The Beautiful Country, Québec
Rivière-du-Loup
On Monday, June 29 I left Panoramic Campground in New Brunswick
around 9:30 to enter Quebec whose jet lag is UTC-4 hours. After the
obliged visit into Information Tourist at the border for the
collection of the booklets together with a big hot chocolate in Tim
Hortons close I arrived at Rivière-du-Loup at the beginning of
afternoon. It had rained all during the night then all the morning
without stopping. I visited the Museum of the Low-St-Lawrence whose
highlight is a collection of vintage photographs presented in
multimedia, highly advisable. There was also an exhibit of art work
by local artists, No Photo. Then I extremely opportunely found a
bivouac on the dam protecting the marina at the Point of River-du-Loup. I had an appointment in North Hatley at the distributer of the
water canisters of General Ecology.
Having already visited
Quebec in 2011 I passed by again neither in Quebec City, nor in
Montreal. The Net surfers who would wish to follow this trip, I give
the hypertext
here then to follow the navigation at bottom of page.
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| Sculpture by David Altmejd |
Personnage by Hopkins |
Montmagny
The last day of June on the way towards Montmagny I stopped in
St-Jean Port Joli to visit the Musée des Anciens Canadiens which
gathers the woodcarvings of the master craftsmen of Quebec, more
than 250 works are presented as well as miniature reproductions of
famous vessels by Leclerc. The visit of this museum is worth the
detour by Hwy #132 that I followed since River-du-Loup crossing the
rural landscapes of the Bas-St-Lawrence and the
Chaudière-Appalaches. Not without difficulties I found a bivouac at
the bottom of a cul-de-sac in Montmagny not far from the
St-Lawrence.
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| Paysage du Québec de la rive droite du St Laurent |
Musée des Anciens Canadiens de St-Jean Port Joli
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| Boat by Leclerc |
On road #171
July 1st is the national holiday of Canada. In spite of the rain I went
to Quebec City by taking the ferry in Levis and by leaving my truck at
the carpark. The rain did not cease falling during all the day. My feet
swam in my shoes transformed into bath-tub: “… I my
shoes… my small happiness…” Felix Leclerc, Québécois singer. Since the
beginning of my world trip I had never visited a city under such a
sometimes torrential rain. I attended the son et lumière of the museum
of the port which I had not seen in 2011. I lunched at the market of the
Old Port then I returned by the old city at the edge of St Lawrence.
Soaked as a soup I returned at the beginning of afternoon by the ferry
to take my truck and to find a bivouac at the end of a field on the road #171.
Québec city
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| Château Fontenac, vu du traversier |
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| Sculptures de rue |
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| Fête national du Canada |
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| Le Marché du Vieux Port |
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| Murals dans le Vieux Québec |
North Hatley
On Thursday, July 2 I wished to visit the J.-A. Bombardier
museum in Valcourt dedicated to the Skidoo's inventor. Alas I broke
my nose on the door because the museum was closed under work. I
continued until Sherbrooke, city of almost 200,000 inhabitants,
where I wanted to traverse the old city for the discoveries of the
murals. I collected the booklet at the office of information whose
reception was very cordial. Weather was splendid but clouds obscured
the sky per moment. The 4.5 km walk as well as the research of the enigmas
sown in the painting of each occupied me more than two hours. Then
in the end of the afternoon I went to Walmart for purchases and
bivouac. But panels of prohibition obliged me to leave in search of
a favourable ground. I found a carpark only at the entrance of North
Hatley located at the north of the Massawippi lake. It looks like a
Swiss village.
Sherbrooke murals gallery
Bishop's University, St Mark's Chapel
Abbaye de Saint-Benoît-du-Lac
After having taken delivery of four cartridges of water purification
in North Hatley at the Canadian distributor of General Ecology I
took the road for the Abbey of Saint-Benoit-of-Lake founded in
second half of the 20th century by monks Benedictines of France.
I already pointed out several times that it is impossible to be at
the good season at the right place to take exceptional photographs.
This monumental modern building shelters sixty monks. At the shop I
bought a Cd of Gregorian chant. Then I returned to North Hatley with
the hope to find a Wifi access. Bingo at the Café North Hartley I
tasted an excellent hot chocolate while working on my computer.
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| Autumnal pictures |
Longueuil
On Saturday, July 4 while passing by again in Sherbrooke I was
diverted to see the Vault of Bishop's University which according to
Lonely Planet has a very beautiful furniture and stained glasses
worthy of interest. Admittedly but architecture is modern. My target
of the day consisted for going to Longueuil where a subway station
opposite Montreal is. I found it without difficulty thanks to GPS
but I wandered neighborhood to find a bivouac. Randomly I fell on a
ground at the edge of St Lawrence where stationed caravans.
Information taken near a fellow, there were this evening, July 4th,
the USA Independence Day, fireworks for which I paid CAD8.
Feux "Angleterre"
Montréal III
Having learned that there was a Rodin's exhibition, I decided to
take the subway to go to see. It was about an exposure set of
themes: “Metamorphoses. In the secrecy of the workshop of Rodin”.
Many panels explained the technique and the control of his art with
comments of the art critics of the time and posterior. The very
discussed sculpture, in his time, of Balzac is the object of a long
development with several outlines. Obviously I traversed the other
rooms without forgetting that devoted to Napoleon with English
cartoons. At the beginning of afternoon I strolled on the Old Port
before taking again the subway to bivouac at the same spot.
Musée des beaux-arts
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| Camille Claudel by Rodin |
Gustav Mahler by Rodin |
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| La femme au canapé by van Dongen |
Tête d'un mousquetaire (Le cardinal de Richelieu ?) by Picasso |
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| Napoléon's English cartoons |
