Ep. 363: Montreal | RV travel camping Quebec Canada hiking

[@e-square9976]

Fantastic and real ; despite the difficulties and frustration. Even through your setbacks the advantage from our viewpoint was zen. Once again, your composition of music and theme in this episode were not only outstanding but completely in tune. This completely calms the soul. Amazing. Truly….Thank you and safe travels.❤

[@GrandAdventure]

Thank you as always, bud! Your comments are very, very much appreciated.

[@JMOUC265]

Back in 1991, we took a vacation in Canada with day trips to Montreal and Quebec City. We stayed at a resort called Club Azur near a town called Magog. It was a great learning experience for our boys who were in their adolescent years. I later became very adept at saying, “Je regret, je n’est pas bien francais.” I have always enjoyed our travels into French speaking countries and cultures, but sadly never mastered the language. I hope that your travels there conclude/concluded pleasantly!

[@GrandAdventure]

Thank you! Magog is so beautiful with Mont Orford in one direction and Lac Memphremagog in the other. There was once a fabulous restaurant on Magog's main street called Le Chat Noir. I ate there most Saturday nights all winter long for nearly a decade.

[@JMOUC265]

@@GrandAdventure I would have to say that you had a great life experience there! We had lunch one afternoon in Magog which was very good, but I do not remember the name of the restaurant. Several times on business, I traveled to French locations. I always enjoyed the visits and my interactions with the local inhabitants, some of the interactions being humorous when I became lost. I promised myself that I would learn French properly, and I enrolled in classes a couple of times, but alas to no avail. Memories, at least, we still have, as well as a few vocabulary words. 😄

[@GrandAdventure]

@@JMOUC265 my wife is a Francophone from near Quebec City and spoke almost zero English when we met. She and her son spoke mostly French in the house while he was growing up. She mocks me today for my pitiful French after being married for nearly 30 years. 😄

[@JMOUC265]

@@GrandAdventure 😂 Thank you for sharing that. My wife had asked if you spoke French. She learned in college and could comprehend after some immersion into the culture. I could parrot some of what I heard, getting me deeper into a conversation than I was able to sustain or comprehend. 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@GrandAdventure]

@@JMOUC265 I always say that I know just enough French to get in trouble, and not enough to get out of it. 😁

[@BikesBoatsBivouacs]

We enjoyed our time in Montreal and Quebec on our Canada trip last year. We made it from Niagara Falls to the Maritimes. It was an epic trip. Thanks for the refresher. Nice job.

[@GrandAdventure]

Thanks as always, BBB! While we won't get you to Niagara Falls this season, after next week's Quebec episode it's off to the Maritimes.

[@laughingram7287]

Definitely one of the nice things about going to Canada is the exchange rate. That campground looked super nice and clean. It looks like you folks are pretty nestled into the bush. Ram 👍🏼👍🏾

[@GrandAdventure]

That bush sure gave us our privacy, Ram. The exchange rate is helpful to offset the prices on most everything else up here, especially diesel and groceries. Hard to believe things like $9 for a pound of butter, and my truck fill-up this week was my most expensive fuel pump purchase ever at $267. Nevertheless, as you'll see as you catch up on a few more episodes, the experience overall has been excellent and I'm very happy we planned this route.

[@RoadTripEscapades]

In a previous adventure, I called on you about the good job you did on the french heritage and so on, you replied that your better half was francophone and now I know that she is from the Quebec province! Well same as us (I'm from Montreal and my wife from Repentigny) and I really liked your description of it all. Especially the camping outside Montreal!!! Good stuff, keep on going! On a side note, the Quebec parks are also called National Parks as Quebeckers have declared their own culture thus calling it a nation as there are a few million people having that same French heritage and it is slightly/vastly different than the rest of Canada :-).

[@GrandAdventure]

Thank you! On the Quebec park thing, we understand that Quebec's culture is very unique in North America, and we are impressed and encourage Quebecois to maintain that. It's part of what makes Quebec so unique and special, and quite honestly part of what endeared me to Mrs GA when we met. But for me personally, the word "nation" = "country", which is why that seems a little strange to me. For Quebec is a province of Canada, not an independent country. I see Quebec as a unique culture, not a unique nation. Hope that makes sense!

[@cirrus820travelers9]

Enjoy your narrative and travels. Quebec City is beautiful. We stayed in Levi to sightsee the area. Then followed St Lawrence to Gaspe & around to Nova Scotia. Visited both Kouchibouguac & Kejimkujik Nat'l parks. So much to see & history to learn.

[@GrandAdventure]

Thank you! We are quite literally following precisely in your footsteps at this very moment.

[@geraldsouthard7092]

So great to see Zoe in this episode. She is looking great!! Marc, you rattle off those names like a native. Safe travels!

[@GrandAdventure]

Well, my French is pretty atrocious, Gerald, as my Quebecois wife will tell you repeatedly. 🙄Zoe is adjusting well to barely being able to see anymore. Fetching is down to *very* short throws, and occasionally she has trouble with things like finding the gate in the fence, but other than that you'd barely notice.

