Quebec – Making the Most of Winter

The title of this post may not be a direct quote, but it’s the essence of a sign I saw for the upcoming winter carnival here in Quebec City. And I think that statement goes a long way toward explaining the outlook here, making the most of the cold weather because it’s what you have. I’ll try to take that concept home with me and make more of the hot humid days of summer – ha!

But I think today I made as much as I could of the cold weather. It was finally not in the negative territory. In fact, supposedly the high was in the upper teens on ye olde Fahrenheit scale. It’s funny that it actually DID feel warmer to me despite the temps still being in a territory that would be considered awfully cold and newsworthy back home. I wasn’t ready to go dancing around the meadow in short sleeves, but I didn’t feel like I was fighting to keep the air off any part of my skin for the first time in several days.

I spent a few hours today in the great out of doors, walking in Battlefield Park – also known as the Plains of Abraham, only taking a quick break in the midst of it to grab lunch. I was hardly alone in the park either. Everywhere I looked there were people skiing, sledding, or just like me, walking and enjoying the good old sun. I couldn’t help wondering if it’s still vacation time here or if everyone was playing hooky because it was so ‘nice’ out..

This definitely filled the place inside that was hoping for some more snow photos before I left, and despite the city skyline on one side, Battlefield Park is a great place to connect with nature just a bit. It was my first time seeing skiers up close. I amused myself if no one else standing off the side of the path with my camera on high burst to take photos as they went by me. Will be interesting to see if any of them came out as they were in my mind when I was clicking the shutter. There’s little doubt that snow and winter is going to be the theme of my photos when i get back from here, is there?

Oh, the interesting thing while I was in the park was that they appear to be getting ready for the winter carnival already. I’m almost glad I got to see Quebec just a tad sleepier than that, but I’m sure the carnival is amazing. They were constructing something out of ice, perhaps the infamous ice hotel?!  The blocks of ice were massive and were being unloaded from the backs of semi-trailers. I didn’t get close but heard the sound of chainsaws when I was at that end of the park. I’ll have to re-tread my winter visit here sometime to see the carnival, but if I had to bet on a season for my  next visit, it would be fall. The images I’ve seen of autumn here are positively mesmerizing!  I even saw TV news crews near the ice building on my way out. I think one was going to interview me for the nightly news (must be a slow day) until she discovered I didn’t speak French – curses! Fame is so fickle!

It’s amazing how quickly the weather can change. I had to drop back by the hostel to get a battery for my camera. I don’t remember taking them out of my bag and tossing them in the locker, but I had. No big deal as I was about done with walking the park anyway. I decided as long as I was here to begin the process of backing up all my photos from the past couple of days. Less than a half hour had passed when I looked out the window and saw no more blue sky but overcast and snowing! Shocking, but we know I love snow, so out I went anyway. I got in one last round of skaters and wandered the streets a bit as the last light of day slipped away and the snow flurries picked up to a pace I didn’t relish wandering in with my camera.

So, back here for a fun game of how did I get all this stuff in this bag to begin with?! I’ve seriously added hardly anything, and those few purchase I have are going in my backpack where they won’t get maimed, so I’m at a loss how it seems possible my bag could be fuller than it was when I started. I’ve done as much as I can until morning, but it should be a spirited morning figuring out how to get that bag zipped! And I still have another leg to this trip – heaven help me I may have to wear all my clothes for the last leg home!

Anyway, that’s Canada for me for the first time, but I certainly hope not the last.