Family Vacation

The Bonhomme

Some family vacations are better than others–my grandson Jon and I rate our 2006 experience in Quebec the “best family vacation” ever!

With no experience at all in the French language, eight-year-old Jon started out somewhat worried about how we’d manage in Quebec. My French is so-so, as long as I can read or write it, I can likely manage. However, we soon discovered the langauge wasn’t a barrier for English-only visitors. By the end of the trip Jon had made friends, and even learned a few phrases to share with his classmates back home!

In fact, the friendliness of everyone we met contributed to our ranking the trip the best family vacation ever. Some of our favorite Quebec family activities included: new experiences like dog sledding and watching the Quebec City dogsled racing during the Carnival de Quebec; skiing down the pine forest covered hills; discovering so many ways to slide down a hill (toboggans are old hat when you’re in Quebec–try tubing or rafting for a thrill a minute); exploring the historic streets of Old Quebec; and most important, meeting the Bonhomme and experiencing the world’s largest winter carnival, the Carnival de Quebec.

Quebec Eastern Townships

Skiing in Quebec

Our family vacation in Quebec’s Eastern Townships was packed with things to do and places to visit. Flatlanders, both Jon and I enjoyed strapping on skis and taking lessons on the snow-covered hills at Sutton’s Mountain Resort. Of course I never made it off the bunny hill, but Jon proved his expertise by taking the trip to the top twice and skiing right past me at the bottom. Mind you, there were a few falls involved.

Other family vacation highlights included visiting the Confiserie Tentation (Fudge and home-made candy) store owned by Dianne Beaudry in Sutton; watching the miniature train roar over its snow covered track in Knowlton; night skiing at Ski Bromont, and a great time at Chateau Bromont. Our Quebec dog sledding adventure was in Magog with Adrenlin Adventure. Martine Nadeau, the owner, taught us a little about mushing as she handled our team and led two other teams. For more information just contact Martine at: 1-888-475-3462.

Dogsledding

Quebec City

The many family vacation activities in Quebec City kept Jon and I busy–so busy we’d like to plan a Quebec City summer vacation to visit more attractions like museums and art galleries.

Snow tubing at Village Vacances Valcartier

Kids have lots of winter activities, from sliding down snow covered slopes at Village Vacances Valcartier; to bumper cars, ferris wheel, and Imax theatre at the Mega Parc des Galeries de la Capitale; to the the Ice Hotel Quebec-Canada; to the incredible Carnival de Quebec.

We played by day and by night sampled the cuisine Quebec is famous for. Even our breakfasts of crepes with maple syrup left us with a taste for more–we had to bring home Quebec’s maple syrup to share with everyone who couldn’t come along.

Quebec and the Carnival de Quebec are truly family vacation experiences you’ll treasure for a lifetime.

by Linda Aksomitis

Kids with Bonhomme at Quebec Carnival

There’s nothing more fun than being a grandma and introducing your grandchild to new experiences–one of our most memorable has been a visit to Quebec Carnival, also called the Bonhomme Carnaval or the Carnaval de Quebec. The largest winter carnival in the world, Quebec Carnival runs through three weekends beginning in late January and ending in February of each year in Quebec City.

My grandson, Jon, and I, started the first day of Carnival meeting the Bonhomme over breakfast at our hotel. There couldn’t be a better ambassador for Carnival–and kids–than this seven foot snowman! Born in 1954, Bonhomme has been the official representative of the Carnival for generations of young Quebecers.

Inside Bonhomme's castle at Quebec Carnival

Like Bonhomme, we wrapped a bright, long red arrow sash around our middles before setting off outside. I immediately recognized the sash as being part of Metis tradition in the west, so wasn’t surprised to discover it had a similar history in Quebec and had been worn by both the bourgeois and the habitant classes during the 19th century. The original function of the sash was to tie jackets at the waist to keep them closed, but now it’s one of the cultural traditions that make Carnival such an integral part of Quebec winter celebrations.

First stop was–where else–the Bonhomme’s Palace. As you might expect, a snowman lives in an ice castle, with all of the furnishings even made of ice. We wandered through, checking out the ice benches, bed, and even bathroom!

Carnival events inside the walls of Old Quebec

Bonhomme’s festivities take place on the Plains of Abraham, one of Canada’s most important historical parks. In the 18th century the French and English battled for the right to rule, with the deciding battle happening on September 13, 1759. The British, led by General Wolfe, crossed the St. Lawrence River above Quebec, and defeated the French, led by General Montcalm on these Plains, establishing the course of history.

Today Quebec City is the only city north of Mexico that is still surrounded by the original battlement walls. Jon, like many other youngsters, looked for an opportunity to climb the walls, while the older and younger members of the crowd enjoyed visiting and drinking the free mugs of hot chocolate that were handed out.

Ice Sculptures at Quebec Carnival

After the hot drinks we decided to check out the ice sculptures. Regarded by some as the best Ice Sculpture festival in the world, the Quebec Carnival has a variety of different levels of competition. While many of the teams are Canadian, the sculpture artists come from around the world to show their best creative skills at the three-week-long festival. Another long-time Quebec cultural activity, ice sculpture has been popular since sculptors like Louis Jobin’s first ice creations in the 1880s.

While Jon gazed enviously at the sculptor’s tools–the small shovel and pick–I marvelled at the intricate work such utensils could do!

Kids trying ice fishing at Quebec Carnival

Our next stop was something Jon could participate in–the ice fishing. While Quebec youngsters may have lots of opportunities to try this with their parents on the thousands of lakes in Quebec, where Jon and I are from in Southern Saskatchewan, there just aren’t that many lakes or ice fishing opportunities. Carnival organizers create an artificial lake just for the kids and stock it with 5000 trout. The fishing pole is simple, just a rod and line with a hook on the end, but kids do get results!

While Jon was disappointed not to pull something out of the ice hole, we knew we’d have just dropped the fish back down for some other child, since we were staying in a hotel and had no access to cooking facilities.

Jon’s favourite activity at Carnival was a tie between foozball with real live players (we both got to participate) and snow rafting.

Snow Rafting at Quebec Carnival

The raft we used truly was the same kind of raft used on the water, except a snowmobile pulls it to the top of a hill overlooking the Plains of Abraham. Once we were all in the raft, it was pushed ahead over the crest of the hill to slide through a snow course of lanes created by foot-high banks of snow. The screams were all pure fun!

We also climbed into the Ice Castle, walked through the indoor buildings and exhibits, and watched lots of fun events. Carnival, we both decided as we dragged our tired feet back to our hotel, is an event everyone should attend at least once in a lifetime!

If you go:

Visit the Carnaval de Quebec web site at:  http://www.carnaval.qc.ca/

Teacher’s Pages with games, songs, and more: http://www.carnaval.qc.ca/en/scolaire.asp

Copyright 2007, Linda Aksomitis (Pub date – Jan 16/07).  All Rights Reserved.