The riddle is why do people take the pain to swap their memories to something more lasting and replicable? Intrigue to write this piece probably sprouted out of some sentimental link that connected me with two old colonial cities: Mahe in India and Quebec City in Canada. Both these places by the river, had at some point in world’s time shared something in common - its ties to the French Empire and the presence of a migrant like me.
I know one cannot express the entirety of any city in a para or two. However, the idea here is to give an introduction, which generates enough curiosity that motivates someone to walk around and explore their own town. As I wandered about Quebec City, thoughts replayed in my mind of the eventful but often lost chapters commemorating the years of my life in Mahe. Being a mischief among the misfits, days rolled on like R.K Narayan’s “Malgudi days” or something along the lines of Mark Twain’s “Tom Sawyer”. Those final teen years were a time of fostering friendships and fighting rebellions to protect the code of secret alliances, calf loves and fraternity.
Mahe is approximately ten sq km in area and remained a French colony even after India gained independence from Britain in 1947. When the French left in 1954, Mahe was integrated as an Union Territory of India. Some notable landmarks of this town are the St. Theresa Church, the Administrator’s building and the bridge with a view to the ocean. Saint Theresa church festival gathers a huge crowd, down with it comes small neat stalls selling beads and other goodies. On one such occasion, I remember sitting on top of the giant wheel and watching the landscape of this town. The Administrator’s building is right on the bank where the river meets the ocean. The fortifications or the buildings are not as elaborate as the one you would see in Quebec City but do retain the French touch. Another thing Mahe is famous for is the number of liquor stores in town. On some Saturday afternoons, I would run away from school, get a bottle of port wine from one of those stores and walk to the park close to the Administrator’s building, find a bench under a tree near the river and drink weak wine watching people catching fish. Youth is probably the best time to be lost and the worst time to be addicted.
|
|
Toronto –> Ottawa -> Quebec City / & / Quebec City –> Montreal -> Toronto
|
The undertaking of a road trip from Toronto to the eastern frontier of Canada was abridged to a journey ending in Quebec City. The democracy in my family vetoed the appeal for a fourteen-day expedition from Toronto to Halifax, pushing a different agenda of a two front exploration trip: one from Toronto to Quebec City in Canada and the other along the western boundaries of USA. The Canadian journey was all finalized on that Thursday as we gathered around the dining table deliberating each possible itinerary. We agreed on splitting the entire trip [1800 Km] from Toronto to Quebec City and back into four segments. The first piece of our drive was to start on Friday evening from Toronto and reach Ottawa the capital of Canada by night. Explore Ottawa the next day until late afternoon and then continue with the second leg to Quebec City. The third phase was the return ride from Quebec City with a stopover at Montreal and the final fourth stage was the travel from Montreal to reach Toronto safe. This journey had a special meaning to everyone in the group. It was to create an atmosphere of family reunion and to give each runner an opportunity to ponder upon their future through soul-searching. I have traveled many times to Ottawa for business and to Montreal for pleasure, so the excitement for me was all about Quebec City and the heritage it had preserved without loss.
On that fine Friday afternoon, my BMW raced eastward ahead of the outgoing Toronto rush hour traffic through Kingston, the mouth of St Lawrence River that connects the Great Lakes with the Atlantic ocean, having its tail end close to Quebec City. If someone looks at the trip from the geographical point of view, the whole voyage was to ride along the north side of the St Lawrence River up to Montreal then to cut across to the south side of the river until hitting Quebec City and then driving back to Toronto maintaining the northern side of the St Lawrence River.
