Magnifique? Mais oui!

By Abbas -

Our first family roadtrip continued from Ottawa to Quebec City - a distance of about 450km (~300 miles). We decided to take the back-roads rather than the main highway, and while it took us a little longer to get to our destination, the drive was quite scenic (and fun!). As usual, Samarah was perfect!

We stayed at the Chateau Frontenac for our first night in QC - I had earned a free night through the Fairmont loyalty program. While the historic hotel's decor and ambience isn't our style, it's hard to argue with free. Even our dinner was on the house, but the most memorable moment of the evening was probably when Samarah had a major diaper leak and we had to hose her off in the bathroom sink.

For the next two nights, we checked into Hotel 71, another boutique hotel, located in QC's Old Port neighbourhood. We had a really nice room with modern, minimalist decor, 14' ceilings and a rain shower. Some other highlights of our stay in QC:
  • Samarah rolling from her tummy to her side
  • Taking the 'scenic' route to get to the Museum of Fine Arts - a 90 minute walk in the rain!
  • Having all these old French ladies stop and give Samarah kisses
  • One of our waitresses insisting to help Kaniz with a diaper change, and then carrying Samarah back out
  • Constantly forgetting that we were still in Canada, and not in Europe.
  • Watching the amazing light show at the grain silos in the old port depicting the 400 year history of Quebec
  • Pushing Samarah's stroller up and down QC's many sloped streets (who knew the old city was so hilly!)
The drive back to Toronto was a bit of a challenge. The total distance is about 800 km (500 miles) and it took us just over 12 hours to make the trip. We discovered pretty quickly that there's no such thing as '5 minute stops' with a 3 month old - with feeding, diaper changing, burping, etc., each stop took about 50 minutes. Aside from that, Samarah did quite well, thankfully.

Overall, the whole trip was a lot of fun. It gave Kaniz and I a lot of confidence that we can travel with Samarah - which is a good thing, considering we've got a few more trips planned in the next few months!

As always, enjoy the photos!

Comments

Vicky Lynn said…
Hello Kaniz, Abbas, and Samara!
I loved your pictures of Ottawa and especially of Québec City--one of my most favorite places.

Samara is looking cuter each day. I hope I'll get to see her one of these days. If you plan to visit Montréal, let us know. We would love to see you again.

Cheers, Vicky :o)
July 4, 2008 at 12:49 PM
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