From April 10th – April 16th, 2014, a small group of Barrhead Composite High School students embarked on a journey of culture, history and gastronomy.
Our tour began with the eight of us leaving BCHS at 3 a.m., to arrive in Montreal at 3 p.m. local time. At our stopover in Toronto, we discovered the group from Battle River School Division that we would also travel with. We met our EF Tour guide Vanessa, and our trustworthy bus driver, Claude at the airport in Montreal, and were whisked away to Old Port. Many of its buildings date back into the 1600s and there is a considerable European flair here, with cobble stone streets, cafés, hotels, street vendors and many shops. A highlight for the French Immersion students was getting to make and eat tire d’érable or maple taffy on snow. We would have the opportunity to try this again in Quebec City at a traditional Sugar Shack.
Day 2 had us taking in more of Montreal’s highlights, as well as driving the ‘Golden Mile,’ as we made our way up Mount Royal. Mt. Royal, is a 200 hectare park, including the highest spot of the city at 234 metres. We were able to take some great panoramic shots of Montreal from this vantage point. We came down the mountain to visit another stunning feature of Montreal, the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal or Notre Dame Basilica, whose original construction dates back to 1657. The church is absolutely scintillating in its Gothic Revival styling, with a smaller chapel located in the back, that once ravished by fire, has been rebuilt to its former glory. The 2 pipe organs, one located in either chapel, apparently boast incredible sound, and the larger organ, built in 1891, has been modified a few times and now has 4 keyboards, 99 stops, and approximately 7,000 pipes!
Next on the agenda was lunch on our own, where many of us had to try the famous Montreal poutine. In Quebec, it is only right to try this Canadian delight with Montreal smoked meat on top. We also had time to do a little souvenir shopping before heading on to the Pointe-ŕ-Calličre, for a guided tour of Montreal’s Museum of Archaeology and History, a pirate dinner at Le Cabaret du Roy, before moving on to a competitive game of laser tag.
Day 3 started with a trip to the Montréal Biodôme, a well laid out tour of the America’s many ecosystems and the creatures that live amongst them. One of the favourites was the Sub-Antarctic Islands. All the birds here belong to the Spheniscidae, or penguin family. Four species can be seen, including king penguins and this collection of bird life is unique in Canada.
Next up, we ascended the Montreal Olympic Tower, in a two minute ride in the funicular. At 165 metres, it is the tallest inclined tower in the world! Its 45-degree angle is awe-inspiring; especially when you consider that the Leaning Tower of Pisa’s tilt is only 5 degrees.
We were then on to our bus drive to Quebec City, where many of us caught up on sleep from our many early mornings and late nights. We had a quick dinner at The Chick Shack and more sightseeing in Old Québec or Vieux-Québec, with a charming guide, who was dressed in period costume, as he led us through the streets of this UNESCO World Heritage Site, giving us the history of the area.
Day 4 involved a workshop about the Plains of Abraham, where students had the opportunity to load weapons, and cartridges, learn about surgery in the midst of a battlefield and the true length of the battle. Being gracious, the battle lasted less than 20 minutes, and was a pivotal moment in the Seven Years’ War and eventually the creation of Canada. Both General Wolfe and General Louis-Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm became mortally wounded during the battle, and the French lost. The weather had turned in our real time visit, and we fought sleet and snow to arrive at Observatoire de la Capitale, to get a 360-degree view of the city from 221 meters up. Even though the snow was falling and you could not see to the other side of the St. Laurence River, the observatoire de la Capitale’s expansive windows provided a spectacular view of the city, its maze of streets, the majestic Chateau Frontenac and the Citadel.
After a quick lunch and a cold walk around Old Quebec to find some last minute souvenirs, we made our way to a local mall to get out of the weather and discover a more modern part of Quebec. Some students took advantage of the free roller-coaster ride, while others shopped for gifts and, I enjoyed a pedicure after all that walking!
Our last tour of the day was at The Morrin Museum, which was built in 1712, as military barracks, eventually becoming the city’s first prison, but now it houses one of the world’s most beautiful libraries. Students walked through the sinister jail cells and saw the graffiti carved into the floors by inmates. In the 19th century, the building was renovated and became Morrin College until 1902. Now a historical site, The Morrin Museum not only houses the library, but also acts as Quebec City’s English-language cultural centre and a historical interpretation site.
Dinner was a Sugar Shack experience at Érabličre du Lac-Beauport, where we dined on French Canadian pea soup, served with bread, omelets, maple flavor brown beans with pork, crispy salted pork sizzlings, maple ham, meat pie, hashed brown roasted potatoes and crępes for dessert. Of course, you wouldn’t be in Quebec without adding maple syrup to everything! Who knew that Pea Soup was even tastier with maple syrup?! We also enjoyed making more tire d’érable and listening to a presentation on the making of maple syrup, before buying a few more maple inspired souvenirs and heading back to our beautiful hotel, Le Manoir du Lac Delage.
On Day 5, we arose early to drive to Ottawa. Our first stop in Canada’s Capital was the Canadian Museum of History (formerly the Canadian Museum of Civilization), where we enjoyed a lot of amazing exhibits on First Nations people, The Canadian Stamp collection, the Canada Hall (a great walk through Canada’s history), the Grand Hall with its stunning Morning Star ceiling, and hands’ down the students’ favourite, the Children’s Museum, with an interactive journey around the world. We would later come back to view an IMAX film, Journey to the South Pacific. After a dinner at Le Moulin de Provence, which boasts over 70 feet of display cases, filled with over 200 freshly created baking items, we went on an interesting haunted walk close to Parliament Hill, where our guide, dressed in a long black cape, told several stories to scare and amaze us!
Day 6 – due to the weather, we had a guided sightseeing tour on board our trusty bus, seeing sights such as Parliament Hill, Rideau Hall, a quick stop to get out at Rideau Falls, before heading to the Parliament Building. During our guided tour of Parliament, which included the House of Commons, The Senate, the Parliament Library, the Grand Hall and the Peace Tower we learned to appreciate the historical significance of both the Hill and the politics within and were even treated to a short opera song from our tour guide, who was studying to become an opera singer!
We carried on from Parliament to be lucky enough to watch the RCMP practice the Musical Ride at the Rockcliffe Stables (home of the RCMP musical Ride). We had the opportunity to get a close up look at the horses from the musical ride, meet one of the RCMP riders, visit the Farrier Station and Tack Room, and the small museum which houses the Queen’s carriage, used during her visits to Canada.
The highlight of the day was a visit to the Canadian War Museum. The building is uniquely shaped, with grass growing on the top of one section of the building and the words, and; “Lest We Forget” printed on the small windows on the fin in Morse code. The museum covers all facets of Canada’s military past, from the first recorded instances of death by armed violence in Canadian history several hundred years ago to the country’s most recent involvement in conflicts. I was surprised to even see one of Hitler’s cars on display. Our two short hours here could have been longer, as the students took their time going through the different exhibits and reading all of the information. The evening concluded with dinner at Dunn’s Famous Deli for a Montreal Smoked Meat sandwich.
Day 7 had us doing a speed tour of the National Gallery of Canada, with visits to the Group of Seven’s work and The Great Hall, Colennade, Mama, Garden Court, Water Court and finally the chapel within the walls of the Gallery, formerly The Convent of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart or the Rideau Chapel were all amazing sights, and we’d wished we’d had more time at the Gallery and all of Ottawa, for that matter. However, we had a flight to catch to get back home and dreams of visiting new places again.
Travel is the only thing you buy, that makes you richer.