[@WILDEBILL308]

Nice campground. Great video.

[@GrandAdventure]

Thank you Bill!

[@leighmcqueeney9848]

Great work as always. We stayed in the same campground in 2022. Great to see it again. You are braver than me though Marc. I met my wife in New Zealand, and I am too frightened to go back!! 😅

[@GrandAdventure]

🤣 You're much smarter than me. It's a very fine line between bravery and stupidity. Too funny, too, that of all the campground around Montreal we both ended up in the same one.

[@leighmcqueeney9848]

@@GrandAdventure we like being out of town too. The more space the better!! And we have a Triumph on the back of our motorhome for getting around.

[@GrandAdventure]

@@leighmcqueeney9848 that bike would be perfect. As I think I mentioned in this episode, the older I get the less tolerant I've become of urban congestion. Heck, of congestion in general. I really am a rural guy at heart.

[@ShawnPatterson402]

very nice look at some very familiar territory. It seems Montreal has forever 1 bridge too few. For 150 years now, by the time they add one more bridge it seems they still really need another... There are a couple of really nice campgrounds in Boucherville, and Longueuil, and you can take a little walk on ferry over to old Montreal. Saves the hassle of crossing over with your vehicle. continued safe travels.....

[@GrandAdventure]

Thanks Shawn! Since my last time in Montreal they've replaced the old Pont Champlain with a massive new structure, yet the approach to the bridge on the South Shore remains only 2 lanes in each direction. Ridiculous! It was horribly backed up to enter the bridge, yet traffic flowed smoothly on the bridge itself. The new A-30 on the South Shore is also only two lanes in each direction. I just can't imagine how their urban planning is so poor.

[@RVAmerica]

We enjoyed the adventure around Montreal!Next week, We will be taking our RV into Canada for much of the summer. We will be exploring New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Parts of Quebec - including Quebec City. Looking forward to that video! Danny and Lynn RV America

[@GrandAdventure]

Keep your eyes open, we very well may cross paths. Safe travels!

[@michelle_pw]

I recently discovered your channel and I’m thoroughly enjoying your travels through upstate New York and eastern Canada.

[@GrandAdventure]

@@michelle_pw Thank you Michelle! We are very happy to have you along.

[@norm4907]

Welcome to my home city.

[@GrandAdventure]

Thank you Norm! We had a wonderful visit.

[@DanyRivard]

Magnifique présentation!

[@GrandAdventure]

Merci Dany!

[@godbouty]

Welcome to Canada. Montreal is indeed flat. But a few km up north, you have Mont Tremblant with very good trails to test your cardio. While you're traveling East to Quebec City, you might want to visit Orleans Island. And than, should you move north, there's Charlevoix. It's the opposite of the flat land you were welcomed to. Cheers.

[@GrandAdventure]

Thank you Yann! Everything you say is very true, and I've been very fortunate to have been everywhere you mention in years past. 💖 Ile d'Orelans and Baie St-Paul! Next week's episode covers things stretching from Pont-Rouge through to Chute-Montmorency, but thereafter we head up the south shore of the St. Lawrence towards Gaspesie. I'm getting my mountain fix this week in the Chic-Chocs 😉.

[@tbgarage9276]

Welcome to Canada from Lac Brome Quebec

[@GrandAdventure]

Thank you Tony! I skied Bromont many, many years ago. You live in a beautiful part of the Townships.

[@normgibson6565]

Just now getting on have been out celebrating my birthday # 77

[@GrandAdventure]

Happy birthday Norm!!

[@mariewhotravels]

I always love your videos and this one as it reminded me of my home. There is one thing that I would like to warn travelers of if traveling to MTL. Toronto and Montreal are car theft capitals… With the access to the old port, organized crime loads stolen cars into shipping containers and cars are shipped overseas to be sold on the black market. This is a real problem and Toyota, Hondas are in high demand. How do I know this? I drove my 2023 Tundra TRD Pro from Colorado to Montreal for vacation in July. My truck was stolen never to be seen again. Before anyone says that the Toyota Connect app can track your truck, it doesn’t bc thieves quickly disconnected the GPS on the truck. Toyota had no connectivity to the truck at all. I wish I had some other way of tracking the truck (LoJack, AirTags, …). If you do plan to travel (drive) to Canada, protect yourself. Hide an apple AirTag somewhere in your vehicle (some place not obvious). Use a lock club for the steering wheel, or even wheel locks. Although these aren’t fool proof, they are making your vehicle less attractive to car thieves. If your vehicle is a push start, read about faraday boxes and pouches.

[@GrandAdventure]

@@mariewhotravels thank you! Good advice, and we're so sorry to hear of the fate of your dear departed Tundra.