While we drove eastward on Highway 401 towards Ottawa, I told my family the story of my first visit to Canada couple of years ago. It was when I had made the decision to move to Canada and was checking out different cities to move in to. I remember pulling down the top of the convertible car as I crossed over the border between America and Canada - It might have something to do with the transition from liberty to peace. Moving to Canada was a crucial decision to make, but ironically I felt more like a character in M. Mukunthan’s book ‘On the banks of the Mahe River’. Towards the end of the novel, this person goes to the train station and waits to board the first train that comes irrelevant of the direction. The character probably felt that he had no real destination of choice once he had left Mahe. My feeling might have been similar, after leaving India - all worlds looked the same.
|
|
Light display on the Parliament Building / & / Peace Tower
|
The summer sun was still up as we pulled into the valet parking of a fancy hotel in Ottawa. We decided to do some scouting along the Rideau Street in venture of a nice restaurant for dinner. In many trips, I have had the luck of walking into spots of action or festivity. One such event was something that happened that day in Ottawa - The illumination of the Canadian Parliament building and the projection of a documentary describing the heritage of Canada with the same building as the screen or the backdrop. We stood there with many others, refreshing the history of Canada until the show was over and spotlight beamed on to the Peace Tower. The Canadian flag fluttered on top of it like the vibrant heart of this nation.
We began to walk again to further discover the city and found the national war memorial, the Fairmont Chateau Laurier and the Rideau Canal all lit up in neon lights. There are some historic details about Rideau Canal other than the fact that it is the largest winter skating ring in the world. It was constructed post-American war of independence by the British military with the objective of securing supply route to Kingston fort by bypassing the stretch of St. Lawrence River that bordered with America. If you happened to come to Ottawa in May, make sure you pick a date during the tulip festival when both sides of Rideau Canal are adorned with tulips of many different colors. I was fortunate to see it once and enjoy its beauty so much that it made me think what if William Wordsworth saw these tulips instead of the daffodils. In that case, he would have probably written - When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of million tulips; Beside the canal, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Coming back from an exhaustive night sightseeing, we gathered and planned for the next day’s schedule before diving into a deep sleep. Saturday, we assembled bright and early at the breakfast table for a good coffee and some scones and croissants. After that, we moved along Albert Street, passing Bank and Kent Street and finally turning right at Booth Street to visit the Canadian War Museum. We saw the park adjacent to the Museum being setup for some huge rock band concert. At the gate of the War Museum, couple of Royal Canadian Mounted Police greeted us and explained about the special camouflage exhibition that was organized.
|
|
Geography of Ottawa / & / Parliament Building from the Quebec side of Ottawa river
|
We found the Museum very informative with respect to how Canada has evolved over time through battles and wars starting from the conflict between first nation tribes and the initial settlers. One may not be able to remember all the battles between and against the tribes like the Algonquian, the Huron’s, the Iroquois and the settlers from colonial countries, but certainly the Museum puts in perspective the shaping of an initial northern French and the southern British dominance of North America. The museum continues elaborating the tug of war for power over North America between the British and the French along side the first people alliance. Finally, the 150-year conflict ends on 13 Sep 1759 with British gaining full control of Canada by beating the French at the battle of the planes of Abraham in Quebec City. A strange thing I noted about that 30 minutes battle was both the British and the French Generals lost their lives.
The museum goes on with the role of American Revolution in the demarcation of North America into two countries, Canada that supported the British and USA that rebelled against it. The Museum also describes the involvement of Canada during both the world wars and holds the black armored Mercedes Benz limousine, which Hitler used as a parade car. The rock band had started playing music in the park by the time we got out of the Canadian War Museum. We listened to the music and kept on to our schedule of visiting Canadian Museum of Civilization. Seeing this museum was a task I have tried every time I visited Ottawa but was unable due to something or the other.
The building that houses the Canadian Museum of Civilization is a remarkable structure designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The Parliament building and the Canadian Museum of Civilization are seated on either banks of the Ottawa River staring at each other. Geographically, the Parliament building is on the Ontario province side of Ottawa River and Canadian Museum of civilization is on the Quebec province. I introduced Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural contributions to my family by elaborating about his other magnificent creations like the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan, the Martin house in Buffalo and the Zimmerman House in New Hampshire, which I had the fortunate opportunity to visit and study.
|
|
Hitler’s limousine / & / Canadian Museum of Civilization
|
After our quick lunch at the café inside, we started our tour of the Museum that housed many fine collections. One of the things that will strike your eyes immediately is the long tree trunks with carvings on them, called the totem poles. Interestingly, some of the carvings could mean a story of the first nation people who made them. This Museum fills you in with a lot of the information about the history of Canada starting from the early settlers like Champlain who founded Quebec City, then about the first Prime Minister of Canada- John A. Macdonald and on many other great men of statute akin to Pierre Elliott Trudeau, arguably the founder of modern Canada.
