Saturday, July 5, 2025
Canadian for a Short While
This summer we decided to travel to Canada for our vacation. We planned to stay in Montreal and Quebec for a week. Our flight into Montreal was an interesting one. We came in with a rain storm. Upon our arrival, our phones didn't work and we were unable to get service from our provider until we got to our house. Needless to say, it was an interesting drive with a paper map and a phone that only showed the current location. When we arrived, we realized that we wouldn't be able to look up the door code to unlock the apartment either because we needed Wifi. Thankfully, Dan had downloaded some information ahead of time and was able to go off of that to at least get the key. It didn't help that we had just gone through rush hour traffic in the rain. Everyone was stressed. Our apartment was on the fourth floor and the apartment was old. The old elevator was not something Erin or the girls would go up in because the door had a hard time closing. Even Dan felt a bit hesitant so we hauled our luggage up four flights of stairs. The day was not done at this point either. We still needed to get groceries from the market down the street and make dinner. From what we could tell, most people shopped the market on a daily basis and came just for one or two items that they could carry out. Our full cart looked very out of place as we came through the check out line. It was also probably funny to onlookers who saw us bringing our bags out of the car in the pouring rain. Carts did not leave the supermarket. Thankfully, we accomplished everything that we needed to and the evening passed by quickly.
On our first day in Montreal, we visited the Old downtown area where there were tons of shops, restaurants and a science museum. We stopped for a picture at the ferris wheel but thought we would get a better view at sunset without the rain.
Since it was still raining the next morning, we decided to visit the Science Museum for an indoor experience. We found so many interactive exhibits in which to participate. Below you see the whole team trying to solve mind puzzles. We definitely gave our "monkey minds" a workout.
Our first official exhibit was the Canadian/Native American experience where we learned to write and say our names in the native language. We also explored star patterns and native ways of life.
Then we learned about the human body by working out, doing "surgery" and playing interactive games.
Last we entered a physics and chemistry hall where we shot hankies out of cannons, held inflatable balls in the air with fans, experienced the different levels of destruction for each tornado wind speed and interacted with giant bubbles. It is hard to put in detail all the activities that kids could participate in while in the physics room. There was even a kaleidoscope mirror activity that you could walk through and a car simulator. We happened to see a bungie jumper getting ready to dive when we looked out one of the side windows as well. Analise and Erin waited for quite a while before they saw him hit the surface of the water.
After the museum, we headed to an indoor community pool, Piscine Shubert, to swim for a bit. It was an "old fashioned" pool with a bar at the side that you could grab onto as you stepped down into the water. The pool was full and people were trying to swim laps without lane markers so there were quite a few run-ins. Everyone did enjoy the experience though and when we came out the sun had returned. We walked around the area a bit and found the underground so we could visit the Olympic Village and insectarium.
Analise had her photo taken at the Olympic Village and we all sat in amazement at the size of the location and the tall tower they had built above the village. We found out the tower was used for observation of the games initially, but now it is offices and apartments. You can see the whole Montreal skyline from inside the tower.
After the village, we approached the insectarium. We were able to view butterflies from around the world (they had them lined up by the color of the rainbow, and yes, there are butterflies of every color). Erin had the girls pick their favorite color to stand by. Then we entered a room where we got to see many of the butterflies fluttering around. We also saw leaf cutter ants hard at work pulling leaves along this giant branch. It was fascinating to see how they worked together to collect the leaves.
We ended the day going to see the Oratory at sunset. We climbed the stairs and got a view of the entire city from up above. It was breathtaking literally and figuratively.
On day two of Montreal, we visited St. Joseph's Oratory and Mount Royal Park in the morning. We started at St. Joseph's when it was relatively quiet. We went up the the statue of Father Andre and met a man named Philip. He proceeded to tell us about the church and asked us where we were from. We were surprised he knew English and wanted to give us a private tour of the place. He asked what we had already seen which wasn't much so he took us to the original chapel where Father Andre lived and showed us his bedroom. Then he showed us his workspace and the exact window he would look out of when he was making his plan to build the oratory. Father Andre used to place medallions of St. Joseph into the side of the cliff and pray the rosary as he climbed the side of the hill. Phil also showed us the way of the cross which was put into a garden going up the side of the mountain next to the church. He walked us through the entire stations of the cross and talked to us about the people of Canada and how he hoped that they would come back to the church. Many had fallen away. He also told us about his experience where he got to sleep next to the body of St. Therese of Lisieux (Emma's confirmation saint). He said that her body goes on tour only to Canada from France once every few years. This past month he was one of the lucky ones to spend some time with her. Then he took us to the crypt where we saw Father Andre's tomb and his heart was on display. Many people were gathered and praying in the crypt. There were thousands of candles lit as well as thousands of crutches, canes and walkers that people had left with Brother Andre after being healed. Over the course of his life, brother Andre healed around 125,000 people of diseases and inability to walk. Erin had learned about Andre's life in a video she watched. She thought the family should take a pilgrimage to this location in the year of the Jubilee which ultimately ended up being why we traveled to this location.
