If you are lucky enough to attend a program put on by Jean-Pierre, then you are indeed lucky enough !! Absolutely delightful, even with our large group of 38 participants.

Quebec offers a refreshing change of pace from most Southwestern USA locations. There were striking fall colors ...sugar maple reds, yellows and evergreen greens punctuated with white birch trunks and quaking leaves ... everywhere we looked in late September. Water "fixes" included reflections in still waters, placid stretches of river vistas and the drama of a long waterfall and the filmy mist and eddies of ripples in the stream below. Refreshing to the eyes, ears and nose! The adventurous could climb and hike, and others captured these vistas with camera or retinas. A few tempted their digestions with Poutine, but more succumbed to the lure of sweet, sweet maple sugar delights, all the better because we now knew how it was harvested and processed into tasty treats. (My haul included syrup, caramels, toffee and suckers for me and my pals.) And no matter how much Canadian and French-Canadian history I had studied in advance, I was not prepared for the "blood and almost tears" our lecturers shared about the country they love and worry about today. Those chosen to lead, guide and lecture on this trip were warm and hospitable. And while speaking French, they far outshine the arrogant French people of their mother country. For anyone in need of a cultural "hug," water or foliage fixes, I heartily recommend this trip to the Auberge du Mont and Quebec City. Vive Quebec et les Quebecois!