[@dianemallard5390]

Welcome to Québec City, Hello Mark, do you see Québec city from Lévis, Terrasse du Chevalier-de-Lévis, very great place to see , and do you visiting a historique national forts-de-Lévis. Very great, Good trip to our beautiful region

[@GrandAdventure]

Thank you Diane! I never made it over the bridge to Levis this trip and the weather last weekend wasn't very cooperative for filming, but we did manage to film plenty for next week's Quebec City episode on the North Shore, from Pont-Rouge all the way to Chute-Montmorency.

[@leeproffitt69]

Well, one of the questions I have is did you have fun at this latest adventure in Canada and my other question is where is Mrs. grand adventure stop seeing her a couple of videos ago I hope everything’s OK and thank you for doing what you do. I can’t wait to see next week.

[@GrandAdventure]

Thanks Lee! We're having a blast. Mrs. GA is fairly adamant about not appearing on camera, so you'll hardly ever see her. Occasionally she'll get caught in the background of a shot, but that's typically about it. All is well here, thanks for asking.

[@michgunnut]

I'm in Michigan and I want to see if you get onto the narrow streets and how you maneuver on them, because we have a 30' Class C and that's why we have been avoiding Montreal and Quebec City.

[@GrandAdventure]

No doubt about that! There's no way I was driving our (overall) 54-foot freight train on the Island of Montreal. So we stayed just off the island in the peaceful farm country on the South Shore, a quick 15-minute drive from the bridges into the city. Personally, we'd rather be set up out in the quiet countryside anyway. Likewise, as you'll see next week, for Quebec City we also set up camp in the farmlands nearby, left our 33-foot 5th wheel there and drove the truck alone into Quebec -- which was tricky enough by itself, particularly within the tight confines of the walled portion of the city. By staying on the South Shore we were able to follow A-30 and A-20 all the way to Quebec while staying outside of the urban areas of Montreal. And because we camped to the west of Quebec City, we were able to cross the river on the Pierre Laporte Bridge to avoid having to go through the city itself to get to our campsite. We could have made it easier still (with a few extra miles) by crossing the river at Sorel or Trois-Rivieres instead, and heading east on A-40. It was all strategically planned.

[@daviscrt]

Great video. How exciting going to another country. Thanks Don

[@GrandAdventure]

@@daviscrt thank you Don!

[@joannewinters9616]

❤

[@GrandAdventure]

Thank you Joanne!

[@jesib7526]

Its nice to see a clean city with appropriately dressed people. Our cities, many of them, are trashed with/by people who have fallen into unimaginable situations by the drug problems and our economy. Its so beautiful up there where you are. Thank you!!

[@GrandAdventure]

It truly is, Jesi, and thanks for watching! Both Montreal and Quebec City are immaculate and eminently safe when compared to your typical American city. Even decades ago when I lived in Saratoga Springs (NY), I lived roughly equidistant between NYC and Montreal. Whenever we needed a city fix, we always headed north and hardly ever drove south.

[@gorrdd]

Marc... you look so French Canadian. What happened?😂. I go to Canada and still look like a flipping American even though I'm still Canadian by birth. Will you be changing back again when you cross back over later this year? Just curious...🤔 Lovely laid back scenery all around that area. Always has been that way. Same with the Champlain Valley area. Thanks for taking us along. No, I won't be driving into Moreal any time soon. Is the Ottawa vicinity on the intinary, or no? Gord

[@GrandAdventure]

🤣No one around here is going to mistake me for a native, Gord, especially once I open my mouth. 🤣 No Ottawa this year. Montreal was our westernmost stop in Canada this season. We keep heading east from here.

[@gorrdd]

@@GrandAdventure Roger that, Marc. I gather the Mrs. is fluent in French. She certainly has the French Canadian female look to her. I gather she doesn't get much opportunity to speak French these days. Did you visit with her relatives yet? Are you going Newfy first or last? If you look on the map, Quebec province is a monster... goes all the way up where the bugs don't run. Gord

[@GrandAdventure]

@@gorrdd the Mrs. is not only fluent in French, she barely spoke any English when we met. She's now fluent in both. She and her son spoke only French in the house while he was growing up. She also speaks with her relatives by phone quite regularly. Next week's episode is when most of the family visits took place, near Quebec City. Newfoundland isn't on the itinerary this year. Both the cost and logistics of getting the RV onto the island for this season. Right now we're in Gaspesie, and will be making a run into New Brunswick and PEI over the next few weeks.

[@gorrdd]

@@GrandAdventure Thanks Marc. I'm getting a better picture of your tour this year. Apparently, you will be back in the states, traveling the Maine coastline, before the end of July. Will you be going into Nova Scotia and traveling the coastline there? Gord

[@GrandAdventure]

@@gorrdd yes sir.

[@maryrutherford6516]

Do you have to be vaccinated to get into Canada?

[@GrandAdventure]

No Mary, not for several years now.

[@roybeck-u6r]

Absolutely cringe when I think about about driving in or about Montreal

[@GrandAdventure]

The traffic was never wonderful, but since 25 years ago it has gotten ridiculous.