Quebec City Trip Report

Bonjour!  Québec est une ville très belle en été, and the club ventured north to experience its Old World charm firsthand.  This was not the club’s first trip to the fair city of Québec, but it was our first trip with the club.  We met the group in Salem, NH, along with about half of the rest of the contingent.  Getting there early, we had a chance to socialize a bit, get acquainted with members we hadn’t met before, expound a bit on the wonders of Québécois beer and food, and, of course, install the CB radio Dick had so generously offered to loan to us newbies (merci beaucoup!).

Our trip leaders, les formidables Mélanie and Vincent Roy, native Québécois, came prepared with a wonderfully detailed printed itinerary.  If this was their first time leading a trip, it didn’t show.   They had clearly put a lot of effort and thought into planning this trip, as was evidenced by how smoothly and enjoyably the weekend proceeded.

Passing through Franconia Notch on the way north offered two opportunities for fun.  The first was trying to catch a glimpse of the Old Man of the Mountain as we sped by.  The second came after the last six cars in the group, including us, got caught behind a slow-moving truck on the single-lane stretch.  Responding to a dimly heard “Pedal! Pedal! Pedal!” on the CB, we gunned it out of the lane, topping 90 for a while until we caught up. “C’était superbe. Faisons-l’encore!”

The sight of so many Miatas, on the highway, tooling through the narrow streets of Old Québec, or even just pulling into McDonald’s, is a wonderful thing to behold.  Even more fun is the reaction of others, and we were routinely asked if this was a convention or a commercial being filmed.  Even at Customs, we all had a nervous laugh as one of the agents got out his camera at the sight of almost 20 Miatas (and one sedan) waiting to cross the border.

Our hotel for the weekend, the Clarendon, was charmant and européen, which in translation meant “small rooms.”  But they were comfortable, and the hotel’s bar served as a gathering point for the group both before and after dinner, at which point it transformed into a popular jazz club. 

Dinner our first night was at L’Astral, just outside the old city and rotating atop a 20-some story building.  We enjoyed telling everyone, including the waiter, that we had eaten there eight years before and it had snowed…in August!  (His reaction: “Incroyable!”) We also learned to ask Ray about motor oil only if one has beaucoup de vin left in one’s glass.

Saturday was spent strolling the streets of the city, enjoying the people, the crepes, the beer, the cafes, the shopping, the street performers.  Some folks went on an organized bus tour, getting a personalized view of the city from the knowledgeable driver, while others explored the city at their own pace.  We had done the tour before, so we took the opportunity to sleep in, then returned to a favorite crêperie for brunch. Venturing down to the Lower Town, we found the day to be gorgeous but quite hot, and so a stop in a café for a tall, cold Blanche de Chambly was followed by a trip to une laiterie for an ice cream laced with maple sugar.  We all capped the day with a relaxed and very filling dinner at an Italian restaurant, then strolled back to the hotel by way of the Grande Allée for a little people-watching.

Sunday was the true highlight of the weekend: a group outing to Manoir Montmorency for brunch and a chance to view the incredible falls, quite close-at-hand for those who braved the footbridge.  But first, we must say merci beaucoup to Rob and Cheryl for the jump, as that morning we found our car in the garage refusing to start.  We’ve always found Miata owners to be a friendly and generous bunch, but that day they were quite our chevaliers dans l’armure brillante.   All was fine with our ’92 after that, but perhaps the preparatory trip to Lester’s before the National Event will include a new battery.

From the falls, we headed over the bridge to Île d’Orléans for a little scenic driving.  A stop at an old historic church proved great fun as the shore was made of some very interesting upended sedimentary rock and Al discovered to his chagrin that le Fleuve Saint-Laurent is tidal! As we passed many farms offering “pick your own” fraises et framboises, several members suggested stopping at one of them…if we could find one that could accommodate all of our cars!  Imagine our surprise then as we turned off the road and down a dirt path (oooo, are we going to bottom out?) while some friendly looking people waved at us and smiled.  Down, down, down we slowly crept through twists and turns, through fields containing not fruit but potatoes, kicking up a lot of dust, until we turned a corner to find – voilà! – Mélanie’s family!  Our gracious hosts opened their summer home to us and our cars, kindly offering us a respite from the gathering heat in their cool and beautiful gardens.  We strolled the grounds, admired the flowers, rested on benches and hammocks, frolicked on the shore and chatted for a while with members of Mélanie’s family.   Such was the beauty and peacefulness of the place that the group lingered for quite a while before reluctantly heading back.  Vraiment, c’était un endroit du repos pour le corps et pour l'âme.

Early next morning, we were on our way back, happy with a successful trip.  A quick stop a the border for some duty-free shopping, and au revoir, Québec, nous voudrions revenir à bientôt!

Lois and Timur