Blue Cat has a new job (well, his scribe does) and last week it involved traveling to a distant foreign land known as Canada. Yes, Canada, the home of Tim Horton’s (arguably one of the best donut franchises in the world) and the other (for Americans) side of Niagara Falls. But Blue Cat got to go to an even more exotic place – almost a country within a country – the province and city of Quebec.
What made Quebec different for Blue Cat was that the primary language in Quebec is French, and Blue Cat doesn’t speak French. (Old joke: What do you call a person who only speaks one language? An American.) Luckily everyone Blue Cat met in Quebec also spoke English, and they were all very nice and helpful.
Getting to Quebec was pretty complicated – there were online forms to fill out to get into Canada (both for the government and the airline), a COVID test to pass, proof of vaccination (Blue Cat is fully vaccinated with a booster shot), and the usual making of plane and hotel reservations. Checking in for the flight from Denver was easy (thanks to the very nice Air Canada gate agent), and customs in Montreal was quick and friendly. However, the flight got in really late to Quebec and that’s where the toughest part of the trip started.
Blue Cat didn’t rent a car to save his company money, and so he took a taxi to the hotel. Unfortunately, the taxi driver spoke Spanish (yes Spanish) with just a little English, and wasn’t very familiar with the area (he didn’t know where the hotel was even though it was a major chain just a few kilometers from the airport). Luckily, Blue Cat had prepared for this situation and had the address of the hotel printed out for the driver. (Another interesting item – Google and Apple Maps will find a place by its name, but the taxi computer only looked up addresses. Go figure.) With a few false starts and one wrong turn (luckily within sight of the hotel) Blue Cat got to the hotel in one piece. (And he must say – the taxi driver was really nice and did his best – so the experience produced some anxiety but ended up just fine.
Blue Cat’s first day was in the hotel room for some virtual meetings – not very interesting but it helped him get used to being in Quebec. The hotel (Courtyard Quebec City) was very nice, and their restaurant had the greatest breakfast potatoes Blue Cat had ever had. But they didn’t serve lunch – so Blue Cat ordered delivery from the St-Hubert restaurant. Rotisserie chicken with coleslaw, a bun (toasted) and a side (usually French fries). Blue Cat splurged and got poutine (French fries and cheese curds with a brown gravy) and it was wonderful!
Blue Cat didn’t have much time for sightseeing on this trip, but he did get to go to Old Quebec for dinner. Second note – the streets in the old town are narrow and it’s very hilly, so be ready for some interesting driving. Luckily, this time Blue Cat was with a business associate and he was an excellent driver. And had Google Maps for directions.
Dinner was at the Pub Saint-Patrick on Saint-Jean Street. Blue Cat was a little worried about his party fitting into the small space inside, but the hostess took him down to the basement which was quite spacious (but had really poor cell service). It looked a bit like a dungeon (walls of what looked like river rock) but the food was good and everbody had a great time. Blue Cat’s fish-and-chips was very good (especially the chips/fries) and the Nachos Saint-Pat were very popular as well.
Blue Cat’s flight out was very early in the morning (after another COVID test and another bout of uploading documents to the Air Canada site), so it was quite dark. Here’s what the city looked like as he flew out:
Returning home was a bit easier, but there was one thing that was both surprising and nice. After landing in Montreal to change planes, Blue Cat got into a big line that ended up going through US customers (in Canada). The paperwork was a lot easier (Blue Cat has Global Access) and when the customs officer was done he said “Welcome home!” Which was nice but Blue Cat still had a 4-hour flight to reach Denver.
He also picked up a friend:
Blue Cat enjoyed his trip but is also glad to be home. Everyone on the trip was very friendly and helpful, and Blue Cat has resolved to learn some French for his next big trip (which could very well be to Toulouse, France.
Let him know what you think. by commenting below!
(c) William P Doyle, Jr. 2022
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