possibilities.
Baie St. Paul
From ferry docking travel south for a must-visit town, Baie St. Paul where there is a downtown filled with artists shops and crafts stores. A must 1-2 hour visit.
St. Anne de Beaupre
St. Anne de Beaupre is a beautiful Catholic shrine cathedral. Magnificent and worth seeing what old Quebecois built to honor their saints. An hour is sufficient for this visitation.
Quebec City
This historical city deserves a full day of tour walking. From the famous Chateau Frontenac, be taken down to the old city by taking the funicular ($5 cash CAN/per person). Walking down and funicular back works for many people. The old town is an absolutely essential part of visiting Quebec City.
Montreal
There is so much to do and see in Montreal, the city needs to be visited on an independent trip where that gets 2-4 days of time.
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Jump to the 
at the bottom.
Authors especially…take note.
The article concludes that individuals suffering from fatigue should consult a healthcare professional if the fatigue persists or if they experience other worrisome symptoms.
An angel left her a gift on the back porch…
Do you have problems with your feet? A foot? 
JASMINE CROCKETT
The City of Pickering may be a great place to live but are we getting the biggest bang for our buck, engaging the greatest number of people we can, really doing as much as we can to keep us at the stellar level to which we are rising? We ask you!
Shirley Curtis is a long-time resident of Pickering, a newbie octagenarian who’s going on 40 or 50 at the most. Sharp as a tack, on top of her game, whatever it is, and right up there on what’s going on in the City.
White Holes
Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or both, even if you have ample time and a bedroom environment conducive to restful sleep. An insomnia diagnosis requires these sleep troubles to also cause daytime impairments, such as 
BAYCREST
PETRA FISHER
There’s no getting around taxation and there’s never been a tax that has received acceptance. The City of Pickering is in the same situation. Complaints about the high levels of taxation seem to never end. Yet, the City is average among the many provincial cities in its taxation revenues.
I had a hip replacement December 15/23.
The Mayor’s Levee is a social event that launches the New Year and will have you smiling and laughing with enjoyment courtesy of City Mayor Kevin Ashe.
Here’s a great tip for ways to resuse OLD TENNIS BALLS.
This card was one of the first and maybe one of the best. I read through the title and thought, “damn, just how my mind works.” I am sure the sender didn’t mean it that way but just like the dog and Fermo would appreciate that gesture.
The story behind this card is that the sender is a very accomplished artist who would normally create such a card from scratch, kicking up the quality a few notches in her work.
Is your life becoming too busy? Are your days filled to the brim with things that need doing? Do you feel there just aren’t enough hours in the day? Are your days just too busy? Are you getting overloaded with information? Swamped with news and activities all around you? Non-stop…just too much. Do you feel overloaded?
Juveria Zaheer, a medical executive from Whitby, ON had nerves of steel and the gall of a poker professional when she went into final Jeopardy, betting it all and winning.
Aging affects vision
Final decision: no chairlift based on the benefits of doing the stairs on my own. But it is an informed decision based on a lot of information and consultation. Thank you Cyndy Abel.
The HIP PAIN is worse when I do the physio exercises but….
The pain seems to be in many positions…but we slog on with physio exercise in the hopes pain will decrease soon…
4 strategies for a happy and healthy holiday season
The Canadian federal government has followed through with its policy promise to the NDP to give Canadians a dental program. It has introduced a ‘Dental Program That Revolutionizes Oral Health Care.’
Fermo and I attended the Pickering Winter Wonderland festivities at Millenium Square on Saturday. It felt pleasantly balmy on this December day. Upon entering the area, we, and the many other visitors, were welcomed by large, traditionally striped candy canes and wreaths that decorated the bridge over the bay. Then, voila, the welcoming and fun activities were already in full swing.
JR.’s not really as worried as he looks but he is very troubled.
KB’s Whitby may be called a bistro, but it is much more.
A surprising and moving novel of fathers and sons, forgiveness and redemption, set in the world of Major League Baseball.
It is unfortunate that the City’s proposed bid for the purchase of Frenchman’s Bay was too low, TWICE. The City put in a second bid at a higher level when its first bid was rejected. The higher bid was rejected also.
COVID-19 has not left us. It lingers and causes far too many people great discomfort for a couple of weeks. Sadly, in the case of the aged and frail, it has proven it can be fatal.
The polls may not mean a hill of beans but they sure look scary. Poilievre is an untested commodity but worse, he is constantly showing T****-like features, extreme right, authoritative declarations, announcements and policy declarations that smack of dictatorial colours. He is a scary commodity but people are touting him like he is the ‘second coming.’
This politician is an outright threat to democracy in the United States. Anyone supporting him needs to do some serious introspection and self-evaluation.
