A lovely day in Vieux Québec and an unexpected hockey superstar in our midst!

We got off to a good start this morning in the sunshine and took the shuttle bus into old Québec where it is impossible to find parking. I had forgotten how hilly and steep the inclines were between the lower "basse" and upper "haute" villes. But, feeling like a pro after navigating the hills of Montmartre in Paris, I knew I could make the climb on foot even though Allan and Sophie wanted to take the funiculaire. The stairs were tough, but I felt I earned my venti latte at the Château Frontenac Starbucks at the top.

The château itself is magnificent and we plan to take a tour of it tomorrow - it was way too crowded on a Sunday to go in today. The Château Frontenac was named for the Count of Frontenac who was governor of New France (1672-82). Before the hotel was built, the site was the residence of the British colonial governors of Quebec/Lower Canada. The hotel is now part of the posh Fairmont Hotel chain in Canada. Walking around the Terrasse Dufferin provided great views of the St. Lawrence, la Basse-ville and la Citadelle behind.

It was very reminiscent of France wandering the cobblestone streets. Full of restaurants, shops and tourists, I almost felt like I was back in Paris -except there was no smoking!! - a big bonus. In fact, I had to remind myself that I am in Canada since Quebec City is not your typical Canadian city as well as the almost total lack of Canadian flags flying - mostly only the fleur de lys is flying. Like a good ethnographer, I took lots of photos, made some notes and picked up a bag full of flyers, maps and other useful documents and got some recommendations at the main Bureau de Tourisme on the Place d'Armes.

We visited the Musée du Fort - a lovely little museum which recounts the fall of Québec into British hands during the battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759. There was a 30 minute diarama show ($5 for students) which was well worth the price. This would be an excellent activity for our students and I spoke to the curator, took down some information and left her my card. We will visit battlefield park on the Plains of Abraham tomorrow.

Restaurants were plentiful and the beautiful evening sky and warm temperatures made for an excellent end to the day as we had dinner at Le Cochon Dingue (the Crazy Pig) a restaurant that Allan and I had visited about 18 years ago when we were here for a conference. It was kind of a nice trip down memory lane and the prix fixe menu was very tasty.

We had a very interesting surprise when we returned to the hotel. We are staying in a hotel which is part of the Super 8 chain but it is a step or two up from the standard motel and includes a golf resort. The name on the hotel is Stastny and Allan recognized this as being the name of three famous brothers who played NHL hockey in the 1980s for the Québec Nordiques. We figured that maybe the family owned the hotel. Tonight, however, we found out that Marian Stastny, the eldest of the brothers and best hockey player amongst them, did in fact own the hotel and lives here too. He was here this evening at the desk and we had a chance to speak with him. I'm not really a hockey fan, but I think Allan will have to ask him for an autograph - how could he pass up the opportunity!

"You can't handle the truth!" - how prophetic this is

For those who have seen the now classic film "A Few Good Men", the title of this entry will ring a bell as one of Jack Nicholson's famous lines in the movie, often quoted. What does this have to do with our trip to Quebec? Well...before we left Cincinnati, Allan got his hair cut. Inspired by the heat and humidity, he had a lot taken off and came home looking a little like Jack in his salt and pepper buzz cut. He was a little self-conscious, but happy to be cool. We were all beginning to get used to it until we arrived in Rochester, NY, when two separate people mistook Allan for a retired US military man!!! Now, I had to snicker in private because although this was funny to me, the sentiment was not shared. I suggested to Allan that he wear his ball cap if he was concerned, but of course at the border, that had to come off for fear of suspicious disguises. Needless to say, he felt a little out of sorts for a while...

At the border, we found ourself in an interesting situation - in between two nationalities - Canadian passports with Ohio license plates. No problem though, we explained the situation, showed the proper documents and we went on our merry way, leaving the French-speaking customs officer a little puzzled as to what western Canadians were doing in an Ohio car driven by an "ex-army colonel" speaking French. Wow, how's that for identity crisis?! If that wasn't enough confusion, as we we driving down the Trans Canada highway about an hour into the Canadian frontier, I spotted a car with an Alberta license plate. I got very excited and waved at the driver as we passed. I'm sure he thought me very strange as we no longer have an Alberta plate, of course. Now, I'm looking desperately for some "kin" from Ohio to wave at and redeem myself.

After a rather humiliating day of travel (it's also our 17th wedding anniversary today and only one of us remembered), we arrived at our motel in Quebec city tonight in the dark and will begin checking things out in the morning. We'll see how much "truth" we will have to handle then.

Retour au Québec - East becomes North

It's two days away from our trip up north to Québec. It feels odd to refer to Québec as "up north" since I have spent almost my whole life living further north. Québec, like Ontario, has always been "down east". I've got to get used to my new "placement"!

Regarding new placements, I'm officially moved into the new office!! I now have a private home - a giant step up from the cubes. Of course the unpacking...that's a different story.

