Day Three
July 30, 2007
MONDAY
Hugs and kisses, goodbyes and thanks. And back on the River of Cars in our trusty cruiser. The scenery a little boring. Lunch of pre-made steak sandwiches in a little pull-off near a tourist booth. But Quebec is truly a country within a country. It all feels a little different, a little strange. It feels like traveling.
A brief stop at Grosse Ile to look at the Canadian Ellis Island. Everything from middle-aged gay men sunbathing in leather g-strings, to groups of old men sitting in a semi-circle, not vigorous enough to make the 5 hour trip to see where their ancestors landed after a thirty day one. The Pilgrim took a picture of something out there—maybe Grosse Ile, maybe not.
Then we pulled in to Montmagny…roughly translated “smells like cow-dung”. This whole town smells of cow! And I’ve yet to see one.
The hotel is a completely serviceable, empty box. There could not be less décor in the room.
A downtown shop for the next day’s meal, and home for a cocktail and a game of Three Down.
A lovely restaurant in the old town, La Belle Epoque. Local cheeses and fresh fish…
Trout from the local river and a cedar planked salmon that made the weary travelers happy and full.
We stopped off on the way home to see a serious game of softball being played on a floodlit field down by the river.
Stands, spectators, announcer, ump—the real deal. In French, of course, so a little hard to understand who to root for. And the mosquitoes were huge—and hungry.
So, back to the box …strangers in a strange land.
