Saturday 19 April 2014

Q for Quebec

I miss Mumbai (even though I am right here). I miss taking you around in my adopted city. I miss writing about my life here and now. My vivid travel around the world in 26 days has caught up with me. Full stop. At Q. How convenient (not). I'm sitting here staring blank out the window. What do I do now? And Q? Where on earth do we have a dream destination starting with a Q?

Well, in Mumbai we have Queen's Necklace, a wonderful promenade along the sea shore. Good for walks and to see and be seen:-) It's getting hot here now, and every evening people are gathering at the beaches and sea shores - to cool off a bit... Or you can cool off in Snow World in a mall. You put on a jacket and boots and are inside a fake snowy cold room. I found it hilarious, but then one day my son told me that he has friends who have never seen snow in their life. It was exotic to them. I shut my mouth. I love the climate in Mumbai, but imagine I lived somewhere extremely hot - maybe my idea of a dream destination would be to go somewhere extremely cold?

And then it hit me. I could see my Q coming sliding towards me, on an icy slope... Yes, this city I had wanted to travel to, and it was in a country I had wanted to visit for so long (not at least after having a Canadian as my best friend in Greece a long time ago). 

You see, the Canadian city Quebec is known for winter carnivals and ice sculptures, and that sure seems like a tempting destination on a hot Mumbai day. What makes it also interesting is that it is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one to have French as its only provincial language. The Quebec Act of 1774 was an act that provided the inhabitants their first charter of rights and made way for the official recognition of French language and culture. I always indulged in these wars of the British and the French, it pops up anywhere in the world, doesn't it? Quebec is therefor rightly called the center of French-speaking culture in North America. It's culture is a mix of historic roots with aboriginal heritage and the contributions of recent immigrants, but also with influence from the English-speaking North America.

Quebec looks appealing and so does the nature surrounding it. My main attraction today though are those giant ice sculptures... How cool and cooling are they?Every year in the end of January / beg of February - the big winter carnival is on! Snow sculptures, dog sled rides, ice skating... So, sitting here sweating in India, I can just picture the freshness of walking around on snowy roads, feeling the cold crisp air, having my cheeks get red - refreshing!

And those sculptures look pretty awesome, don't you think?:


And the ice castle.. I cool off just by looking at it..
So, are we like that? - always dreaming of going somewhere opposite of where we are? Today Quebec seemed like a refreshing choice, at least for a quick visit.... And I needed a cool ending of a busy week. Because it really has been... Monday we started home in Lofoten, and we strolled a bit down Memory Lane, before flying off to Farah's New Zealand, partying with the Olympic Gods at Olympus before ending the week in peaceful Pondicherry.

Tomorrow we have a travel-free day, so re-load your luggage  and take some deep breaths, dear reader, because on Monday I will take you to a jewel of a place... R... will charm you, I am sure:-)

1-30 April I participate in the A to Z blogger challenge, and this post is written as a part of that challenge. Check out some amazing participating blogs hereMy theme for the challenge is Dream Destinations. I hope you had fun coming along? Please stay tuned for a new destination on Monday. 

47 comments:

  1. I was looking fwd to your post Eli and waiting for it actually. Lovely post on Quebec. Love the pics esp of the snow sculptures. Debbie's written on Quebec too today. Hugs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for you kind words dear Sunila:-)

      Delete
  2. Same with me, I was also looking forward to the post with Queensland or --something like that :-). Both Queens Neck less and Quebec are good addition in the list...The ice sculptures are awesome... Guess one does not last more than 4-5 days at a stretch. Is that right ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That could be Jayanta- and imagine the work put down in them.. Happy to see you here, as always:-)

      Delete
  3. Eli, you make me wish we have snow here in Singapore!! Those sculptures are simply beautiful!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, yes they are. Happy to see you here Michelle:-)

      Delete
  4. Quebec! Two French speaking places in a row. Just look at that snow! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, and that from a lady with extremely limited knowledge of French..:-) :-) Happy to see you here dear Corinne:-)

      Delete
  5. Love pics and account of Quebec. Oh! Eli! Mumbai has this effect on people and you make me miss the Queen's Necklace like hell..was staying opposite Marine and would stroll at night there:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ahhh, Vishal ... Will do a stroll at Queen's Necklace in your honor:-) Always happy to see you here:-)

      Delete
  6. Yes....indeed they are awesome....
    Harbin in north China builds ice sculpture city every year with different themes....Quebec is another lovely destination...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for sharing:-) Happy to see you here, dear:-)

      Delete
  7. From Queen's necklace to Quebec...quite a jump! An interesting read, as always. And I am quite sure you are looking for a rest-day tomorrow after all the travels this week :) Nice pictures of the ice-scultpures there!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much dear Beloo. Yes, a rest-day is not bad...:-) Big hugs your way:-)

      Delete
  8. Loving your theme for April A to Z. Quebec has also been on my lust list for a while

    April A to Z blogger - http://www.ourowncorner.com/poohsden/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much:-) Happy to see you here.