The clock hit four and reminded us that we had planned to leave Ottawa at least by 4:30 to reach Quebec City in time for dinner. However, there were more to see like a close look at the Canadian Supreme Court and the ride along Sussex drive. Sussex drive is mostly like Massachusetts Avenue in Washington DC or Chanakyapuri in New Delhi where most of the foreign Embassies line up the street. Once you pass the embassy row on Sussex drive, you will come across the Canadian Prime Minister’s residence and further up is Rideau Hall, the mansion that houses the Governor General of Canada. If you keep driving, you will see some quiet parks with great view to the Ottawa River.
We drove parallel to Ottawa River on highway 417 up to Montreal and picked up highway 20 to head towards Quebec City. Highway 417 and 20 are part of the Trans Canadian highway, which runs from the west coast -Mile Zero at Victoria, British Colombia to the east coast - St. Johns in Newfoundland. It was twilight when we switched over from highway 20 to Highway 73 and crossed over Pierre Laporte Bridge to Quebec City. Pont Pierre Laporte, as called in French, is the longest main span suspension bridge in Canada. On the west side of this bridge is another old beautiful bridge called Pont de Quebec, which holds the record for the longest cantilever bridge span in the world. This two contrasting architecture gives away the shift in and evolution of bridge design.
|
|
Geography of Quebec City / & / Hotel Du Parliament
|
It was dark and we were tired when we checked into our hotel. While we were booking for the next day’s conducted tour of the city, the receptionist asked us if we were in town to celebrate the final day of summer festival. I became curious and gobbled up as much information about that night’s event. There is a concert going on in the Plains of Abraham, the historic site where the battle of Canada happened. Someone from the audience asked – who is playing; it’s Sting. We all dressed up and started our car to drive into the fortified old city. I should probably say it was the best decision we all made during the entire trip. Amazing and Astonishing was the beauty of this city at night – Much reminded me of the castles in Disney world except the Quebec provincial flag flew on the lit up crown structure that topped Hotel due Parliament.
We could feel so much energy around us that I could not guess what a night it was going to turn out to be. We followed the music and the crowd along many beautiful side streets to finally fall into the lake of people in Grand Allee. It reminded me of Time Square, New York on New Year’s eve; probably something that you only want to do once in a lifetime. We were still away from the central stage but there was no way to go any further. We decided to share the merriment of people who were half-drunk in wine and half-drunk in music by just jumping in tune with them. Some people started climbing on to the walls of the fort to see the stage better and we followed suit. The elevation gave us a better visibility but it was still hard to see what was happening down at the distant stage.
As the music continued and the night slipped to the next morning, we started feeling hungry. The bars were open but the restaurant patios had started to wind down services. We found an eatery on the intersection of Rue Du Tresor and Rue Ste Anne. A good beer and some pasta filled my stomach. We almost forgot about the guided tour we signed up for, that started from our hotel at seven in the morning.
|
|
Quebec City Panorama / & / Chateau Frontenac
|
With great reluctance, I got out of bed at 6:30 am and was sipping huge jar of coffee to keep me awake when the tour guide announced his presence. I grabbed an apple and an orange juice to keep me going until afternoon. The tour guide stopped at places of historic importance and showed us postcard photo shoot out locations. This included the Statue of Samuel De Champlain - the founder of Quebec City, The Plains of Abraham where the battle of Canada happened, the location where the Canadian national anthem - O Canada was first recited and many other historic buildings and monuments. This is probably the only city I have visited recently where I did not go to a museum because there was so much beauty outside that the whole place was a museum in itself. The traditional French architecture dominates the older buildings and some new buildings represent later styles like the neo gothic or neo baroque.
