Parles-tu québécois?

I respond only to 'slang'!

I will never forget my grade 10 French teacher....nor my grade 9 French teacher for that matter.  In grade 9 Mrs. Hamilton felt so sorry for all of us that she stood over our shoulders during our French exams and scolded us for our mistakes.  We, of course, quickly corrected our errors and went on to pass to the next level, grade 10.

Mrs. Hamilton, however, had plans of her own.  

She retired.  

So in grade 10 we were handed over to a Welsh man who was determined to have us go it on our own.  Of course we quickly came to appreciate Mrs. Hamilton the minute he opened his mouth.  Between his thick accent and  severe direction there was little chance that I would make it through the year whether he spoke english or french!

My quest to learn a second language  seemed to fade away by October.  At years end he  failed me and reported to my mother that I was incapable of learning another language.... she's just not programmed for that I'm afraid.

So, that was the end of french class.

In grade 12  I headed off on a school organized ski trip to Switzerland. Our trip took us deep into the french-speaking parts of the country where I was  immersed in the beauty of the Alps and the melodic voices of the Swiss.  My desire to learn French was rejuvinated and I felt stronger than ever that this was something I truly wanted. 

So, upon graduation from highschool I set about to work and save money for a trip back  to Switzerland where I intended to explore and learn the french language.  Looking back on that I now realize that there were much easier ways of reaching my goal. 

At  21 I headed back with my best friend to ski the alps by day and explore language by night.....alongside  a nice fondue and wine of course!!! 

Every day I was faced with new vocabulary and expressions. 

Bit by bit it started to make sense.  

Of course I quickly realized, as I travelled between Switzerland and France, that the expressions of the culture were what readily made me feel a sense of belonging and provided me with that boost of confidence that I so missed back in grade 10.  

Going beyond my textbook and into the language of the streets I slowly began to understand the people, the culture and their language. 

So, here starts my weekly expressions post that I am calling 'Parles-tu québécois?'  Every week I will post a new expression with a rough translation of what we would say in english. 

So, here goes, my first random expression.....

Kessé tufai?

What are you doing?

BTW, my dog in the photo was adopted by us at 18 months. His previous owner did not speak english so when he arrived on our doorstep our children chose to speak to him in french and my husband and I decided to communicate with him in english.  

Of course as dogs go, they like it simple, so our list of expressions has come in handy when we are engaged in conversation with our mutt.  And with a face like that you can imagine how often we converse! 

Marché aux Puces Ste-Foy

The parking lot next to the Ste-Foy bus terminal is home to the Ste-Foy flea market.  Antique dealers and locals show up to sell their goods every Sunday. We have often taken friends there in search of that special something for their home that will satisfy their urge for a souvenir of their trip to Québec.

 A fruit and vegetable market is located across the street as well as a wading pool for kids.  On a hot day after cruising the market we have made our way across the street to buy spicy sausage on a bun and a quick cooling off  in the wading pool.  

Summer is on its way...we hope!

Vieux-Québec

You can only be sure of the weather in Québec in the winter.  

And then again, that is changing somewhat with the onset of global warming.  But once the weather does get warmer we see an annual phenomenon come to life.....la terrasse! 

If you head down to Vieux-Québec on a beautiful day you may not find an empty chair on a terrasse because everybody else had the same idea!

Every year thousands of people flock to the old city to enjoy the beautiful architecture and immerse themselves in the history of this interesting city.  The photo to the right is of one of the more popular streets for tourists, Rue Du Petit-champlain.  This is definitely a must-see for anybody visiting the city.  Be sure to walk down Côte de la Montagne and then take the stairs down to Rue Du Petit-champlain.  The view from the top of the stairs is wonderful as you look down at all these old buildings and up towards the Chateau Frontenac. 

The local people tend to hang out on Rue Cartier where you can find some well-loved outdoor spots for a glass of wine or beer while soaking in the sun.  Tourists usually end up on Grande-Allée which is a hot spot for restaurants and night life. And another great street to head to for night life, restaurants and interesting shopping is Rue St-Joseph which is down in an area known as the Nouvo St-Roch.  

There are quite a few small hotels and the like in these areas as well and you are right next to the Plains of Abraham.

I would not recommend staying at the Chateau since the city has so many wonderful smaller hotels known as "les auberges" as well as les gîtes which are similar to a B&B.  Of course the Chateau Frontenac is a beautiful hotel and if you can afford one of their luxury rooms then you may want to go for it.  Personally, I visited somebody staying at the hotel and found the interior of the rooms to be quite dark. 

Of course dining is another wonderful way to pass your time and on a beautiful evening you will want to dine on an outdoor terrasse.  As a family we often head down to the old port since our kids love to go to Café du Monde.  This terrasse has a wonderful view out over the fleuve and the bistro flavour of the restaurant makes it child-friendly and reasonably priced.  The food and the service are very good.

Of course for those wanting a more fine-dining experience...well, I will dedicate an entire post to that topic since the list is long!

Le Fleuve St. Laurent in winter

Snowshoeing on le Fleuve

Hard to imagine that anybody would have access to the fleuve in the winter but of course as part of the outdoor program at my children's highschool....they find a way! 

Of course only parts of the fleuve are frozen over in the winter. This particular shot was taken off the shores of Îles d'Orléans.

Le Fleuve St. Laurent

Almost directly across from Bic, on the north shore, we have a completely different perspective of this incredible river. This may be the best way to feel and understand this river....by boat.  Sea kayakers love to venture out at various points along the river to spot whales and other sea mammals.  My daughter and her friends (seen here in this photo) can attest to the thrill of paddling alongside a tanker (as seen in background) while spotting a curious beluga in the distance.  Unfortunately over the years too many tourists have descended upon the area to watch the whales. Due to a threat to this important population we must remember to view at a distance out of respect for these magnificent creatures and a desire to help them survive.

Le Bic

The fleuve is such an integral and historical part of the landscape in Québec, yet your image and perspective of this river relies greatly on where your are standing as an observer.  From the south shore, Le Bic, presents itself as a great outdoor spa...a wonderful place to sit and reflect and a great spot for a mud bath. A mud bath for your feet that is!

Le Bic at sunset

      This is the fleuve St. Laurent at low tide, near the provincial park in Bic.  Bic is right before Rimouski and is a beautiful quaint village with a gorgeous perspective of this great river.  Small rocky islands dot the landscape and you truly get the sense of being close to the ocean when you get this far up the coast on your way to Gaspé.