The church definitely did not disappoint and Phil's background knowledge also added to the full experience. Before Phil left us, he told us to pray for him because one of his children needed a miracle, we said that we would. He also said he would pray for us. We weren't quite sure why we met him, and why we got a personal tour while everyone else just had to make their own way around the large place and learn at their own pace. It was a very surreal encounter. At the end of the visit, we went up to the church and prayed in the adoration chapel at the front. The tabernacle was in the shape of a golden rocket and it pointed up to the top of the golden dome which had a lamb painted on it. It was a very spiritually moving location. Before we left, the girls purchased medallions and put them in the side of the cliff for healing within our family and for Phil and his family.
Next up was Mount Royal Park which was right next to the Oratory. Here we got to see Beaver lake which becomes a giant skating rink for the community in the winter. The girls played on the playground equipment and we saw another lookout over the city location. Everyone was tired at this point so we went home for lunch, rested a bit and then headed to the subway to find the local farmer's market and another public pool. This time we visited Parc Jerry which was a pool inside a large outdoor park. We had fun cooling off and seeing the people from the neighborhood. Every pool we visited had us surprised by how clean everyone kept the space. The environment is a source of pride for the people of Canada (or at least that is what we took away from the experiences we had).
After the pool, we got home for dinner and then went out to the boardwalk to see the nightlife and go on the ferris wheel. We got to have a compartment all to ourselves. We think that if you paid for the full experience, you could choose your music and everything (we didn't go for that option, but thought it was a neat add on). While up on the wheel, we saw many people ziplining and using the paddle boats on the river below. It was fun to be out at sunset taking in the town.
On day three, we left Montreal and headed tward Grandby to visit the zoo. Canadians go all out when they create a zoo. This zoo was laid out by different continents. As we traveled through each we saw a variety of animals we had not seen before. We were excited to see the elephants out in a larger space than they normally get. The red panda was a favorite for all. Analise was amazed that he could do a press up from the wooden planks. A professional gymnast in the animal world.
Now this zoo was not just a zoo. It was also an amusement park with roller coasters and pirate ships as well as a water park with a lazy river, multiple wave pools and waterslides. We decided to hit the water park early. We were lucky we arrived there when the park opened because everyone from miles around decided to visit the park that day. There must have been thousands and thousands of people. The parking lots were all full. The girls loved the waterslides. Erin and Dan enjoyed the wave pool and everyone laughed a lot of the lazy river. This river wasn't like those in Minnesota. Every turn brought a new form of water torture for people riding their tubes. Dan got a giant bucket dumped on his head and the girls got sprayed from the sides. Just when you thought you made it past one obstacle another would approach. We had a blast going through the course. We didn't plan on spending that much time at the zoo, but we enjoyed ourselves so much that we cut out other parts of the trip north.
We did stop in Drummonville to take a quick walk next to the river and see their quaint town but then it was onto Quebec for the night.
When we reached our Airbnb, we discovered that the host, Jean-Michel Lachance, was an Olympian in para-cycling. He and his biking partner won the bronze medal in the 2016 Olympics. He started his career as a speed skater and we discovered that his sister Émilie competed at the world speed skating championships too. He is also an environmentalist and worked as an ambassador for 1% pour la Planète which encourages companies to give back one percent of their sales to environmental causes. Analise left him a note on his board asking questions about his Olympic experience. Little did she know that we would actually meet him when our air conditioner broke on the second night. Here is a picture of the church down the street from our house. A rainbow decided to come out after the storm. The house also had a beautiful view of the river from the backyard.
On our first day in Quebec, the morning was raining, so we decided to visit the aquarium. We got to touch stingrays and other creatures like starfish and different types of coral.
After the aquarium, we went out to visit the Old downtown. We visited the historical museum and learned about the French, British and Canadian troops that had lived in the area. We also saw the famous hotel that is shown in movies and many photo ops that people take when they visit. Unfortunately the fog covered most of the view.
