HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION

Being a great lover of mysteries, I had just finished the latest in a series of mysteries set in Quebec, and suddenly found myself with a burning desire to visit.  A trip to Quebec immediately went on my bucket list!  So when we were on a one day bus tour recently and saw that the tour company was offering a summer trip to Quebec, we signed up.  We just returned from what was one of the most enjoyable, plus relaxing and refreshing vacations, we have ever taken.

The first pleasure was not having to drive the eight or so hours it would have taken us to make the trip in our car.  On a bus, we could nap, read, do crosswords and play games to pass the time without having to think about navigating the traffic.  Someone else made the hotel reservations, planned the meals, and the places we would visit.  It was glorious!

When we arrived in Montreal we were delighted to find such a large city with so few people.  As we age, we don’t do as well dodging crowds of people.  Here we could walk on big city streets with few pedestrians, and it felt safe.  What a delight to look out our hotel window and see the huge dome of a church right next door in the foreground, ringed around by the stone, metal and glass modern skyscrapers!

While in Montreal we visited two huge cathedrals.  The grandeur of these churches was breathtaking, yet the guide said there were perhaps only a few hundred people there on Sunday in a cathedral that could hold thousands.  It made me sad that no expense had been spared on such opulence, yet few visited it anymore to worship God.

It took a little time before I realized something that made its presence felt by its absence!  The noise level was lower!  Everywhere we went in Montreal and Quebec City there was music, but not the blaring, loud rock music we so often hear in the US in shopping malls, elevators, hair salons, and restaurants.  In this part of Canada we noticed street musicians everywhere.  In the town square, next to an outdoor restaurant, at a street market – all playing soft music.  It was absolutely delightful, creating an atmosphere of culture and quiet that we loved.

We’ve never been to Europe but being in Quebec City felt as if we were.  The walled city has horse drawn carriages, street after street of outdoor restaurants, and narrow cobblestone streets to walk, flowers in window boxes, street performers, and beautiful parks and town squares.  Everywhere I looked there was something beautiful to see.

I found myself thanking the Lord over and over for the beauty, the quiet, the wonderful time together with Jim, the sunshine, the modern and the old side by side, the food, the grandeur, the sound of the French language being spoken, and the chance to rest and be refreshed by it all.  All that He has made brings Him glory.