Day fourty-one: Quebec, QC

What a day today was! I'm all launguaged out.

Today in Quebec City began at a patisserie, a little bakery. We had croissants, coffee, quiche, and some other things that I'm not sure of. It was great, and the French was not only easier to understand than I thought it would be, but it was easy to communicate and the Quebecois were very appreciative and forgiving of my French.

We roamed around the beautiful and historic down-town, popping into stores and seeing the Quebecois way of life. Lunch in a bistro, more perusing, more French, cha cha cha, and then, we got to witness "un spectacle dans la rue", a street show. There was juggling, unicycling, and humor that I only half understood.

We saw the historic Battery Park and then had one of our loveliest meals yet, at "Le Lapin Satue", or, in English, "The Jumping Rabbit". Even the rain couldn't spoil our day.

Overall, the Quebecois were gracious and friendly, and very kind. However, I will say this : my Grandma Lois, who lived in France, said that after being there a while and speaking the French, you felt a bit like, "OK, that's a fun game, but I'm ready to stop playing and speak English now; I don't want to play this French game any more"; but, of course, you have no choice but to play, because that's all they speak. I mush confess feeling ready to stop playing. Fortunately, unlike France in the 50's, everyone speaks English now, so when I, or even they, didn't want to "play", everything worked out well.

Quebec is one of the places that we would be very willing to come back and visit for a bit longer. Had we not been as advanced in our trip as we are, we may have stayed for a few more days, but we're ready to move on. We'll head south tomorrow, and go along down the road, marking the begining of our drive home.

Jane