There was supposed to be a parade by the hotel because it was Canada day. However we quickly realized that most people didn't really celebrate Canada day in Quebec. It seemed like more tourists were celebrating with the tiny Canadian flags than actaul people from Quebec. Erin and Dan were confused when most of the stores were open all hours and people seemed to be working just as if it was normal day. We saw kids with camp counselors at the aquarium and other historic locations. Dan did some research and discovered that many people in Quebec wanted to separate from Canada, so we decided that Canada day in Quebec was just another day for them.
We ended the day with Dan finding a place he could rent a motorized bike and the girls and Erin found an infinity pool by the river. We went to the local ice cream window and got in line with the neighborhood to get the "Cup and Cone" Canadian experience. There was a special thing they did for little kids in line where they added eyes and a gummy tongue to their ice cream cone. Then we hung out and relaxed for the evening watching videos at the house.
The next day we were off to visit Mont Mercy Falls just outside Quebec. On the stairs up to the falls, we saw multiple rainbows. The Oratory stairs and all the hills in the areas we had been visiting really helped us when we had to climb all the stairs for the falls.
When we reached the top, we took an extra hike into the forest and up to another mini-falls experience. We went across a bridge we probably weren't supposed to cross but we couldn't read the signs well and it said something about golf. We eventually turned around but got stopped by a truck trying to cross the bridge. There wasn't enough room for both of us to go across at the same time. When we got back to where we were supposed to venture, we rode the cable car to the top and back of the falls. While waiting for the cable car we met a couple from Toronto. They told us about St. Anne's Cathedral and told us we should really visit. We decided to take the extra twenty minutes.
It was definitely worth the drive to see the mosaic tiled ceiling. St. Anne had also healed many people and their canes and crutches were found at her sight as well. In the afternoon, we went back to the infinity pool to swim then out to a pub/restaurant in the local town. The evening was nice so we walked around the neighborhood to see how families interacted in the local environment. Canada definitely seems to be a place where people feel safe letting their kids play in the streets and just hang out. We wish the same vibe was present in America.
The next day was raining again. The pattern was always rain in the morning and sun in the afternoon. Erin went down the hill from our house early in the morning to see the infinity pool with no one in it. She was surprised to find that a gate had risen up from the floor to surround the pool for the night. It was definitely a high tech place. They also had sinks with a T-shaped bar where the soap and water automatically came out the middle and then when you moved your hands to the sides of the bar they automatically dried them all in one spot.
Next up was our trip back to Montreal. On the way back we visited Tres Riverias. They had just had a musical festival the night before that took over the entire town. There were artist tents set up on tons of the blocks we visited. We were surprised there wasn't much trash left behind after such a big festival. Everything was still well maintained. We went to the convent in this location to learn about the work of the sisters and what life was like for them. We also discovered the convent was used as a hospital in 1776 by the American army and they were provided safety at that location. We also walked around the town and as we did, we saw a daycare out for a walk. This woman was pushing a stroller with eight babies seated in it. It was fascinating to see them taking little infants all over the city in that fashion. We could never imagine something like that happening in America (we saw something similar at the falls where four toddlers were tied on a leash and were following after their camp leader as she walked across the bridge to the falls). I think we were too tired to take any photos here but there was a beautiful river and it looked like a fun town to walk around. After Tres Riverias, we headed to Drummonville for a historical re-enactment location. We drove through quite a storm and learned that everyone puts on their flashers when rain pours down so that you can see the other cars more easily. Thankfully we made it through the storm and just had some small showers while we visited the historical reenactment site.
At Village Québécois d'Antan, we interacted in French with people who were acting out scenes from Quebec village set in the 1800s. The goal of the museum was for us to experience all the changes taking place from the 19th to the 20th century in Quebec. When we entered, they had us go through a "portal." The portal had lights and techno music. Steam and fog came out of the time machine. When you went through the tunnel, you came out in the new time period, the early 1800s. As we walked along the streets, we visited a church, barbershop, apothecary/pharmacist, wool making station, house of a wood cutter, a print maker, a doctor, a phone operator, a hat maker and a photographer. This was the perfect time for us to see the village because the rain kept regular travelers away. We were the only family in many of the houses so the actors gave it their best shot to talk to us in a mix of French and English. It was choppy but we still got a lot out of the experience.
