Quebec trip

Another summer, another foray to our neighbor to the north. Last summer we enjoyed our visit to Victoria, BC on the west coast of Canada so this summer we explored a new area of the country none of us had been to before-the province of Quebec, near the east coast.

After my half Ironman in Victoria I immediately started researching other possible races for this year and settled rather quickly on Mont-Tremblant, QC. It sounded like a beautiful area with lots of family-friendly activities, scenic and challenging course, and an exceptionally well-organized race. I registered the day registration opened, which proved to be a good choice given that all spots were filled up that same day.

Mont-Tremblant is a small town about 90 minutes from Montreal, the tourist-focused part of which is a ski village.  It certainly makes business sense for the town to make itself into a triathlon designation during the summer, when there's no skiing, but the ski village set-up with shops, restaurants, and activities all within a compact walkable area also makes for a very athlete-friendly setup for those who travel with their families. 

Our hotel was right in the village and all the shops, restaurants, and attractions were within a 5-minute walk. So was the race transition area and swim start-can't get much easier than that!

We got into Montreal early on Thursday evening. Unbeknownst to us the next Friday was St. Jean Bapiste day (a "national holiday" in Quebec, however that works) so we wound up sitting in what I gather must has been holiday weekend traffic for a longer-than-expected drive to Mont-Tremblant. To make a very long and unhappy story short, I made the decision to ship my bike to and from Canada via FedEx. It arrived but was far more exciting than it should have been. Anyway, my bike needed to be picked up from the local shop in Mont-Tremblant that evening and we made it with 15 minutes to spare. I rode it back to the hotel to meet Kevin and the kids and we set out to find some dinner. When we came back to the room the kids were excited to discover that we had a fireplace in our room...not that we needed it in late June, but still a fun treat.

The next day we explored the village more. The kids enjoyed riding the luge sleds (alas, since each of them needed an adult to ride with them, we didn't get any pictures) but also just enjoyed the simple playground right behind our hotel. It was a very kid-friendly town.

At lunch we saw Toufou, the Mont-Tremblant mascot, and the Ironman mascot.

We also played on the big Snakes and Ladders (Brit-speak for Chutes and Ladders) board.

Fun fact: In most of Canada British English (harbours and such) is the dominant language with French as the alternate. Quebec is French with a side of English. Most signs were in French first then (usually) English in smaller print and we were greeted almost everywhere by "bonjour hello." I've never felt the need to brush up on my French before visiting Canada but it would be helpful here. One day I needed to go to the magasin (general store) to buy some screws and batteries. I was able to find the batteries but could only find a screwdriver, not screws. The sales clerk asked me in French if I needed help and I was trying to describe what I needed but not well. I thought about having my phone translate but was concerned it might suggest a meaning of the word that I didn't intend and I might cross the line from being the pleasant and bumbling tourist to the offensive one. We muddled through and sorted it out but I may brush up on my French before my next visit ;)

The kids' very favorite thing in Mont-Tremblant-probably in all of Canada- was the big carnival slide set up in Ironman village. They wore that thing out sliding over and over and over. Rebecca was proud and excited to graduate up to the fastest red slide that Daniel was on!

One of the reasons this was such a great place for a triathlon was that everything was right there. Friday I went to packet pickup at a nearby hotel 100 yards from where the kids happily played on the slide as Kevin watched them. Saturday Daniel helped me walk my bike the 5 minute walk from our hotel to transition for drop-off then played on the slide as I listened in on the athlete briefing. The kids enjoyed walking around the Ironman village vendor tents, making cheering signs, and of course picking out a spectator shirt. It was much easier to let them be part of the race experience than even most local events I do, and it was great to have them along.

Our days in Mont-Tremblant passed pleasantly and between the compact footprint of the village and the lack of any ambitious sightseeing plans, it was easy to just take it all in and relax, exploring without an agenda and just doing whatever we happened upon that looked fun. Like the splash park, bungee jumping (for Daniel; Rebecca was too small), and climbing wall all tucked away at the top of the village.

On race day while I was off swimming, biking, and running, the rest of the crew, joined by my parents, enjoyed another fun day around the village. They just missed seeing me exit the swim but they were there to greet me when I biked in and then again standing outside the entrance to our hotel as I headed for the finisher chute at the end of the run. It was easy for them to check in on the race then get back to their day. I'm going to guess a fair bit of that time was spent on the carnival slide!

When I got up on race morning, I was greeted by this sweet sight:

Fun during the day:

Daniel showing off his race sign:

He explained to me that it says I'm going to go 100 miles an hour (all the distance markers were in kilometers, but I appreciate the thought) and he put go "moms" instead of "go Mom" because he wanted to cheer on all moms ;)

The next morning we bid adieu to Mont-Tremblant and headed back to Montreal for a few days. First up on our to-do list was a visit to the Notre-Dame Basilica, which was beautiful.

That night my parents watched the kids and Kevin and I enjoyed what has to be among the best dinners in our lives at a place called Bouillon Bilk. Between us we had the strawberries and tortellini starters, the scallops and a halibut entrees, and the mascarpone mousse and strawberry desserts. Yum!

The next day we took the Metro to the Space for Life museum complex to explore the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium and Biodome. Daniel studied outer space this spring and has been fascinated and eager to learn more so he was excited to watch a show about asteroids and then see the (simulated) Montreal night sky in the planetarium theater and was surprised to see that the same planets he can see from our front yard in Irving were in the night sky more than a thousand miles away.

The Biodome featured animals and foliage from 4 different habitats. Rebecca and Daniel were especially excited to see the penguin feeding.

Riding the Metro:

The next morning, our last in Canada, we drove out to Mont Royal, the mountain that gives the city its name. We didn't have long there but stopped to admire the view from the lookout and then spent a few minutes at a playground, then it was off to the airport and back home.

It was a fun trip and one we look forward to doing again!