Rolling Hills of Québec!!!

Last weekend, I visited the province of Québec; it is always a treat for the eye.

There is one beautiful rolling hill after another. These pictures were taken in the area of Thetford Mines, PQ.

Beautiful winter season

When traveling to Québec we got there so late that we had to check in this hotel in middle of the night. To my surprise the next morning while having breakfast this was the view from the restaurant window. Beautiful, isn't it!?

Winter Scenery of Québec

These are some of the pictures that I captured while driving in the countryside in the province of Québec. I am always fascinated by the old architecture.

Winter vs Summer

During holidays I visited my brother at his cottage and it was really nice to compare the summer scenery to the winter one. Here are few pictures:

How French-Canadians celebrated Christmas back in the day

In Québec, Canada where I am originally from we celebrate Christmas on December, 24th. Traditionally it's a religious and social occasion and it's a perfect time for large family to get together and celebrate. People would start preparing foods and presents weeks in advance. Back then, when the only transportation was horses, they would pack their sleigh with bunch of children from the whole neighborhood and whoever else wants to hop in the sleigh for a ride are welcomed, too - more the merrier! It was like a pilgrimage - they would ride through the whole rural area and the village to finally arrive to church by 11pm-12am for the mass (All the people would be dressed in their best garments including fur coats. Back in those days most people were poor, so this celebration was a very big deal for them). After they arrive they greet each other and by midnight the mass starts. It will not end before 1:30am.

After the mass everybody goes to different houses to have a huge celebration, which is called the "réveillon". It usually went on all night, so the actual Christmas Day was spent sleeping. Christmas marked the beginning of "le Temps de Fêtes", a holiday period of visiting and celebrating that ended on January 6 with "la Fête des Rois" (Epiphany). In large French-Canadian families, as many as 60 to 70 people might sit down to enjoy the food at the "le réveillon". Traditional foods would include "tourtière" (meat pie of pork and beef), "cipâte" (game meat and vegetable casserole), roast goose, and desserts such as "bûche de Noël" (traditional dessert served near Christmas) or "tarte au sucre" (sugar pie). I must mention here that it all goes with lots and lots of different kind of alcohol to make the celebration more exciting!

As one person would know how to play violin, the other - to sing, and the rest - to dance, you can imagine that it was a blast of fun and laughter.

Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier, Québec

These are the pictures taken while visiting Sépaq National Park.
And this below is one of the activities you can do at that park - it`s called zip lining.

By the way, did you know that Canada is the biggest producer of mustard? This is how it looks when it's growing.

Vallée de la Jacques Cartier, Québec

More image report on Lac Phillippe, Québec

 

 

Sweet Recovery (@ Lac Phillippe, Québec)

Last week my friend, Olesya, and I ended up at the Lac Phillippe, which is located in the National Gatineau Park. It was a very special day for me because I was sharing with my friend my special hiking place. And also, it was such a huge victory for me, because if you told me in March 2011 that I will be hiking with my friend  just few months later who helped me with my recovery, I would never believe it. At that time I was going to become a handicap, and just few months later - here we were hiking for two and a half hours! In the rain... and we did not mind!