Susan Delacourt, TorStar columnist, says it best when she writes: “
Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks is the story of cultural, social and time-based clashes: native American Indians against 17th century English colonists, misogynists vs liberal thinkers, the morals and traditions of 17th New England vs the yearning and revolutionary demands of the younger generation. These clashes are universal and likely universally understood by every reader.
taught as the boys of the village are. She wants to learn the various languages they are being taught, and she wants to learn the things her cleric father is teaching to his students. She is intelligent and determined and yearns to learn, to grow intellectually. She is wise beyond her years as shown by how she holds her tongue when speaking out would have put her in open conflict with her father and the village elders. She is curious and eager to learn, anything and everything, though she fills this pursuit with questioning and scepticism. For example, she questions the possibility and credibility of Caleb’s society having numerous gods, gods of animate and inanimate things. Her logic questions the reasonableness of having such beliefs.
Caleb, on the other hand, is a more controlled version of Beth, questioning many things also but in a less intense way: the customs, traditions and ways of the whites; the white’s belief in one God who has an inexplicable role of being creator, judge and executioner of the very people He put on the face of the earth. It is a mindboggling dilemma for Caleb whose people so peacefully and accept the trials and tribulations of life with no questioning of the role of their gods.
Ironically, Beth, who wants the independence and freedom of any man, becomes an indentured slave to help pay for the education of her brother, Makepeace, intransigent in his view of women remaining in subservient roles to men. Her cloudy days of servitude have a silver lining. Clandestinely, she eavesdrops on Caleb and Makepeace’s daily lessons and though she has no opportunities of classroom repartee as the males, she excels at learning the languages they do. She also demonstrates a facility with the native Indian language and learns it better than her father which she demonstrated when her father went to aid the Indians during a time of illness. Being a church minister, he preached to the Indians and Beth flinched often when she recognized his flagrant errors in speaking the Indian language. Revealing her knowledge of the language would have embattled her with her more liberal thinking father. Instead, she said nothing but the customs and traditions of the times are deeply rooted even in her more moderately minded father who chastises his daughter for dreaming to learn more, to learn as a male would. He cautions her that these are sinful yearnings!
she undoubtedly spent months, if not years researching the various aspects of colonial New England life. Still, she deserves much praise for writing in the vernacular of the era but in a way with an eye open to modern readers, people who would be very unfamiliar with that language and who likely would find it a challenge to understand. Brooks carries it off with surprising polish as the book is readable throughout once the readers acclimatize themselves to the language.
CAMINO GHOSTS
Remembrance Day
November 11, Remembrance Day, is celebrated very differently in Central Europe, Germany in particular. Perhaps there is some national sensitivity to the two Great Wars as some European countries were the opposing side in relation to the Western powers. The Germans are especially sensitive to matters relating to WWII because of the Nazi government’s atrocities. Additionally, suffering two major wars, European countries seem to prefer avoiding the negativity of military conflicts. Instead, they prefer some kind of joyous celebration for November 11. Hence, November 11th is a joyous day with two major occasions to celebrate and have parades.
What happens if the named executor decides that they aren’t in a position to carry out the duties as an executor — or maybe they no longer want to act as an executor?
EDITORIAL: Rocky Balboa from the old folks home
Absurdity and frustration of trying to connect with large corporations or federal government ministries
Have you ever tried connecting with a large corporation or a government office? It’s an exercise in frustration and futility and becoming worse as the use of Artificial Intelligence grows.
I attempted to reach the following with no success:
Forget about it. Not a single one had a live person answering the phone. One had to leave a message for a callback and in Minister Ien’s case, the voicemail box would not take any message as it was full.
Avoid having any problems, at all costs
Incredible! I have been living in Canada for more than 75 years and I cannot connect with my federal government or with any ministry therein. This may be a wonderful country to live in in terms of peace and non-warfare but don’t have problems requiring assistance from the government. If you need to connect with the government, fuggedaboutit!!!
Our national broadcast corporation
CBC might as well be a government ministry as contacting a live person is totally impossible. Phone them and get entangled in a “bot web” of telephone tag with computer bots rather than live people.
Bots vs US
We are becoming a society where corporations and government bodies hide behind computer walls claiming they are very reachable, almost 24/7. Balderdash! Try contacting a live person there. Impossible!
Ain’t quittin’ just like Rocky Balboa
Like Rocky Balboa of the Rocky series of movies, “I ain’t quittin’.” I’ll go right to the top…and hit another wall but I will make sure someone there gets the message.
I’m retired…they don’t know who they’re dealing with…I will nag, bug, pester, and call until I drop dead. Given my current health status…they are going to hear from me for a long time….but they can choose to ignore me which I am expecting. After all, it ain’t election time, so ignore the voter for a few more years.
Fine, ignore me but I can still walk. So I can still canvass for the other guy and I will. Sure all politicians and corporate big whigs may be the same but at least with politicians, they can lose their spot at the pork barrel with an election defeat. And the honey moon period after the election may see some reversal of office efficiency…for a few weeks at least.