Twin_Cam's Thoughts on the Province of Quebec

So I got married the second weekend in July. The (not-so) lucky lady and I departed for our honeymoon the day after, and we drove, over the course of two weeks from Harrisburg where we live, to Elmira, NY, Montreal, Quebec City, and La Malbaie. This being the first time driving my car in a foreign country, I was very excited. I did, however, discover it was not what I thought it would be. So here are my thoughts, in list form.

1. I thought you Canadians were supposed to be slow drivers. The speeding and tailgating was so bad, I pulled over to let people pass me numerous times. Horrendous.
2. I didn't see a turn signal used the entire time I was north of the border.
3. THE ROADS ARE T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E. This is coming from a Pennsylvanian- our roads are consistently ranked in the bottom 5 in the nation. Most of the surface roads would be better off if you just left them as gravel or even dirt. The highways were awful as well, truly terrible stuff. I put 2,300ish miles on my car, and probably 30K miles worth of wear on my struts and suspension pieces.
4. Parking in cities is not as bad as in other major cities I've been in.
5. Montreal as a city was incredibly underwhelming, and everything looks like it's falling apart, especially roads, bridges, tunnels, public transit stations, etc. It was also too crowded, touristy, and there was very little to do unless you wanted to eat or shop.
6. Quebec was freaking awesome, except for the roads, as discussed before. If anyone goes there, eat at Le Lapin Saute and order the rabbit pie. Top 5 meal of all time for me.
7. La Malbaie (the town with the Fairmont hotel/castle in it) was pretty awesome, especially how it got into the 50s overnight. Very beautiful country.
8. Was relieved that most everyone spoke English, and didn't get pissy when they speak it, like the Europeans do.
9. Underwhelmed by the beer. With the exception of Dieu du Ciel in Montreal, there were very few beer spots we went to that had any beer that piqued my interest. But I guess QC is more of a wine place...

The food was good. The weather was great. Everything else left us a little disappointed. But we still had fun. My car fared well (some may remember the thread where I expressed some concern), didn't give me a lick of trouble. My new tie rod ends are insanely noisy (poly, maybe?), and my exhaust system sprung a sweet leak, but other than that it took everything like a champ.

Comment if you like. Woot.

My only comment is why Elmira? There's nothing there, though Corning Museum of Glass is cool, especially if you take the opportunity to blow your own (glass - get yer minds outta the gutter people), and there's a neat little race track about 1/2 hour away but seriously, Elmira is a pit IMHO. Montreal, I was there for the F1 weekend a few years back and thought it wa great, but the F1 circus was in town with street parties, etc going on and ibwas busy with the race all weeked too. I loved the architecture there though. Never been to QC but have heard great things about it.

I thought you Canadians were supposed to be slow drivers.

Where'd you get that crazy idea?

They weren't very slow when I used to go there. Good lane disciipline.

Twin_Cam wrote: 9. Underwhelmed by the beer.

Haha, I just had Canadian Bacon flashbacks...

From what I've seen in Almost Quebec, Vermont it seems to be a pretty even split of QC drivers. Half like to cruise along at 5-15 under the speed limit, the other half are clearly trying to set a record of some kind or achieve liftoff. I'm not sure which.

How'd the border crossing go? Easier one way than the other? Any problems with your passports, car registration, insurance?? I've heard all kinds of stories....and most sound like "stories".

We stayed in Elmira because there's a cool B&B right outside of town, and yes, that town sucks, so many beautiful houses in horrible disrepair. We were only there for one night- a hold-over before driving to Montreal. And about that "little track," we did the drive your car around the Glen thing, it was so fun. Supposed to be limited to 55 mph, but our guide driver was cool as hell, we were doing 80 down the front straight, all this with all of our luggage in the back seat and trunk! There were pictures, I'll post them if I figure this damned SD card reader out.

The drivers were terrible. As soon as we crossed back into the US, they were doing 5 or 10 below the limit. Can't explain it. KPH/MPH disconnect, maybe?

The border crossing was easier going into Canadia. The guy didn't even get out of his booth, we were only really stopped for about 30 seconds. Coming back though, we didn't have our car searched or anything, but the guy got way more Johnny Homeland Security on us. Many minutes of questions about purchases, why we were away, where we lived, where we worked, who owned the car, did anyone give you anything to take back, etc etc. If I were to not try to sneak something back though, I wouldn't have snuck a bottle of not Sortliege whiskey/maple syrup liqueur blend. It's not delicious.

The thing you need to understand about Quebec drivers is that they all think they're in a race. Yes, they're aggressive. It's a bit like driving in Italy. More importantly, they're used to speed differentials. None of this 2 mph cruise control racing that you see in the States, if you're gonna pass, PASS.

I think you need to be looking at the nightlife in Montreal, not daytime stuff. And did you manage to catch any of the Jazz festival?

The roads are terrible, in large part because of the winters. But they're really great roads (especially north of Montreal) with terrible surfaces.

I love Quebec, especially Quebec City.

Montreal is much better after dark. I was surprised how dirty the city looked on the approach last time I was up there. But that sure is a fun city at night.

Haven't been to Quebec since I was a kid. We've spent time in Ontario on a few occasions and it sounds like it's vastly superior.

Border crossing into the US again IS a PITA. Each time I've done it I was made to feel like a criminal. I know the agents are trying to make people trip up but seriously, I'm a citizen...I deserve better treatment. Canadian tourist board heed my words: I'm not visiting your fine country again any time soon because my country makes it too hard to leave.

The drivers in Quebec were terrible when I visited there, too!

Quoted for truth..".HE ROADS ARE T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E. This is coming from a Pennsylvanian- our roads are consistently ranked in the bottom 5 in the nation. "
When I was a young'un in parochial school, I was taught that Hell was driving through Pennsylvania for eternity. Back on topic, Old Montreal has some of the nicest pubs and sidewalk cafes in the world. I always thought it odd that as soon as you cross into Quebec, all of the road signs are in French.

Welcome to Canadas smoking section!

If the beer was bad, you must've sampled Canadian or Kokanee or one of our other mass produced "football beers".

It's just like American beer. You have to sample the microbrews until you find a good one.

Shawn

There is lot's to do in Montreal, it's just horribly advertised.

Frost heaves kill the road.

sachilles wrote: Frost heaves kill the road.

More like, all of those billions of dollars that they've siphoned from Alberta take a while to get through the federal government and to the construction companies

Ah, they were like that 20 years ago when Alberta was a "gimme" province. Ontario has the same frost, but the roads are better.

Not sure why it's odd that the road signs are in French. They're in Spanish when you cross into Mexico, right?

Keith wrote: Not sure why it's odd that the road signs are in French. They're in Spanish when you cross into Mexico, right?

Actually, they're in Spanish before you cross into Mexico...

1. When I used to live in Kingston and drove on the 401 routinely, I would check my mirrors and when I saw a car moving like an earth-bound missle, I knew to look for the Quebec plates. Suck your headlights right out as they passed.

2. Quebec government has been under-spending on infrastructure for years. They have had bridges collapse and a number are apparantly in very bad condition. Roads would be similar. Plus like others have pointed out our roads see a lot of frost cycles (back and forth through the freezing point). Water penetrates when warm and then blows out the asphalt when it gets cold and expands.

3. I suggested to someone once that the Quebec government could save millions a year. Just don't bother painting lane markings on the road. Nobody follows them anyway! (Ontario is getting just as bad.)