The stories on the map
Journeys
September – October 2019 · living abroadAutumn in Québec
Québec City, Île d'Orléans, the Saguenay fjord, Tadoussac and the autumn colours, before settling in Montréal.
7 stories
November 2019 – March 2020 · living abroadWinter in Montreal
First snow, a chalet weekend in the Laurentians, Christmas in New York as dog-sitters, Igloofest, a real snowstorm, Niagara and Toronto, then the world closing down.
10 stories
April – July 2020 · living abroadMontreal, from lockdown to summer
A spring that never comes, the hunt for a car, parks as the only bars, a dress rehearsal in the Thousand Islands and Moving Day.
5 stories
July – September 2020 · road tripCanadian summer: Ontario and the Rockies
Ottawa, Algonquin, the Bruce Peninsula, Lake Superior, Winnipeg and the Prairies, then Banff, Jasper and the Iceline Trail in the Rockies.
21 storiesAll the stories
Autumn in QuébecSeptember – October 2019
Stage 1 · September 30, 2019A new continent, the same language
It felt very strange to cross an ocean, change continents and arrive in a country where French was also an official language. After a very bumpy eight-hour flight, we landed…
Stage 2 · October 3, 2019In Jacques Cartier's footsteps
Jacques Cartier is an unavoidable figure in Québec. The first official discoverer of Canada, he documented his voyages so thoroughly that it's easy to follow in his footsteps. The Jacques-Cartier…
Stage 3 · October 4, 2019Mont du Lac-des-Cygnes, on crutches
Travelling on crutches had undeniable drawbacks, but it offered one major advantage on our visit to Grands-Jardins National Park. The regular clack of the crutch at every step on the…
Stage 4 · October 8, 2019An accent to tame, whales to watch for
Getting used to the Québécois accent had gone fairly smoothly. Admittedly, we'd sometimes come across someone with poor diction, but that could also happen in remote corners of France. In…
Stage 5 · October 9, 2019Out among the whales, then along the Saguenay
That morning we went to Les Bergeronnes, 20 kilometres north of Tadoussac, to watch whales, but this time from a boat. We could have done it in Tadoussac, but we…
Stage 6 · October 13, 2019Silence, in the middle of the lake
When was the last time you truly experienced silence? In the middle of that stretch of water, we couldn't hear a single sound. No car in the distance, no raised…
Stage 7 · October 16, 2019Thirteen hundred kilometres later, Montreal
All good things come to an end, and our road trip was over after 1,300 kilometres on the road. A new adventure was now beginning: taking on the city of…
Winter in MontrealNovember 2019 – March 2020
Stage 1 · December 4, 2019First snow, and no underground city
At noon we carry on our tour of Montréal à Table, the festival during which the city's restaurants put together gently priced menus, by going for brunch at Jacopo, an…
Stage 2 · December 21, 2019Doing a chalet, Québec style
This morning, Stéphane is browsing a pet-sitting website, the idea being that you look after people's animals in their homes while they're on holiday, and stumbles upon an ad for…
Stage 5 · December 31, 2019From Brooklyn to Harlem, then New Year's Eve dinner at 6:50 pm
Among New York's must-sees is, of course, Wall Street, the heart of global finance. The streets of this neighbourhood aren't necessarily spectacular, and since it's late December it's reasonable to…
Stage 6 · January 30, 2020The Montreal syndrome
Influenza. Behind this rather harmonious little name hides the virus so dreaded by us little humans as soon as winter shows its face: the flu. And Cassandre won't escape it…
Stage 7 · February 9, 2020Canoes on the ice and a real snowstorm
When it's time to leave work this Friday at 5 pm, the start of the weekend has a different flavour. This time the house isn't empty when we get home!…
Stage 8 · February 23, 2020Niagara, Toronto and the bison of Parc Oméga
Cassandre's parents have spent four days in Quebec City and its region and are coming back today from their little trip. But we don't plan to stay in Montreal this…
Stage 9 · March 15, 2020A sister at the door
For more than a month Stéphane has been secretly preparing a big surprise for Cassandre: the arrival of her sister and brother-in-law. Tonight he told her he was working overtime.…
Stage 10 · March 22, 2020The last flight to Orly
What a week! All over the world, governments are responding to the spread of Covid-19 with announcement after announcement. France has just locked down its population, a week after Italy;…
Montreal, from lockdown to summerApril – July 2020
Stage 1 · May 23, 2020The spring that never came
Winter is well and truly over and, contrary to popular belief, it wasn't harsh. The cold is easy to bear; you just need to be wrapped up. Most of the…
Stage 2 · June 13, 2020A white Elantra
Today we have an appointment at a garage to have the car we decided to buy last week inspected. Except we no longer have a car to inspect: the seller…
Stage 3 · June 20, 2020From the P'tit Train du Nord to the Rawdon falls
As soon as the sun shows its rays, we use the car to get away from Montreal. After an hour's drive we park in the dirt car park of the…
Stage 4 · June 24, 2020The Thousand Islands, a dress rehearsal
