OCCUPY QUéBEC

A small circle of tents 

downtown, in the cold.

30˚ tonight and soon to be much colder.

Is this an act of desperation

or foolishness

or are these bold personal statements

that all is not well?

There seems to be a lot of grabbing going on

on all sides,

for little and less.

Small gains or the notion of holding one's head above water

compete with  feelings or fear of falling behind.

Compassion is lacking.

update: Occupy Québec raided and closed

by the police: Tues., Nov 22, 2011

Rode the ferry across the St. Lawrence to Barbacoa, in Lévis. Rex feasted on ribs and I watched. Great ride over and back on the ferry, a beautiful night. Chatted with Jason, Barbacoa's proud visionary and owner, about all things barbecue.

Stopped at Bleu Lavande, the magnificent lavender farm between Stanstead and Magog/Fitch Bay, just across the border in Québec. From there another 3 hours' drive on the backroads, into Québec City. As usual, felt a real sense of relief to be here, far from the madding crowd, inside my snug apartment.

Back Here, as of Monday, June 13. 

Construction is underway EVERYWHERE right now in Québec City, including just outside my front door. When they commence construction up here, they really get on it, and can dig up, plant pipes and re-pave an entire street, curbs and sidewalks included, in 3 weeks. They bring in whatever men and equipment is necessary to complete the job, hence the mountainous crane on my street yesterday.

Today, everything is pretty much back to normal, the day equally gorgeous.

Today it's 'au revoir, Québec.' 

back to NY . . . 

I share the back wall of my patio 

with a large and fully-functioning convent (Ursulines),

which has a popular day school for young children.

It is so wonderful to hear them outside at recess, playing.

Unrestrained exuberance, laughter, what happens to that,

where/how/why does it change?

So serious we are all, adults . . . 

How much of the seriousness is necessary,

and how much is a self-authored fiction

of our over-crowded minds?

Bonjour! Ce matin, je suis l'affichange en français, 

en arrondissant les endroits rugueux

 avec le traducteur Google.

Par expérience, je sais qu'il y aura des erreurs,

mais en général comprehendable.

Je suis sur mon chemin!

Photo d'aujourd'hui:

ma terrasse le jour de mon arrivée.

On a beaucoup fondu maintenant,

mais toujours impressionnant pour le 22 avril . . . 

From Wikipedia:

French is the mother tongue of about 7 million Canadians (22.3% of the Canadian population). Most native French speakers in Canada live in Québec, where it is the majority and sole Official Language. About 80% of Québec's population are native francophones, and 95% of the population speak French as their first or second language.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  *

And yes,  I am not in the 95%. 

I am realizing, after 8 years here, 

that it's time, as with a ripe cabernet, to crack the seal, 

and learn to speak and listen in French.

It's a detriment, at times, to not be able to communicate intelligently.

It's either hard to believe, or I am extremely dense, but

many people here in the city, although I reside in the 

Official Tourist Zone,

do not speak any English whatsoever.

It's always been one of the charms of the place for me,

but enough is enough;

 I am going to learn French!

Is it Possible to Love a Street? 

If so, I do, and that street is Avenue Cartier.
It's where I am going to live and die when I become old.
Right now it's about a 17 minute walk from my front door, 
turn left and continue (basically) straight, out the fabled city gates,
past the provincial government offices, through the excitement of hip-hop Grande Allee, 
up and over a slight rise, and then down a few more blocks, to Avenue Cartier.


The street has everything that is needed to sustain life:
liveliness, small shops: cheese, wine, boulangeries,  fruit,  fish, meat, ice cream,
music, books, tabacs, 2 pretty wonderful small grocery stores, one big grocery,
lots of bars and restaurants serving fast or slow food, a very comfortable 75-person theatre (Cinema Cartier) that I O-So hope never closes, that presents all day and week long an amazing array of intelligent foreign films and documentaries. There are hair salons, a wonderful kitchen and housewares shop, laundries, coffee houses. . .  I could go on and on.
And all this in just 5-6 blocks.


Above the shops and restaurants are apartments and condos,
nothing fancy, reasonably priced, so the neighborhood attracts an interesting
mix of young and old,  families and singles, nothing stuffy here, 
nor tatty for that matter.


The whole scene is close to coming-and-going public transportation, 
there's a taxi stand, and if you walk on a couple more blocks,
you arrive at the petite but otherwise world class Musée de Beaux Arts.
Also right there is the Montcalm entrance to the Plaines d'Abraham,
that large and lush and magnificent public park that goes on
for-ever high above the banks of the Saint Lawrence, vast rolling lawns
and bike paths, walking paths, picnic groves.


My passion for Avenue Cartier never wavers.
Oh, one more thing, when the weather is fine, there is no better thing
than to sit outside, in the sun,  at one of the many cafés that line the street, sip
a little something, and watch the wonderful world go by. There is immense joy
in this whether it is spring, summer, autumn. Each season here has it's miracles.

The type of scene seen all over town. 

Here, the School of Architecture, Université Laval.

Today I passed it on my way down to basse ville, 

just steps really from where I live, up top, near the Chateau.

My good friend and realtor extraordinare, Evelyn Péladeau,

has her office there, amidst an array of varied restaurants, 

boutique hotels, antique shops, art galleries, the marina, local market, and, though moments away, a different feel entirely.

Went over to check out the construction/archeological dig in front of the Chateau, and am happy to see that the gorgeous terrace is almost re-established, re-opened. It was sort of like Aphrodite being hit by a bus for the past two years. But, in true Québecquoise fashion, it will soon be more beautiful than before.

*the way it once was, and will soon again be . . . 

Not yet Spring here; I was expecting easter tulips, but have Snow.

Ok, I'll deal with it.

sunrise in QC

I spend a lot of time in Québec, whether I'm there or not. It's sort of a dream that dances always on the edge of my consciousness, and then, once in a while I travel there to live the dream. 

I first visited Québec City in 2003 and immediately and impulsively bought an apartment in the charming and completely captivating Old Québec.  I go up whenever I can, and feel when I'm there like I've stepped back in time, into a beautiful, historic and sane place where life operates, for me anyhow, as it should when reasonable people are in charge and populating the streets.