Canada Highlights Part One

Since I already put lots of pictures from our Canada Trip on Facebook, and since it's been over a month since we got back from our trip...oops...I've decided just to put some highlights on here.

Highlight one: we got some awesome gear. I've ALWAYS wanted to do a rugged backpacking trip and now we have the backpacks. This was the night before we left and I was obviously excited that all my stuff fit. 

The Hotel Frontenac was an impressive sight on the outside. The inside was a bit of a let down--nothing more fancy than a nice hotel in SLC. 

le Marche de Vieux Port was pretty cool. This isn't the Marche here, we sat on the riverbank for a picnic lunch. But those strawberries were local and my my my were they tasty. 

Street artwork. This is somebody's garage door. Cool huh?

The OLDEST grocery store still in business in North America. Circa...can't remember. But it was delightfully quaint and overpriced inside. 

In the Plains of Abraham we discovered this cute little trail. It was nice to be in the middle of the city but feel like we were miles away. We went to the plains a few times, just for the peace and for the nice views and the chance to take a walk together. 

Inside the citadel--the huge old fort the protected the city from possible invaders. Those invaders never came but this fort is still operational. 

Tour group picture. Always classy. 

THIS!! Le Paillard is the best, and almost the only patisserie/boulangerie in the entirety of Vieux Quebec. This mille feuille was the perfect follow up to a lunch of bread and cheese and olives. 

Happy Girl. 

Montmorency Falls. A rather spectacular waterfall. 

We loved this cathedral-St, Anne de Beaupre-It was on Jared's list of must-see's as we were planning our trip, and we are so glad we found a tour group that took us there since we had no car. The falls was part of that tour. Both of us have had the chance to go to lots of cathedrals all over the world, but there was definitely a special spirit inside this one. We both spent a few minutes just sitting and pondering on the pews before walking around the inside of the building. Legend has it that this cathedral has healing powers--people come from all over who have ailments of various kinds, and they leave their ailments behind when they go. The front doors are littered with old canes and walkers and crutches that people discarded because they no longer needed them. 

Our hostel room. This picture is one of my favorites for the whole trip. I call it "Jared meets humidity"

Also I love my keens. They were perfect for this trip. I wore them everywhere. 

Okay this was the BEST LUNCH EVER!! This is a pita the size of Jared's forearm. So how did we pick pita/kebab when in French canada? 1) French Canadian food was hard to find. 2) The whole city was overpriced 3) we hate paying tips. Therefore: Lebanese takeout and guess what: it was incredible. You know that old Geico commercial with the vampire at the blood bank? Well, after we ate this, Jared goes, "mmm I love the Lebanese." 

Horsey Artwork. Each horse had different historical shapes carved into it. 

Jared's birthday dinner. Lasagna. What else? It was so fun getting to celebrate his birthday in Canada. I'd say it was a huge success. 

Also, the night of June 23 there is a HUGE festival to celebrate St. Jean Baptiste day. We were lucky enough to attend for a few minutes before catching our bus home. The smell of pot and loud music and fireworks lasted until about 3 am that night. So much fun. 

Next day, it was pouring. I taught Jared how to set up a tent in the rain. Here is Jared celebrating his success. 

Rain. All. Day. 

Happy Birthday Jared! June 24. Store bought coconut cake and a little shelter from the rain. 

A nice day and a beautiful view! 

Great hiking in Jacques Cartier national park. 

The best hiking partner. 

GORGEOUS!! 

Since we weren't able to buy fuel for our stove--since everything was shut down the day we left for the park due to the holiday, Jared and I used the hot water machine in the visitor center to rehydrate all our meals. And we kept our food in their fridge so the animals wouldn't get into it. We got really lucky to have staff that were so flexible. 

This is where we spent most evenings, facetiming with family, reading library books online, drinking hot chocolate and finishing dinner. 

Jared's hat. It's his signature. 

Les Loupes summit. It was spectacular up there. Can I tell you how much I love nature and hiking and camping and outside and wilderness? A lot.