      Delete
  9. A journey through Canada is one of my dream vacations. But you made me nostalgic for my hometown of Mumbai.

    Dropping by from AtoZ
    Suzy at Someday Somewhere

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AAh, I can understand that Suzy.. Big hugs from Mumbai, happy to see you here:-)

      Delete
  10. Dearest Eli,
    Having been a few times to Québec I can only highly recommend it. Not for the ice but to go in summer for strolling through its old city and soaking up the rich culture.
    Happy Easter to you and yours!
    Hugs,
    Mariette

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy Easter dear Mariette. Happy to see you here as always, and thanks for sharing. Sure sounds like Quebec has a lot to offer:-) Big hugs

      Delete
  11. Last time when I went to Canada,I saw Toronto and Montreal but missed Quebec.This year I will try to see this city as it is not very far from Boston though it may not be winter then..
    Your A-Z challenge theme reminds me of 26 days around the world!!!
    Happy Easter

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy Easter! And thanks for sharing! Hope you will have a great time in Canada and thanks for tagging along on this vivid world tour:-)

      Delete
  12. Quebec looks amazing and you're right..those sculptures looks great! Loved the pics again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for your kind words Danny:-) All the best

      Delete
  13. I remember the Queen's necklace from my visit to Mumbai long back. The place was pleasant but it did give me a bit of an embarrassing experience which I will not forget :D

    As for the snow.. yeah, I have never seen it, so it is exotic for me. Then I visited the Snow World in Hyderabad.. suffice to say the place brought out the kids in us.. throwing snow balls and what not! It was an awesome experience.. and to think there are places that look like that each day, every day.. so surreal for me! :D

    Quebec looks so cool.. this post was very much educative too.. learned so many new things.. that ice castle is just awesome! Thanks for this, Eli.. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for sharing your experience Vaisakh. So happy to see you here - and sounds like you had fun with the snow:-) A bit curious about your Queen's necklace experience now .... Ha ha - all the best to you, and thanks for coming along:-)

      Delete
  14. Great snow sculptures!! Quebec looks pretty cool! Debbie's post is also on Quebec!! Lovely :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks dear Aditi, so happy you enjoyed:-)

      Delete
  15. Awesome them for the A-Z Challenge. Quebec looks like it would be a lot of fun and is on our list of places to travel in the next few years. Its great to see other ex-pats blogging about their adventures in new lands.

    Sean at His and Her Hobbies

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Sean! Happy to see you here - popping over to your blog now:-)

      Delete
  16. Well, what a coincidence! ☺ I too wrote about Quebec City, but am more of a summer person.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, that's awesome - will pop by to read about it:-) Thanks Debbie - had a feeling our paths would cross again - good taste in destinations:-) :-)

      Delete
  17. I've visited Montreal so have been in Quebec though we missed out on Quebec City itself. That would have been in the summer though - I didn't know about the ice sculptures. They look amazing.

    Anabel at Anabel's Travel Blog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for visiting and sharing your experiences dear Anabel:-)

      Delete
  18. I love the picture of the ice castle with the sun shining through it. It does look like it would be fun to visit!
    Donna On Palawan @ Quintessential San Diego From A to Z

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it looks great:-) Thank you so much for visiting dear Donna:-)

      Delete
  19. Eli, the snow sculptures are fabulous. When we visited Canada last year, we were keen on visiting Quebec. I hear there are hotels there that are half in the US territory and half in Canadian territory. That sounds so exciting.

    Mumbai is my city of birth and I love it.

    Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That sounds wonderful Vidya, thanks for sharing:-) Hugs from your beloved Mumbai:-) All the best, dear.

      Delete
  20. Dropping by from A to Z. I loved ur posts for this challenge and Quebec sure seems like a dreamy place for a person like me who lives in HOT India but India has kashmir too . do plan some day. Good to know u enjoy the mumbai beach. Nice description of quebec . Thanks for details which I never knew before :)
    good lck for a to z

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So happy to see you here Afshan. Hmm , Kashmir - yeah - for sure:-) Thank you so much for your kind words - very appreciated:-)

      Delete
  21. Quebec looks like a fairy land.Especially the ice castle. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you:-) So happy to see you here:-)

      Delete
  22. Its quite refreshing to read good things about Mumbai from a non Indian...I'm glad you love your stay here.Loved the snow pics on your post :) Dropping by from A to Z.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Vinodini. Welcome, and very happy to see you here:-)

      Delete
  23. I love a good snow festival. I should go to Quebec's. I'd bet that would be fantastic. (http://www.reflectionsenroute.com)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great Corinne, I think you would enjoy:-)

      Delete
  24. Those ice sculptures look amazing. I would love to visit this place

    ReplyDelete

Dear reader, I love comments! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave one:-)