La Belle Province

Habitat ‘67 is a housing complex designed and built for the 1967 Montreal Expo.

Seeing Montreal has been a highlight of our trip. We were planning on spending two full days in Montreal but we ended up staying an extra two days because there was so much to see. We had a generous host tour us around St. Eustache, Oka, and part of the Island of Montreal. The bike infrastructure throughout Quebec, both within Montreal and between towns and cities, has been phenomenal. I was surprised that there were so many festivals ongoing. I was sad to learn that we just missed Comic Con (where Sean Astin was a guest!) and we were too early for the Just for Laughs festival, but we caught the last evening of Jazz Festival as well as the Circus Festival. Another highlight was doing a few laps around the F1 racetrack that’s been converted into a 4.3 km bike loop. Verstappen may be able to beat us on four wheels, but I’d like to think Karen and I could give him good competition on a bicycle.

People have all been very kind and patient with us for not knowing French. I’m filled with both awe and envy seeing people speak to each other and seamlessly switch between French and English.

We had Poutine at Victoriaville, which is debatably the birthplace of poutine. We also heard Drummondville may be the birthplace, or even Warwick.

We had some of the classic dishes that everyone recommends when visiting Montreal, and they all were worthwhile recommendations. We went out for smoked meat several times, ate Montreal-style bagels, and ate several poutines. It’s fun how much we eat as cyclists, especially seeing a server’s skepticism as Karen orders their largest poutine or two main courses, and then of course Karen finishes it all and orders dessert as well.

We’ve eaten a lot of cheese, including Saint-Benoît cheese made by monks in an abbey. 

We need to find a way to slow down because we realized we’re too close to the coast. Instead of going straight to Quebec City, we decided to explore the Eastern Townships. We explored several fromageries, and went to the Bombardier museum. Next, we’ll make our way to Quebec City 

The Bombardier museum was very interactive and educational, including a flight simulator. When the museum guide asked us if we knew anything about Bombardier, I deliberately didn’t mention that I once did a Policy Paper on Bombardier at SFU comparing government subsidies of Bombardier to the Prisoner’s Dilemma.

Karen’s Quebec book of the week: The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz



Comments

  1. MarilynJuly 12, 2025 at 7:12 AM

    Ben would probably love going to visit some fromageries with you comparing Wisconsin cheese and Quebec cheese!

    ReplyDelete

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