Before a long road trip in a new country, we have a habit: do a short one first. It shows what works and what needs fixing. In Australia, two weeks…
Stage 5 · July 6, 2020Moving Day
1 July is Canada Day. But in Quebec it's also the scene of a local oddity with a nickname of its own: Moving Day. Most leases run from 1 July…
Canadian summer: Ontario and the RockiesJuly – September 2020
Stage 1 · July 12, 2020Nine months in Montreal, a Sunday in Ottawa
Nine months in Montreal. Nine long months to live a thousand experiences, a thousand adventures, and to meet the most varied cast of characters. Since we left France four years…
Stage 2 · July 15, 2020Algonquin, ridges and mosquitoes
On France's national holiday we set off at 9 am to cover the 270 kilometres to Algonquin. A nasty surprise on arrival: Stéphane's phone has no signal, and his SIM…
Stage 3 · July 17, 2020Muskoka and the Thirty Thousand Islands
We'd planned a long day of canoeing, but the sky isn't at its best. Everything is grey and nothing suggests it will clear. We give up on the kayak and…
Stage 4 · July 18, 2020Dodging the raindrops on Ontario's beaches
This morning Stéphane's phone is flooded with alerts from the Canadian weather app: a big storm is heading for the region, whatever you do, stay indoors. Afraid of being stranded…
Stage 5 · July 22, 2020The Bruce Peninsula, between cliffs and wrecks
If someone tells you about spectacular wooded cliffs above white pebble beaches with crystal-clear turquoise water, you'll probably think of the calanques of Marseille or southern Italy rather than Canada.…
Stage 6 · July 24, 2020The Bruce Trail, then Killarney's pink granite
Up just before 8, we call the switchboard straight away as it opens. We burst out laughing when the automated message tells us we're seventieth in the queue. We leave…
Stage 7 · July 26, 2020Manitoulin, the island at the end of the detour
At last we're on Manitoulin Island, and the irony is that the seven-hundred-kilometre detour cost us less than the ferry, thanks to our thrifty Hyundai Elantra. We can finally enjoy…
Stage 8 · July 30, 2020Lake Superior, a ranger and a bear cub
That was only our third night under canvas in more than two weeks on the road, which says a lot about how hard it is to find a free, or…
Stage 9 · August 1, 2020The Sleeping Giant and Thunder Bay
Sleeping Giant Provincial Park covers the Sibley Peninsula and offers some of the province's finest views over Lake Superior, from the top of the Top of the Giant trail, which…
Stage 10 · August 4, 2020From Lake of the Woods to Manitoba
What separates a holiday from a journey is time. On a road trip of this scale you have to accept drives that stretch over hours, sometimes days, and get used…
Stage 11 · August 6, 2020Kayaking through tunnels, then Winnipeg
The canoe and the kayak are deeply rooted in Canadian culture. For a long time they were the only way to get around, and they're surely the finest legacy of…
Stage 12 · August 8, 2020The rights museum, then the road to Regina
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has been at the centre of a controversy since the start of the summer. Former employees have denounced on social media the racism and…
Stage 13 · August 12, 2020The Prairies, from Regina to the dinosaurs
Since we left the heart of Ontario, people have changed radically. The Ontarians of the wealthy part of the province struck us as very concerned with appearances, keen to be…
Stage 14 · August 15, 2020Calgary, then our first Banff trails
In the heart of this oil province, Calgary is paradoxically very committed to green transport: an efficient light rail, many bus lines and, above all, nearly a thousand kilometres of…
Stage 15 · August 16, 2020Turning thirty, by bike in the Bow Valley
For Cassandre's thirtieth birthday we rent two bikes and ride the superb paved road through the Bow Valley, closed to cars all summer. Canada hasn't accustomed us to such consideration…
Stage 16 · August 19, 2020Beating the crowds to Lake Louise
The alarm goes at 7 and we struggle to surface. No dawdling, though: every passing minute brings its stream of cars full of holidaymakers come to admire Lake Louise. Type…
Stage 17 · August 21, 2020Taking our time up to the Bow Glacier
Our two new friends are already leaving when we open our eyes at 9:30. Less keen on hiking than us, they want to push on to Jasper to find a…
Stage 18 · August 25, 2020Folding Mountain and Jasper's icy nights
The motel is undeniably part of the North American experience: sleeping in one of these budget hotels is also a taste of the country's folklore. But beyond the cultural interest…
Stage 19 · August 30, 2020Edmonton, two dogs and a real bed
Again last night the cold laid its thin, insidious film over Jasper, and we were feeling far from brave in the car. Luckily we'd piled on the layers and managed…
Stage 20 · September 1, 2020Climb that damn mountain
It's amazing how quickly you get attached to two little balls of fur. One last moment with Kalpana and James, and already it's time to say goodbye. Dogs are extremely…
Stage 21 · September 6, 2020The waterfalls of the Iceline Trail
Some waterfalls amaze with their flow, a wild power crashing onto the rock and drenching everything around. Others impress with their width, as if they could fill a lake on…