After a week of mid-terms, I celebrated a lot this weekend and had a pretty busy schedule.
On Friday, I went to a micro-brasserie (micro-brewery) with a group organized by the university. This micro-brasserie offers 8 different bi�res (beers) every night, with flavors that rotate from week to week. I was lucky enough to try multiple flavors (at the expense of the university, which was a bonus), and I really liked rousse l�g�re et fruit�e (loose and fruity redhead) and pale ale lime et framboise (lime and raspberry pale ale). The group I was with was really great and it was definitely a cool experience (again, even cooler because it was gratuit- free).
After the micro-brasserie, we went to see Cirque du Soleil together. Cirque started in Qu�bec and every summer a portion of one of the troupes has a permanent gig in the city putting on free shows, as a way to thank the city for its support. It was set up under an old highway overpass, with all the visual and audio effects of a traditional theater performance. It was really really cool to see it so close. I had gone to see Cirque at the BJC fall semester of my freshman year and that was cool, but being literally right in front of the performers to the point that I could hear them breathing (not to sound creepy) was something else entirely. They had a really cool portion where acrobats were doing tricks on poles that I suppose are the most similar to a balance beam, except that the poles bend under their weight and are being held up by two men on either end. At one point, there were three poles parallel to each other and the acrobats were bouncing from pole to pole on their stomachs like it was nothing more than a trampoline. That was really impressive to see but it did make me wonder how these people don’t get sick… 
It was seriously an amazing day, I never imagined that I would be seeing whales while I was here. Our captain said that it was only the second time this season that he had seen any baleines bleus, so we were tr�s chanceux (very fortunate). The closest came probably within 8 feet of the side of our little zodiac bateau (boat) and it was really really cool. We also got to see 3 tail fins, which is trickier because the whales only show them when they are going to plonger (dive) into deeper eau (water).
The picture below is of me holding les dents de la baleine (whale teeth), for lack of a better word. They filter all their food through the fibers that hang down.
Today, I went to Ile d’Orl�ans (Orl�ans Island) with some friends, The �le is in the middle of the St. Laurent, and is completely charming. It’s an island known for its natural products. There are fruit orchards all over the place, and I was chanseuse (again, fortunate) enough to get the chance to stop at one and pick des framboises (raspberries, yummm). It wasn’t too expensive and the cartons available were big enough that all three of us split one. I think I ate more than I put into the carton but they were too good to pass up.
After framboise picking, we went to a cidrerie (a cider house) and paid a measly $3 CAD to try 6 types of cider, about 10 different moutardes (mustards), and as many confitures (jams). It was a delicious afternoon. The cidrerie makes both ap�ratif ciders (for before dinner) and just regular cider, with some interesting mixes. There was one that was framboise et pomme (raspberry and apple), another that was fraise et pomme (strawberry and apple), which tasted a little like robitussin, but their specialty is cidre glac� (ice cider), which is made from pommes harvested right after the first frost, when they are sweetest. It was the sweetest alcoholic cider that I’ve ever tasted, and although tasty, it was a little much. The experience in the cidrerie was really cool though and I’m glad we got the chance to experience it.
The rest of the afternoon we explored other parts of the island and just took in the natural beauty around us. The inhabitants of the island are adamantly against too much commercialization- my host mom told me that about 25 years ago there was talk of putting in a centre commerciale (mall), but everyone freaked out so they decided against it.
That’s it for my weekend adventures. I have less than two weeks left here in Qu�bec, which is very sad, but I’m sure there are lots of other exciting things to come before I leave for home.
merci � tout le monde qui lit ce blog, c’est vraiment un plaisir 🙂
p.s.- to give credit where it’s due, all the pictures except the framboise ones came from other students in the CIC program with me. Thanks for letting me share, mes filles!
Location: Tadoussac, Canada