Everyone was packed and ready to check out of the hotel Thursday morning. We had a variety of departure plans with 17 traveling with me, and then 10 others with other arrangements. Everyone had a plan. We loaded the bus and went in several directions. A small group went back to the Plains of Abraham museum for the full history of the site. The rest of us ventured on to the Le Grand Marche, a very fancy farmers market.
The Market features over 100 producers, processors and artisans daily.
Many of the growers from Ile d'Orleans have stalls in the market.
You can buy a wide variety of fresh fruits
and
vegetables,
but there were also meat
and cheese stalls,
candy, coffee, pastries,
wine, and much, much more. It was like Disney for gardeners and foodies! Everything was displayed so well.
We tasted free samples throughout and bought a few things we could bring home. I got some of the best dark chocolate cranberries. Many had a late breakfast or morning snack. It would have been a great lunch stop with so many choices.
We could have stayed longer, but we had more to do, so we loaded back up and picked up the rest of our crew before our last stop, a guided tour of the parliament building.
Recent additions to the building have added some modern elements to the stately older side.
It was quite interesting to get a taste of Canadian history.
This building was like our state capital. They were in session and we got to sit in on a few things--all in French, so little understanding for me. Our guide spoke excellent English and we did learn a lot. We ended with lunch in the cafeteria, again, menu in French and no one spoke English, so we all winged it for our meal choices. After eating we said goodbye to some of our travelers and the 17 of us headed to LR were off to the airport. We had another set of easy flights. Customs went smoothly in Chicago. We didn't have loads of time, but made it to our gate with a few minutes to spare before loading for home. The NW Arkansas crew weren't as lucky. Their delayed flight out of Quebec made them miss their Chicago connection, so they got to spend the night in Chicago, but made it home safely the next morning.
It was a whirlwind adventure and we covered a lot of territory while we were there. I always say my tours are a lot of walking, but this one took the cake for number of steps. Montreal was a marathon, but luckily our pace slowed a little after that. Everyone kept up beautifully and in spite of the long days, there was no complaining, but a lot of laughter.
We had two great guides, Peter and then Benoit, and Luke our bus driver was amazing!
The temperatures were ideal, although some thought it was a bit cold. I loved it! We had a little rain, but I never needed my umbrella. It was a great adventure with wonderful traveling companions.
Now that I am retired, our trips are open to everyone. We had 11 who heard about the trip from the Ark. Democrat-Gazette column. We did have some of our regulars as well, but it was a nice mix. Come join us on one of our adventures. The next one that is advertised is the Christmas Markets NEXT November 2020. Here is the link to sign up.