I'm looking forward to Québec for many reasons. Of course the promise of a study abroad program is a big deal, but I'm also curious about the French. After returning from France, it will be a very interesting experiment to see how I (and Allan and Sophie too) feel about Québécois French. I am also very anxious to get a new look at their signs. In my Francophone Culture course this Spring, I gave some examples of the infamous Bill 101 - the controversial sign law passed in the 1970s requiring every public business to have a French sign (even English businesses). I will have my camera poised and ready for these examples of cultural conflict.

Other things I am on the lookout for:

1. English "contamination" or lack thereof;

2. Use of "tu" vs. "vous" in public settings

3. The prices of things. Coming from Western Canada, we usually notice a big difference between the East and West when it comes to gas, and restaurants in particular

4. Authentic materials - the bags are unpacked from France and ready to fill!!

5. The Canadian dollar - it will be good to see our brightly coloured friends again, although I do not miss the loonie and the toonie and their bulk in my wallet!

6. Canadian highway system - woefully inferior to the USA. We will have to gear up for this as we have pleasantly habituated ourselves to the American system.

7. The metric system - this won't be a problem. Not only do they use it in France, but I think it will be forever ingrained in my head since learning it as a "youngster". For Sophie, I think she will measure in inches as her default.

8. PHOTOS - need I say more?

A bientôt au Québec!

"Home" - in between a maple leaf and the red, white and blue

After three hours at Charles de Gaulle airport (and this included 40 minutes of repacking and reconfiguring three overweight suitcases!) we boarded our plane and had a calm, uneventful flight "home".

Eventful came later in the customs and immigration line. The choice of US Citizens/Permanent Residents vs. Non US Citizens (voir "aliens") quickly let us know that we weren't exactly "home". While we were in the line, officials came to check our passport and our customs declaration card. Seeing we were Canadian, the first response was, "Oh, you're heading back to Canada right away?". I have developed a fairly short, official response about living and working here that I have had to trot out to various airport, government and city officials during this past year, and so I did this and it seemed fine. The "real" agent, behind the desk, was not quite so accepting. He asked all kinds of questions about the immigration/green card process and what stage we were at, why was our passport and visa a replacement and why/how were they stolen, as well as where did I work, why, etc. After this lengthy interrogation, we were the last to leave the immigration desk-but with the oh-so-important stamp of US approval in the passports. Our bags looked abandoned as they circled the luggage carousel, the last to be claimed.

I now have the urge to fly my Canadian flag high in front of my house this week in some sort of attempt to proclaim: "Yes, I am Canadian and yes I now call USA home -deal with it!"

In fact, I am now feeling like I need to hoist my CV and transcripts up the flagpole too.

Au Revoir la France...

The three hour drive back to Paris today gave me a chance to gather my thoughts and think about the month we have spent in France. No question, this was a great trip. Not only did I have the chance to participate in a wonderful, stimulating and productive program at the university in Tours, but we were able to visit regions of France that we had not before. Sophie made her first transatlantic flight and is very proud of her travel accomplishments! I am coming home with bags full and then some. A duffel bag full of books and another one full of flyers, brochures and other authentic documents to use in my language classes will provide me with hours of new ideas and materials. The last time I was in France the franc was still the currency, and I now feel more up to date.

At the end of this trip, I now find myself thinking about a subject that was on my mind before I left: citizenship. This will be the first time that we have entered the USA from another country on our current visas. I'm a little anxious to see what happens when we arrive at customs in Cincinnati tomorrow with our Canadian passports.

Monet at Giverny (or the most famous waterlilies in the world!)

Chances are if you've seen any impressionist painting at all it would be Claude Monet's Les Nymphéas (the waterlilies). We saw the original tableau at l'Orangerie museum in Paris, so therefore it was necessary to see the place where it all began - Monet's home and garden in Giverny, northeast of Paris. The house was very interesting, because everything was left intact as it was when Monet died in 1827. There were none of his original paintings as they are all in museums or in private collections, but all of his furnishings remain in the original placements. Needless to say, no photos were allowed. The house and garden are owned by the Monet Foundation and copyright and droits de l'auteur are very much at issue.

The garden was spectacular, but of course, everyone heads to the Japanese garden where the waterlillies float delicately in the stream over which the famous bridge spans. It was near impossible to get a picture of that famous scene without a tourist or two in the image, but with my super-duper zoom digital camera, I did pretty well. After the barrage of picture taking, it was important to just stop, take it all in and realize where I was. Sometimes when visiting places, museums and monuments, it's easy to get caught up in the rush of it all, to get it done and fight the crowds instead of thinking: "Wow look where I am".

Carnac - France's Stonehenge

It took us almost 4 hours to drive to Carnac, but it was definitely worth the trip. I had heard of the stone menhir alignments and dolmens in Brittany but had never seen them before. Although not quite as grand as Stonehenge, the stone groupings are more plentiful and are more spread out around the coastal town. Erected by the pre-Celtic people of Brittany during the Neolithic beginning around 4500 BC. One of the local beliefs to explain why the stones stand so straight in line is that they were Roman soldiers turned to stone by Merlin. Of course, everything else from Druids to aliens (the illegal kind!) are credited with these formations.

After exploring the rocks, we spent some time on the beach and stayed for dinner. No trip to Bretagne would be complete without crepes and cider and these were some of the best I have ever eaten!