First up was the church where we interacted with the priest and altar boy who was lighting the candles. The priest told us about the communion rail and why they put a special cloth on it. He also let us know that he said the mass in Latin and that he had his back turned away from the congregation when he was doing the mass. While he chatted with us, a character that had just come from New York stepped in and told us about why she decided to come to Quebec. At first I think we were all confused because she was speaking in English. It made us think that she was actually from New York because we could actually understand her whereas everything else was in French and most of the time we were trying to figure out what the heck everyone was saying.
We followed the "lady from New York" to the barbershop where we learned that barbers at the time could not cut womens' or girls' hair. Mothers cut their daughters' hair and also cut their own hair. When men did come to the barber shop it was more of a psychologist environment where they talked about their lives and shared stories. The surgeon was also in the same location but at the beginning of the 19th century they separated because the surgeon was becoming more equipped with tools like anesthesia and the barber didn't typically have these things. In the apothecary, we learned that you could take camomille for a headache and that most popular medicine dispensed was a red pill that they could take to get more iron.
Next up was the hatmaker's house where we were able to see which hat would look best on us using a special machine. Everyone was very surprised by the hat that was chosen for them.
At the saw mill, we were actually able to see the saw in action. It hung from the ceiling and moved up and down to cut large logs that there laid out on the floor. In the print making shop we saw how all the letters were laid out on the press and then the actor showed us how the press worked. He printed a bag with lettering for us to take home with us. At the wool making station, we learned how to use the walking loom as well as the sitting loom. We also saw all the tools they used at that time to sheer the sheep.
At the doctor's office we learned about the use of the foreceps and how it could deform the skull when used improperly. We also learned about anesthesia and new techniques they were discovering during that time period. Next to the doctor was the phone operator's house. This was one of the most interesting things to witness because they actually had the lines set up so we would see how the operator would connect people together. The operator job was reserved for women and the woman who listened in on all the conversations of the village could never tell what she heard while on the line. We got to try out the connection between lines and see all the phones they had from 1800 up to present time.
After the phone operator, we visited the photographer who had tons of cameras on display from that time period. We were able to take a family photo with the old camera. You had to sit very still for a long time before the photo would be taken. When we went back into the street people were trying to roll hoops with a stick. Dan gave it a try and the group cheered him on.
We were completely exhausted by the time we were done with the experience. Dan definitely got a chance to practice his French while we interacted with the actors and actresses. We weren't ready to talk that much in French, but we made it through and learned a lot. We had never been at a museum where they actually had the machines working for you to see. That was perhaps the best part of the experience. Usually you see things behind some glass in a museum and it seems quite dull because you can't see what the thing was able to do. So long to our time machine and fun from the past.
Our last stop before Montreal was back to the Drummonville pool for a quick swim. However, we didn't end up swimming at all. All over the city there were these signs that said, "Oh!" This town became the town of "Oh no!" to us. When we got to the pool, they told us we had to pay because we were not from Drummonville. So Dan first of all tried to use his card. Nope. Then he asked if they took American dollars. Nope. Then he asked where he could exchange money. They said the bank down by the church but had no real location for the bank. We tried looking for the bank. We tried looking for ATMS. Dan finally found a bank, but the bank would not exchange twenty dollars for Canadian money. They said all we could do there was set up an account with the bank. We even went into the pharmacy trying to get cash back by buying some fake nails for Emma but the debit card wouldn't work. Dan even tried going to a different pool in the town to just see if the other one was the only one you had to pay for. Nope. After over an hour of trying, we left defeated. We decided that smaller cities in Canada were not the place for us.
As we drove back into Montreal, the "Oh no" signs seemed to travel with us. The traffic was the worst we had ever experienced. It took us 1.5 hours to go 40 km. There was an oil tanker that drove on the shoulder to get around people but there were so many cars coming onto the freeway from the sides that we were scared someone would plow into him. We were even in the fast lane (3 people or more in a car) and barely moved. We thought it would take someone about 3 hours to go the distance we did if they were in the one person per car lanes. Use public transporation if you can in Montreal is what we learned. Thankfully, once we got to our house, we found a park with a pool that we could go in. The ones in Montreal were free for everyone (even people who don't live there). We finished the evening with lap swimming and noodles at the house. We were so thankful to be going back home to a place where everyone spoke English after our day in Drummonville. Overall, the trip was exciting and we learned a lot from each experience. It was also tiring and most of us just slept and hung out at the house for the remainder of the Fourth of July this year. We were all too tired to go out for fireworks.
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