This trip has been a lot of driving.  A LOT.  To the point where, by the end of the day, we’re often too tired to do anything else.  But there were a couple reasons why this surfeit of driving happened.  First of all, we wanted to see Gaspé.  And it’s big – really big (I’m not sure I realised that).  Both of us had to be back in the GTA by a certain date, so that was limiting.  And, because of Elbows Up, more people are camping in Canada.  It was very hard to get a campground for more than two nights in a row – in fact, around the long weekend (June 22 is Gaspésie Day and June 24 is St-Jean-Baptiste Day) the best I could do was one night at aa time at several places. 

So when we saw a sign for the Acadian Museum in Bonaventure, I felt we needed to go in.  Otherwise, we’d just be driving from camping ground to camping ground (with an occasional stop at a distillery or a poissonnerie).

The museum was very interesting and well done – learned a great deal about the mass deportation of the Acadians from Nova Scotia (the English really do have a lot to answer for). And even bought a birthday present for someone for next year. 

All my life I’ve seen pictures of Percé Rock.  I had imagined that it was way off the shore, and we’d be lucky to see it from the mainland.  But as we drove into the village of Percé, and then on to our campsite, we discovered that it is right there.  Less than a kilometre offshore – at low tide, you can walk to it (although we did not try that).  And on such a beautiful sunny day, it was spectacular.

Today was driving lessons, including how to use a tow-haul, and gearing down on steep downhill grades.  It seems the Appalachian Mountains don’t simply end at the Canada/US border, but actually start in southern Quebec. How delightful. LL is a good teacher, but I was glad when the day was over.  On the upside – all of Ontario and Quebec is blanketed in a heat wave, except for our cool little corner of Gaspé.  Thank heavens.

We left our campground mid-morning, planning to wend our way around the coast to Percé, knowing not much would be open on a Sunday.  We got 10 minutes out of the campground, and were just leaving the town of Cap Chat, when we looked at each other and said, ‘That distillery we just passed – do you suppose it makes gin?  Do you suppose it’s open?’  Google said the answer to both was Yes, so we turned around and went back.  Obvs. 

I couldn’t do any tasting, as I was driving, but as well as a lovely gin, we each bought a bottle of an olive-flavoured eau-de-vie, which the salesman assured us was good for deglazing the pan when grilling meat or fish.  Hunh. Then, back on the road, gin laden, as God intended.

As well as being my mother’s birthday, June 24^th is St Jean Baptiste Day, a national holiday.  As per usual, LL & I have managed to hit a tourist area when everything will be closed.  Hopefully, there will be some festivities to enjoy instead.

Edit: We didn’t find too many festivities, but we did find some amazing poissoneries.  We’ve bought a lot of seafood on this trip, and we’re only halfway through.  All the fish mongers are so helpful, and the produce is fresh and cheap.

The next few days were us taking turns driving along the Saint Lawrence.   Soon after leaving Quebec City, signs for lobster and shrimp started appearing  – ah yes, we’re at the seaside.  As an aside – the water in the Saint Lawrence is still fresh water at Quebec City, but they still have tides.  I did not realise you could even have fresh water tides (it’s probably the same on the Thames, and other rivers with a wide mouth to the sea). 

But back to Gaspé seafood.  Of course, we found the best fish monger in Bas St-Laurent (Les Pêcheries Desbois) and the best seafood restaurant (Le Matelot).  Parking is always a consideration at these places, but we manage.

We did come across the oddest winery I’ve ever visited: Vignoble Carpinteri in Saint-Ulric. A winery on the cold Gaspé seaside seems daft, but this winery makes 5 whites, 6 reds, 10 brandies, plus jams, spreads, and vinegars, all on site here in grey, salty Bas St Laurent.  It seems that all the grapes for the wines are grown in greenhouses (18 of them) and the fruits and brandy grapes are grown outdoors.  The place is massive, it was packed when we were there, and it is clearly a profitable and going concern.  (LL & I weren’t too keen on the wines, so our purchases were limited to their line of imported Italian products.)

We’re in Quebec City, and LL has fallen in love with the town.  I like it too, but boy oh boy, I’ve never seen her like this (and I’ve visited some pretty remarkable places with her). To be fair, it is adorable.  Winding cobbled streets, petite buildings, lots of wrought iron, and terrasses everywhere. We arrived early; the campground just across the river from QC has a shuttle (brilliant – a serious cash cow for them); and we spent the day on the Hop On, Hop Off, followed by an absolutely fab lunch at Le Lapin Sauté, and an obscene (yet again) amount of clothes shopping along Le Petit-Champlain.  I bought a cute print (very abstract expressionist, think Kandinsky) from a local artist.  And, when we went in to tour the interior of Château Frontenac there was a huge, very impressive looking, black-tie affair going on – felt so dowdy in comparison.

Odd thing happened: we called an Uber back to the campground (we missed the return shuttle due to shopping – oops) and when he arrived and realised where he was taking us, he claimed he ‘wasn’t allowed to cross the river’ and made us get out.  Fortunately the 2^nd Uber driver was willing to take us.  Did you know that Uber drivers don’t see their destination until you get in the car?  They only see their starting point.  So likely he didn`t want the long trip at that price.  Hunh.

But overall, Quebec City really is delightful.  And everyone is so friendly.

Scout & I volunteered at a middle school in Milton this past year, and Scout made friends with one grade 8 girl in particular. When this young lady heard we were going to Quebec, she said we had to go to Bromont, and we had to eat at the Pizzeria No. 900. I knew I would be volunteering at her high school in the fall, so I planned to stop there and take some pictures of Scout and me, standing in front of the restaurant, which I’d be able to show her in the new school year.

Sadly, we couldn’t do that. But we were still going through Bromont so we did indeed stop at the restaurant, and she was indeed right: the pizzas were spectacular.

I just wish I had a way to show her that we took her advice. Ah well.

I wanted to spend some time in Perth to visit with a friend, and because it’s just a lovely town. Lunch with PG at The Tangled Garden, then dinner at his house with his family, then a ride back to the Top Gun Gin Distillery in his vintage convertible.

I had booked two nights at the distillery; they were so welcoming.  Later that evening I noticed a few people gathering in front of the shop (I was parked at the far end of the parking lot) as it was getting dark.  One of the staff came over and explained that this was a stargazers’ club, the Milky Way was to be particularly visible and active that evening, and if I would like, I could bring a lawn chair, a blanket, and a glass of wine, and join them.  It was such an interesting evening!  There were experts wandering around and explaining things, and showing time-lapse photography of the various galaxies and constellations.

What a wonderful way to spend an evening.

I’ve mentioned before: the expectation at Harvest Hosts is that you will buy some of their products, as a form of payment (usually around the $30 mark).  It seems this year’s vintage of reds at Vignoble Clos Ste-Croix won so many medals, that they fully sold out.  Fortunately the whites were very nice, and we were introduced to two varietals we didn’t know well.  So that was nice.  But we were extravagant in our purchases (early-in-the-trip impulse buying), so we’ve agreed to rein it in at future Harvest Hosts.