We got going this morning around 10.04, after a quick breakfast at home. Since we had been at at party last night, we were kind of slightly tired. Today's adventure was to Baie St Paul, 350 km northeast of Montreal, on the northern shoreline of the St Lawerence River. It's one of those places that My In-Laws wanted to show us and as you will see, we understand why. The Charlevoix region of Quebec is a truely beautiful place enclosed by the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River and the Laurentian Mountains region of the Canadian Shield. It includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands and bays and is a part of the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, since 1989.
Unfortunetly the weather in Montreal was crap. It was raining and when it wasn't raining it was very cloudy. So unfortunetly the weather gods weren't with us. But according to the weather reports it was to be better weather in Baie st Paul, both later on in the evening and the day after. So hopeful it was just to wait it out...
We took Champlain Bridge/Pont off the island of Iles de Soeurs and then on to route 132 along the St Lawerence River. Then on to Route 20 East and that's the road we followed for quite a while. In St-Hyacinthe we stopped for some 11-coffee at Tim Hortons. Andy, his Dad and I are large coffee drinkers, so the choice was easy, black for them and a Vanilla Cappuccino for me along with a Boston Creme with Chocolate donut. Andy's Mom had a SmooTim (a strawberry smoothie).
Before we got to Quebec, and in the midst of the rain, we stopped of at Subway in Laurier-Station. Subway is such a good lunch since it's quick and tasty, but at the same time it isn't a lot of food and since we were going to have a 4-5 course dinner at the hotel, we didn't want to eat too much lunch. I had an Italian B.M.T really good, tasty. We don't have this one in Sweden, so it's always nice to chose some different stuff. Andy had a Spicy Italian, Andy's Mom had a Tuna and Andy's Dad a Steak & Cheese. We also bought some of our favorite chips, since last time we were here, Miss Vickies Jalapeno chips, that are spicy and really good! We really like them, they are slightly more crispy than regular chips and the taste is intense and real, also the chips have no trans fats, MSG and artificial flavors or coloring.
After Quebec City is where the beauty of the Province of Quebec can be seen. The roads are high on the mountain sides and the magnificence of the St Lawrence river spreads out. It is large open areas, with vast views of the lavish landscape. But more pictures from then were taken by our SLR so I'll load them later.
After Beauport, we took Route 138 NE and started our trip towards Baie St Paul, along the St Lawrence. When we got closer to Grande-Pointe, we took a little detour towards Le Massif de Charlevoix, a ski resort, situated right by the edge of the St Lawrence river. One skiis down the slope towards the river and see the magnificent view all the way down. Andy's Dad has done some skiing here previously and thought it would be a cool place to see the view.
Just before entering the Bay of Saint Paul / Baie St Paul, we could see the whole city spread out in the valley below, we got of the road and towards our hotel, l'Auberge La Pignoronde. A quiet and quaint little hotel, overlooking the bay. The hotel, or The Inn, is one of the most well-known in Charlevoix and offers its quests a large range of activities and choice.
The Inn has a total of 28 rooms, conecting rooms, luxury 3 room suites, and mezzanine rooms. All the rooms have a private bathroom, but only 20 with AC and 2 with balcony. There is an indoor pool and lots of out door activities and lounging areas. There is a restaurant that serves both breakfast and dinner and the dinner is highly recommended. Located: N47.25'28,5" W70.31'20.2"
Andy's Mom and Dad got room 211, with a balcony and Andy and I got room 213. The rooms had a great view along the Baie St Paul but make sure that you don't get the room at the end on any of the floors since there really isn't a view there because of the tall trees.
We had dinner reservations at the Inn's gourmet restaurant. Where my In-Laws have eaten before and really recommended us to eat. They have a Table d'Hôte Menu (a complete dinner) that changes daily. It's either a 4 or 5 course dinner with lots of choices and is truly excellent.
For the first course there was a choice of Feuilleté de Homard/Lobster in puff pastry, Terrine de Pintade aux Olives Noires et Tomates Séchées/A guineafowl terrine with black olives and sun dried tomatoes, Salade Mesclun et sa Vinaigrette Maison/A mixed salad with the house vinegrette.
All four of us had the lobster in puff pastry with lobster sauce and a salad. It was beautiful! The lobster was so buttery and mild, but at the same time so tasty and meaty. Served with a Marlborough soaked Chardonnay.
My Mother-in-Law and I had the Filet de Doré et Beurre Citronné, but unforutnetly the fish was slightly dry and there wasn't enough lemon butter sauce. But it did taste very nice. We continued with the white wine we had with the starter.
Andy and I ordered the Everest. It was really good, although it was huge and we really could have shared one. A nice touch with the pralines, it made the cake slightly crunchy and more interesting. Also it was served with fruits witch is always nice.
The view over the bay just before bed time...
Contact me at mail@karoleen.se .
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