Notre Dame Academy Embarks on a Trip to Montreal & Québec

Jacqueline C.

The girls on the Canada trip stop to tour St. Anne's Church.

Day 1: Friday, May 25th

We boarded the bus with drowsy excitement. We waved goodbye to our anxious parents and settled in for an eight hour journey that would become an eight hour nap for most of the passengers, which was only briefly interrupted by a lunch break under the then gray skies of Lake George. After a gestapo-esque border control officer checked our passports we had officially crossed over into Canada and Montreal was in our sights.

 Having lost most of the day in transit, the evening was spent on a brief tour through Montreal and dinner at Casa Grecque what I imagine to be the Applebee’s of Canada. We met our tour guide, Luis, a native born Mexican turned master of French and Quebec’s history. Some of us concluded the evening with a stroll through the neighbourhood surrounding the hotel while others went to prepare for the next day’s three hour bus ride to Quebec City.

Day 2: Saturday, May 26th

Our morning in Montreal was spent celebrating and learning about Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys. We visited the famous fountain featuring Marguerite reaching out to children, which was reenacted many times over by the students and Sister A. herself. We then found ourselves in the pews of Marguerite’s chapel where wooden boat replicas dangled from the high ceilings. Our tour guides, Christoph and Axel, dressed in colonial costumes, gave us a tour around the museum and chapel dedicated to Saint Marguerite. Ruins of the original church destroyed by a fire hundreds of years ago lay in the catacombs, while up above a room of doll replicas displayed scenes in Marguerite’s life. After, we toured  the quaint but innovative farmhouse where generations of CND nuns followed in Marguerite’s footsteps of education and productivity. A brief stop for poutine at a corner store in Montreal, and we were off to Quebec.

Three hours later, followed by the incessant rain, we checked into Hotel Universal and quickly changed for dinner at Maison du Spaghetti, which, to no surprise, served spaghetti. The cold rain and winds did not deter our mini voyage on the St.Lawrence River on a small cruise ship filled with dancing preteens and a Quebecois DJ yelling for everyone to “JUMP!” and “PARTY!”, as there is nothing more fun than jumping excitedly on a moving boat on stormy seas. The upperclassmen played games and practiced their French with the boat’s staff, while most students danced along to the music. 
             
Day 3: Sunday, May 27th
            Sunday morning, the rain persisted, but the sun peeked shyly from behind puffy gray clouds and hinted at pleasant weather to come.  We drove through the sleepy towns of Quebec and stopped at one of their many gushing waterfalls.  Our main event of this morning, however, was a mass at the magnificent Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.  As the priest's French homily went on, the gilded ceilings and statues captured our attention.  As usual, a plethora of photos was taken and we boarded our reliable Wade Tours bus, with our driver Frank always waiting patiently for stray students to find their way back.  We stopped for lunch at a restaurant not far from Madame P.'s former home and had a traditional French meal.  In mid-afternoon we went for a stroll in Vieux-Port, as Luis told us of the many changes that happened there over the centuries.  Our night ended at Chez Dany, where line dancing and pancakes combined for a bizarre evening of fun.

Day 4: Monday, May 28th

            The sun was finally shining and we had four hours left in Montreal... most of which were spent inside. However, we did visit the beautiful campus of our sister school, Villa Maria. We were impressed by the state of the art science and media labs, abundant student artwork, and talk of comprehensive educational programs. But we were most impressed with the kindness and welcoming nature of the students at the school. Sister P.  was proud to notice that we left on our student-led tours in “silence” and returned buzzing as if we had “known each other forever.”