Day 1

Off to an early start in rain – first rain in well over a week. Headed north on I-81 into PA. The rain gradually cleared as we drove and we ran out of it before crossing into New York. Stayed on 81 (even though the GPS wanted to take us over along the Hudson). Crossed into Canada on the bridge over the Saint Lawrence about 14:30 above Watertown and turned east. For a little scenic relief, we turned off the freeway onto C2 at Brockville and followed the river for a while – some impressive Victorian homes alng the way and views of the river.

Back onto the freeway (C401) and over to Montreal in time to catch congested traffic caused by construction but the GPS faithfully led us to the Hampton Inn downtown. The Inn is at the edge of Chinatown and only blocks away from the Old Town. Checked in and dropped our bags. As dark fell, we ventured into Chinatown searching for dinner. Only steps away from the hotel, we came upon the Qing Hua Dumpling place, which Marie had identified as one to check out from her reading of the guidebook. It being Saturday night, many places had lines out front but the line at Qing Hua was short. The austere place serves almost nothing but dumplings (in French: Ravioli Chinois -Chinese ravioli) – 40+ different flavors, steamed or fried. Each order is 15 dumplings. I’d had dumplings a few times but not since our time in Australia. They put a bottle of tap water on the table and some paper cups. We ordered the chef’s assortment and an order of shrimp dumplings. They were great! The place was packed, with new people immediately replacing those who finished and left. We walked a few blocks of the neighborhood then headed toward Old Town. Rested at a small park with a collection of white sculptures then returned to the hotel. It’d been a long day with an early start, so we called it a night.

Quebec, as you probably know, is the French-speaking province of the country. In Ottawa, where we entered, the road signs and billboards are in English with French subtext. Cross the provincial border and that reverses. The guidebook says in Montreal, one can get by in English; in Quebec, one might get by with some effort (and kind understanding of the suffering Quebecois; in the countryside, one better know at least some French. We’ll be testing that idea as we head to Quebec City and then on around the Gaspe Peninsula.Read more