The journey started around 10 yesterday morning. Destination: Abbaye Saint-Benoit-du-Lac and surrounding area known as the "Eastern Townships" (Cantons de l'Est).
Each ready with a Passport, a crisp Canadian twenty dollar bill, a bag of snacks, and a "relatively" detailed map of Quebec, we set out on an adventure in the "car of steel".
We made good time, and arrived to the monastery in about 2 hours. We toured the church, and even heard the gorgeous organ being played by a monk. The church was surprisingly contemporary and new. (can't provide a date here for you-sorry!) The monastery had an apple orchard, they make hard cider, along with various cheeses. We visited the gift shop, and picked up some goodies (cheese, a maple pie, and applesauce) which we later tuned into a picnic on a hill over looking the Abbey.
prayer chapel
the random spread of food
it was a small pie, right? nalgenes included for size ratio
the orchard-bet it looks prettier in the fall!
After consuming an entire pie, we felt as though we should take a walk. (We had already convinced ourselves it was fat free since it was made by holy men, right!?)
Beth is looking for a new car, please forward along any leads you have to her so she doesn't have to look in Canadian parking lots fora new one, thanks!We hopped in the car and drove back to Sutton, a town that had some cute shops. Karen and I got a latte "to-go" I feel it was a very taboo thing to do (think we were supposed to drink it there?) We went to several shops, got some gifts. Then went to the IGA grocery store. It was a gorgeous store, don't make fun of me, but one of my favorite things about visiting foreign countries is going to a grocery store! We were charmed by some of the typical Canadian things, milk in a bag, and confused by others, maple syrup in a can. I spent the rest of my "crisp 20" on some fun cereals, a kinder bar, and a can of Putine sauce. Putine is a french-Canadian cholesterol raising culinary wonder: essentially gravy fries with cheese curds. (we got cheese curds at the abbey).
On another note, I love the signs! We couldn't figure out what this one said, but we laughed every time we saw it! There were also A TON of cyclists! it was crazy! We saw this interesting "fence" made from bikes:
Our adventure continued back the the border when our trunk was searched (twice). The guy had to check out Klav's canned mango & guava (i think he just wanted to see it). He asked me some questions to which I gave qualitative answers, vs. the quantitative he wanted. He and Beth chatted it up about kindergartners, and Easter activities. I think the guy was just bored,oh well. We took a long way home, and had dinner back in VT. Vermont welcomed us with a gorgeous view of the Mountain, which I caught a glimpse of in my rear view mirror, and promptly turned around to photograph (right place at the right time and with camera!)
5 comments:
WOW! What a cool day. I'm jealous. So, yeah... the bizarre sign didn't exactly translate so well on babblefish. It was something like, "attention, our children could perhaps be yours." What the heck? This is why I speak Spanish, people!
Sounds like you had a great day, and I especially love your mountain pics! Hope you had a nice Easter!
I think it's translated "Watch out for our children, one of them might be yours."
thanks for the translation efforts! you have to admit, it's a great sign!
we also noticed how the "moose crossing" and "deer crossing" signs were much more animated images than here in the states. there is this great "high wind" sign with a funny cloud blowing air, but that is on the road to montreal, so i didn't get a photo of it this time.
jon, the border crossing guy randomly asked me if i'd been to the Virginia Beach area,if i drove around and/or got into any trouble!
Hot pants, Bethie!
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