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Artisans in the Park ~ July 4, 2015

July 5, 2015 Melanie 4 Comments

The Lost Villages Museum

presents

Artisans in the Park

This museum, located between Cornwall and Long Sault, ON showcases a cross-section of buildings from the villages that were lost as a result of the creation of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

In all, six villages (Aultsville, Farran’s Point, Dickinson’s Landing, Wales, Moulinette and Milles Roches) were lost and the two new towns of Ingleside and Long Sault were created and new homes built to re-house the people affected. In some cases, huge house-moving equipment was brought in and homes were relocated to new foundations elsewhere, or they were marked for destruction and either burned or torn down.

Since outdoor events aren’t always agreeable with books (wet weather and paper products don’t get along well) I decided to see if I could get one of the buildings and then persuade my crafty friend, Dorothy Bush, to come along and we’d split the cost.

Can you guess what these cute articles on hangers are? All morning, my poster board for A Shadow in the Past stayed on the easel but by afternoon, I had to bring it inside and sit it on the bench so it could ‘wait for the train’, too.

The train station isn’t very big inside so it was hard to decide the best way to set up. The museum provided the table and it was almost too big for the available space. Note to self, next year bring my smaller 6-foot table.

Plenty of people stopped in and it was wonderful to chat with them about the history of the area. I even met a woman who used to work at Quarriers Village (formerly the Orphan Homes of Scotland where my father was raised) during the 1980s and knew some of the same people that I knew from my trips to Scotland!

My husband came along for the day and enjoyed welcoming people into ‘our train station’. He held the fort a couple of times so Dorothy and I could go on a wander to see what/who else was there.

Homemade jewellery, quilting, paintings, stepping stones, artisan breads and many other items were on display.

There was even another author there! Jennifer De Bruin was set up outside the log cabin with her two books, Shadows in the Tree and A Walk with Mary.

It was a wonderful day and the best part is, I even sold some books. You’ve got to like that part of things. I’m looking forward to attending again next year.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the Lost Villages but don’t want to read dry, factual accounts of the creation of the St. Lawrence Seaway and accompanying Power Project, then perhaps Maggie Wheeler’s mysteries would be more to your liking. Maggie skillfully weaves the facts into her fiction making it an enjoyable way to discover the history of the area. I’ve read the first three and can tell you they are great reads! I can’t wait to read the fourth book in the series.

Do you think you know what the cute articles on hangers are? Leave your guess in the comments.

Canada, celebrations, champagne, Quebec City, Vacations

Quebec City ~ Romantic Destination in Nouvelle France and fudge!

July 5, 2015 Melanie Leave a comment

Day 4

June 25, 2015

Our last full day in Quebec City. What to do? Visit La Citadelle, of course. This fort is a working military base being home to the Royal 22nd Regiment known as the Van Doos so there were places we couldn’t go and we couldn’t take photos inside the buildings. The changing of the guard ceremony started at 10:00 so we had plenty of time to get there. Things worked out well for us as we had time to do the guided tour which ended back at the parade square in time for the ceremony to begin.

Do you see what I see towards the left of this picture?

Well, here’s a closer look. It’s the Price Building!

As promised our tour ended just in time for the ceremony to begin, although we didn’t have time to get to the far side of the parade grounds (where the flags are in this picture) which was the best vantage point to watch from… supposedly. I think we had a pretty good spot right where we were, except standing on the asphalt did get hard on the feet after a while.

We bought some coasters and a guidebook on La Citadelle so rather than cart them around with us all day since the hotel was so close, we took them back there.

I had spied from our room earlier in the morning that most of the temporary fencing on the Plains of Abraham for the festival had been removed. The sun was shining so after breakfast we would take one last walk on the boardwalk. It’s much easier from this direction because 99% of the steps on it are all going down. I can do down but climbing is another story altogether.

After watching the cruise ship approach and dock it was time for some liquid refreshment so we went to our other favourite pub in Quebec City – Pub Saint Alexandre pausing by La Maison de la littérature for a photo.

A pint of Guinness and a shot of 18-year old Glenlivet has great restorative properties. Or was it just sitting down for a while and resting the weary feet?

A plate of fish and chips was brought out from the kitchen and the barmaid told us theirs were the best. After being somewhat disillusioned with our meal the night before, we said we’d come back later to eat.

Refreshed, thirst quenched and tiredness temporarily banished, we set out again.

home-of-pierre-emond — Home of Pierre Émond on rue Hébert

plaque-on-pierre-emond-house — Historic plaque on the Pierre Émond house

By this juncture in time, any excuse to have a wee sit down, we took advantage.

If you look on Trip Advisor at the visitors pictures from the ghost tour we did, a tunnel similar to the one below is included. There’s a lot of work going on at the Museum of Civilization so perhaps that’s why we didn’t get a chance to go through here but with there being commercial space on the other side of the street, I’m pretty sure that this is the right tunnel.

Another chance for a sit down. We rested on a bench and looked at the cruise ship and watch the people walking by and the other happenings on the river.

At this rate we wouldn’t get to La Fudgerie before it closed so we dragged ourselves to a standing position – trust me, it was hard and headed back to rue du Cul de Sac.

This little guy stands outside the shop next to our sweet-tooth fix. I think his growl is worse than his bite. What do you think? You can take pictures of yourself with him but the watchful eye of the staff are on you.

bear-in-front-of-bilodeau-boutique — Stuffed bear in front of Bilodeau Boutique

This bear family is adorable. Even my 5′ tall bear isn’t as large as the biggest one here. I would say he’s about the size of the one in front wearing the apron. I have plenty the size of the ‘baby’ snuggled under the arm of the big guy. You’re not allowed to touch them but you can photograph them.

But here we are. Chocolate, assorted bark, and most importantly, fudge! The shop smells heavenly. I don’t know how the staff can work in such an environment without being the size of… well, I won’t go there.

We encountered this busker on rue Notre-Dame. He was good. Spoons, fiddle, singing and great toe-tapping music.

The last thing we saw while in Vieux-Quebec was this oil tanker heading up river. We discovered once we got up to the promenade at the Chateau Frontenac that it was destined for the port at Levis.

After taking the Funiculaire up to the promenade and finding a place to sit yet again, we saw this ship heading down river.

container-ship-going-down-river — Container ship going down river.

And this one going up river. Guess we were in the wrong places at all the right times.

Supper! We went back to Pub Saint Alexandre and each had the fish and chips. Homemade tartar sauce, an enormous piece of fish plus salad and chips. I can’t imagine anyone getting a large order with two big honking pieces of fish like we got. Supper was washed down with the ‘brewed for them’ blonde ale. Our table was right in front of the fireplace but I’m willing to bet that in the winter our table and the one next to it aren’t there. I don’t remember from November because we were either sat in front of the big windows or in a booth.

I promise this is the last time but here’s the Price Building!

We made one more stop at the small grocery/SAQ agency store for a bottle of champagne on rue de Jardins but they didn’t have any… sniff… 🙁

No trip to Quebec City would be complete without a picture of the cannonball in the tree roots on rue Saint-Louis. It’s been here forever (well almost) and gradually comes up a bit more as the tree grows.