A night in Levis - Une nuit à Lévis

Travelling to the Comfort Inn, Levis

My last post outlined our busy day in Quebec. We left the City at 5.30pm, which we soon realised was rush hour. So the first part of the 18 mile journey out to Levis was somewhat stop-start. The Pont de Quebec, over the St Lawrence River, had roadworks going on, so it was also quite slow. The twenty-five minute journey took closer to 50 minutes, but we were pleased to see how fresh and clean the Comfort Inn looked when we arrived.

A note on language

I knew I should have been worried about language when the hotel email came. Booking, as we mainly have, with Choice Hotels means that about five days before the night of arrival we get an email. The email from the Comfort Inn, Levis was like this:

I hope you can read it, if so you will see that it includes only a few words I might understand - Haydn Blackey and Levis being the most obvious ones. Otherwise it was all in French.

My experience (or lack of) in learning French

So since arriving in Quebec I have spent time being able to prove how little French I remember from when I was 15 year old and stopped studying the subject.

Back when I was 15 I saw no benefit in learning French (and really haven't noticed the lack much before today). I had been OK at Spanish in Year 3 of Secondary School (whatever that is called in the new counting), but when it came to languages for the O levels the options in the School were only French and German. I therefore was allocated to the French class being taught by Sister Monica of the Ursulines of Jesus. Sister Monica was quite a scary lady, known as a strict disciplinarian, she would often slap naughty pupils and had the ability to make sure her nun's ring hit the fleshy parts and left a bruise.

Indeed the only way to distract her, if needed, was to get her talking about Watergate, in the years she tried to teach me, 1972 to 1974, this was a major thing (she had family in the USA, so it was close to her heart). After the first year of the two year course, Sister Monica decided I was a lost cause as far as Francais was concerned and told me it was best to sit at the back of the class and read a novel, as long as I hid the book if another teacher came in. She said it was better I did something enjoyed rather than day dreaming through French lessons.  So what I missed out in French I benefited from in reading lots of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke and Robert Heinlein.

Why it matters today 

So without French I am at a loss in Quebec. I must admit I thought things would be bilingual, like Welsh and English road signs back in Wales. But no, everything is in French!! I understand that French speakers in Canda in general and French Canada especially Quebec had struggles to keep their language alive, which makes them very keen on keeping it as a living, thriving language. For more of the history see here. But at home the big question is if Welsh is on top or English on top, and this varies as you progress across the country. But here in Quebec there is French and no English in almost all cases. I've even seen TV ads which have French subtitles for the English speaking elements.

So road signs and menus have all proved an obstacle. Leading to some fun at dinner.

Dinner: No dos pollo - C'est deux poulet

Before coming to Quebec I had heard of a food style called Poutine, this mix of French fries, cheese curds, and gravy doesn't really sound appealing to me, but I like to try local food, and this is Quebec's claim to fame. 

Lumbs of Curd in the Poutine

On arriving at the hotel we identified that there was a restaurant less than a mile away called Scores which served the "delicacy". Scores is a Quebec brand with forty restaurants around the province, and one in exile in Ottowa. Given there were two major roads between the hotel and the restaurant we opted to drive not walk there.

I had practised my French before arriving at the restaurant, and we started OK - "Une table pour deux, por favor." The strange look of the waitress indicated that I had missed something in translation, and of course I should have said "S'il vous plait" not "Por Favor". Still we managed to get a seat.

Then came navigating the menu, this came with pictures which made things easier. Apparently in the parts of Canada where English is more common (on the edge of, and outside, Quebec) there is an English version of this menu, but not in the heartland of French Canada.

I had decided on Crevettes Kapow (Kapow Shrimp) for my starter Poutine au poulet de Cornouailles avec sauce Sriracha (Cornish Hen poutine with Sriracha sauce) but that's not what my mouth said when the waiter came. Instead it was "Dos Gambas, Por Favor"; this Spanish caused a puzzled frown, and by the time I had managed to get my mouth into French I said "Ailes de poulet" not "Crevettes Kapow". So instead of Shrimp and Chicken I had Chicken twice for my meal!!

Starter Chicken Wings

Poutine au poulet de Cornouailles avec sauce Sriracha

The chicken wings were crisp and delightful with a chilli spicy sauce which I really enjoyed. My second chicken looked unusual with the leg sticking out in the centre of the Poutine. There was chicken breast mixed in with the chips and curds and a lovely Thai chilli sauce over it all, which was excellently spicy. So I have now tasted Poutine. Would I go out of my way to have it again, No. But it was perfectly pleasant, and I could see how it became a staple of Quebecois dinners in the cold winters they have in these parts.

Drew, whose French is no better, maybe even worse, than mine went for the safer option of selecting from the menu by pointing. So he had "Rondelles d’oignon" (Onion Rings) and "Pain plat au poulet grillé" (Grilled Chicken Flatbread) which was a naan bread covered with cheese, spinach and grilled chicken pieces, It had a chipotle pepper sauce and salad vegetables.

 

Rondelles d’oignon

Pain plat au poulet grill

He was very happy with his selection and enjoyed both, in between chorterling at my double chicken dinner. A topic he has returned to numerous times in the 24 hours since. <<Co-pilot's note: Haydn in Quebec: A gift that keeps on giving 😂 >>

Late Blog Post

We got back to the hotel at 9.15 and I fought with a wi-fi system that didn't want to upload lots of pictures. The situation got even worse at the Quality Inn and Suites, Brossard  on Wednesday evening when the wi-fi is negligible in the room and I have had to come out to the hotel lobby to post this blog. Hence it is being posted this morning rather than last night. I'll try to catch up with blog and photos as soon as I can. Some of the Quebec photos are now going up to Flickr while I'm in the lobby, but not as fast as I'd expect in a hotel that promises High-Speed Internet in its adverts. More will follow when the wi-fit gets better somewhere further on our journey

So long until the next post can be posted.