Three to Flee . . .and back again

View from El Eperon trail

Here it is, a week plus after Thanksgiving, and I'm just getting around to posting this. We three fled to Quebec City for Thanksgiving. . . it had been long planned, and it is a wonderful city. It is also a very dog friendly city, with fabulous restaurants that are all open on Thanksgiving day. I had thought that leaving the U.S. for even that short time (4 nights) might be a bit of a balm for recent events, but it really wasn't. The pain of it travels.

 

C3 Hotel Art de vivre

But. We stayed in a beautiful old world hotel that was across from the National Beaux Arts Museum of the Arts, Quebec, which fronted the Plains of Abraham Park. Think Central Park in New York. The park has some very manicured areas, but also some wilder areas where Jasper could roam off leash without annoying anyone. There was also a trendy commercial district with all sorts of shopping, including chocolate, groceries and spirits. Voila. I've decided I want to spend a bit more time with the French language before I come here next year. I should say "if", because this sort of travel is harder and harder on Jasper. 

A dog and his man

He is an absolute trouper, don't get me wrong, but he is also such a creature of routine. And we are all getting older. I can't quite say "old"yet. . .

On Thanksgiving day, we drove to Jacques Cartier National Forest and hiked, as per our newly established tradition last year. Also, as last year, there was about 6" of new snow on the ground. The paintbrush of beauty that snow paints over already beautiful places is breathtaking. One can, indeed, gild the lily.

Last year the hike was tough due to my knee and John's heart. Both of those were "fixed" this past summer, and it was still a tough hike! 1000 feet of elevation, and some pretty slippery areas as well. The views were well worth it, and we brought a small picnic (flash of wine and snacks) for the finish. . . sitting in the open back hatch of Shadow, watching the snow drift down, eating biscuits (dog and other wise) and reflecting on our mortality. Ha. Isn't that what Thanksgiving is for?

Another view, El Eperon

We had a reservation at Le Sam's at the Frontenac for dinner.The Frontenac is an amazing castle-like hotel. It was designed as a hotel. . .something I found surprising, because it looks like a fortress, and Quebec was initially a walled city. But it was designed as the trans Canadian Railway was being built. It abuts the historic Old Quebec, and a tourist and park area that is at once charming and extensive.

The Frontenac Hotel

 

 

 

The Canadians always impress me with their extensive parks and outdoor areas. They seem to value these public outdoor spaces on a federal level, and it shows. There were public skating rinks in several towns that we passed through, and the area around the Frontenac and Old Quebec also have a lot of open space, as well as a sled run, and miles of board walk that run through forest with views of the St. Lawrence.

Leading up the The Frontenac

The architecture in the area where we stayed was also astonishing. . .a bit soup to nuts in some places where more contemporary looking buildings have been built adjacent to older ones.

Directly across from our hotel was a cathedral reminiscent of some we've seen in England. I love these beautiful old buildings, but I can't help but wonder how our world would look if we put as much energy and thought into people as we put into God. 

Cathedral

Quebec cityscape

We arrived home on Friday to a power outage. This caused some tooth gnashing and scrambling, since it was cold, snowy, and our solar panels/battery weren't working as foretold. Grr. Still. Between helpful neighbors and the solar battery in our EV, we toughed it out for another couple of days. Water was the only real issue, and we resorted to bringing in pots of snow and melting it on the propane stove. We're not ready to go off grid at this point, but it was good to know both the weak spots in our system, and that we could pull off a couple of days without serious damage.

Worthy of note on the home front, the poinsettia images here are from a couple that a friend who was traveling dropped by my house 2 years ago. They respond perfectly to the shortening days of winter, producing these gorgeous bracts.

And! Notice the graceful natural form they've grown into. Poinsettias have had the unfortunate gift of popularity. They are grown by the thousands and treated with plant growth regulators (similar to mammalian hormones) to keep a compact shape. Given a couple of years, a normal amount of attention, and handmade pots, they have come into their own. This, they say, is who I am. Behold. Smile.

As a Last Shot, I give you the Christmas Hares on our front porch. Last year I made Elizabethan collars for them. This year we're going with a more Druidic look. I love their "don't mess with me" stance, even with tiaras of berries in place.