Well let me see...Last year in October I had the opportunity to go to Montreal and Quebec City in Quebec, Canada with my mom to get some experience in a French speaking culture. It was an amazing experience. We drove up to Quebec through Michigan's upper peninsula and Ontario. The drive was beautiful!
This is a picture of the sunset near Salut-Sainte-Marie, Michigan.
We hit the perfect time for the pretty fall colors...to bad I do not have an amazing camera that takes great pictures. We spent the first night in Salut-Saint-Marie and the next day driving to Ottawa, Ontario. We spent the night there and had our first experience with Tim Horton's. It was ok...haha. They have good doughnuts at the very least. The next morning we went to the capital/parliament building. We did not get a tour of the building because we did not have the time, we were driving to Montreal that day (did I mention that we were also there on Canada's Thanksgiving?).
Canada's Parliament Building
Once we got to Montreal we drove around the city for a bit...it was a nightmare!! I really hate city driving, especially on holidays where everyone is out and about. We attempted to go to Mont Royal but like I said everyone was out because of the holiday. We decided to come back to there on a different day. We then found our way out of downtown and to our hotel. Which was pretty cool. It was on an island that was shared only with a nature park. That night our Thanksgiving dinner was at an Italian restaurant. I had pizza. It was yummy! The next day we took the subway into Montreal...for this I was grateful. Again not a fan of big city driving! Anyway I forgot to get a picture of the subway as we took it quite a bit. We spent the day walking around and exploring. Later that day we headed to Chateau Ramezay. A historical museum located across the street from Montreal's city hall. It was a cool place to see how the city was built up. I love history so much!
Chateau Ramezy
Montreal's City Hall
After this we went to the Notre-Dame Basilica de Montreal for a light show on how the church was designed and built. My mom made me listen to it in French...I understood about half heehee.
Notre-Dame Basilica de Montreal after the light show
That night we ate at the McDonalds in the subway station! It was very confusing. I forgot that they have different menu items. All I wanted was some chicken nuggets...apparently they have different sizes, I am grateful for the patience of the cashier as I struggled through ordering in French! :) The next day we went headed to Mont-Royal in the morning. I got a good panoramic view of the city. Although we did not make it to the top I still think we found a good view for such a rainy day. Then we went to a Holocaust Museum. It is the only one in Canada. It was really interesting to see it from a Canadian's perspective. Again I love history and we spent a long time going through the museum. That night we were going to go to a Fondu place but could not find it so we settled for a pizza! It was good. Mom had one with apples on it. It was surprisingly good! :)
View of Montreal from Mont-Royal.
The next morning we packed up to head to Quebec City. Before leaving we stopped by the Montreal Temple to take a few pictures.
That day we stopped at this place that we came to love called St. Hubberts for lunch. It is a chicken place. So good. I recommend it if you are ever in Quebec! In Quebec-City we stayed in Vieux-Quebec (old Quebec). It was amazing. We stayed at a little hotel next to the Frontenac. It was so cool to look at all the little shops and soak in some of the Quebecois culture. I seriously loved it and want to go back so bad (maybe for grad-school??). The next few days we just walked around the city. It was so fun! We had crepes and Italian and Chinese and St. Hubberts again. While in Vieux-Quebec we were able to go to a nearby island that some of our ancestors, the Deschenes helped to settle, Ile d'Orleans. We drove around the island and stopped at a couple grave yards, to see if we could find some names...we found a couple. Then we went to the Chutes de Montmorency, a waterfall that is taller than Niagara but not as wide. They were pretty. Here are some pictures from Vieux-Quebec.
A cool sculpture in Vieux-Quebec
The Canadians love their Christmas stores. We visited 3 of them
Outside of the city hall they had this set up for Halloween
Across the St. Lawrence River
A mural in the lower part of the city.
The Frontenac
Crepe place we ate at! So good!!
In the lower part of Vieux-Quebec
Another Notre-Dame
The Frontenac from below
Our hotel (right behind the Frontenac).
The name of the hotel we stayed in.
A view of the modern part of Quebec City
This is where we tried poutine (sp?) it was nasty haha. Not a fan of fries cheese curds and gravy all combined into one...their shakes were delicious though. I got a creme brulee flavored one, yum!
They had their ice skating rink all set up in the middle of October...crazy!
Chutes de Montmorency
View of Quebec from the falls.
Another view of the falls.
The next day we headed out of Quebec City to Rivere-du-Loup, our final stop in Quebec/Canada. On the way there we stopped in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli. Here is where our ancestors initially settled. We even found a street named after them! At the hotel in Rivere-du-Loup we ate at our favorite restaurant...you guessed it...St. Hubberts. Seriously go there if you can! The next day we headed back to the States this time through Maine. So we could hit up the pretty fall colors of New England.
Our street! :)
The St. Hubberts where we at last had my dad's and my car! Haha.
Before heading to New York we stopped at a park on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean in South Portland, Maine. It was a pretty sight. The rest of the day we spent driving to New York. The next day we went to Palmyra, New York. It was such a spiritual experience. I loved it and hope I can go back someday soon. The Spirit in the Sacred Grove was so strong. It was amazing to see all the small and simple things that happened so that the Gospel could be restored to the Earth! That night we stayed in Buffalo, New York. And the next day we went to Kirkland, Ohio. Another amazing experience. The Temple was truly designed by God, although it was interesting going on the tour at the Kirtland Temple. The Community of Christ does things very different from the Church of Jesus of Christ. It was still a spiritual experience. My testimony definitely grew during those two days. The next day we headed to Chicago. Another city I hated driving in. Seriously. Worst drivers ever!! But we did get to eat at the Cheesecake Factory, I love their cheesecake. Our last day we drove home! On our way home we were able to stop at my sister Rachel's house and have dinner with her, Adam, and Marin.
Light house on the Atlantic
Where the first Book of Mormon was printed.
Small and simple things really made this happen!!
The Smith Farm
The Sacred Grove
The Palmyra, New York Temple
The Hill Cumorah Monument
The Kirtland Temple
Apparently we have some relatives who were/are in Kirtland.
An awesome banner we saw. Too bad we weren't able to follow through on the firing...
Waffle House! Really good food for really cheap! :)
Chicago!!
Chicago, Illinois Temple!!
This truly was an amazing trip that I hope to repeat someday...maybe without all the driving!! I know my testimony grew so much and it strengthend my relationship with my mom. I will hopefully update the blog soon. Get you all caught up as I embark on my last semesters of school and plan what is to come once I am done! C'est ma vie!!
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