I felt that some American cities share certain aspects of Quebec City like the buildings around the French quarters in New Orleans, the narrow cobble stoned Delancey Street in Philadelphia and the steep curvy roads of San Francisco in California. If I had to point out one building that captivated my mind and will remain as an icon of Quebec City – It would be Chateau Frontenac. This hotel is a member in the list of UNESCO’s world heritage sites and holds the record for the most photographed hotel in the world. Other than the grand look, Chateau Frontenac also has an undisputed view to the St. Lawrence River and a quick access to Terresse Dufferin Street, which is an elaborate wooden boardwalk with cast iron lampposts on either side. Some other beautiful buildings that you might fancy are the Edifice Price building and the Gara Du Palais building for its green copper roofs alike the Chateau Frontenac.
The lower town or the riverfront below the Chateau Frontenac can be accessed by a set of stairs or through the Funicular. Coming down at a 45-degree angle, riding the Funicular could be a great experience offering a spectacular view of St. Lawrence River and the lower town. Much is said about this part of the city’s resemblance to some locations in France that even moviemakers substitute them for streets in Paris. Lower town also treasures numerous boutique stores, restaurants and access to St. Lawrence River itself. You can also be a part of a 100 square meter mural painted on the sidewalls of a building, which depicts the major events that shaped this town.
|
|
Life Size Mural – Only one person is real / & / Montmorency Falls
|
Quebec City is probably the only fortified city in North America and its description is not complete until one gets to know about the Citadel and the Martello towers. British built these structures later to protect their trade along the St. Lawrence River. The citadel was the venue for the Quebec conference during Second World War and now is the second official residence of the Governor General of Canada. The significance of Martello towers is that they are unmistakable to identify because of its round shape and thick wall that protected it from cannon fire. This two-storied structure is self sufficient in many ways and holds cannons on top, for its defense. It could also sight enemy movement from far distance because of its ideal location as well as send signals back to the fort of any enemy intrusion.
Still recovering from yesterday’s sleeplessness, we decided to push ourselves further to visit Montmorency Falls. It claims to be 30 meters higher than Niagara Falls but is not in any way comparable to the beauty of Niagara Falls. There are few advantages for the visitors to this fall though. One can actually take a cable car, walk up a complex staircase, or even ride a car to reach the top of the fall. Another neat thing is that one can walk across the fall over a bridge and look down the fierce fall.
The mist created at the bottom of the fall flies along with the wind to soak any one close to a range of 50 meters. One startling thing about the mist is that it changes direction rapidly with the gusty wind and entraps anyone even if you are very cautiously dodging it. I was all wet as I tried evading it to reach close and view the bottom of the fall. Once the water reaches the bottom it drains out to St. Lawrence River.
|
|
Night parade in Montreal / & / Geography Of Montreal
|
Returning from the fall towards Montreal, we wanted to get a final glimpse of the upper town and the Parliament building. Therefore, we took a detour and drove up to upper town for a coffee break. As we were walking along the narrow and cobbled streets outside the fort, tourists were checking up on the leftover of the Anglo French war - a cannon ball that was stuck inside a tree. The fountain in front of the Hotel due Parliament was beautifully crafted and close to it I was surprised to see statue of a man with baldhead and round glasses. It was truly a proud feeling to see Gandhi there. We finished our final shopping requirements at Cartier Street and started driving on Highway 40 west towards Montreal.
No one ever wants to miss the nightlife at Montreal – It is fabulous. We were walking on St Catherine Street and coincidently heard chorus singing as well as band playing, people shouting and whistling few blocks away. Chasing the sound, we blindly walked into the middle of long legged fancy character’s parade. The procession pushed us to walk along and spitted us out at a sharp corner in front of a stage that was playing some music and a magic show. One show changed to the other and we kept discovering many more stages like that, as we walked back to our hotel. At that hour of night, the only place we could find to have a decent dinner was a pizza house on some antique street. We grabbed whatever pizza we could find because they were really running out of it. I shrugged my way to the hotel half-tired and rest asleep that I forgot even to open the blinds to look out of the window of my room.
I bailed out of the Montreal city sightseeing trip because I have seen it many times and of course, I felt I could really use couple more hours of sleep. The morning surprised me with a grand view when I walked out to the private balcony of my room and looked down 18 floors to find the outdoor architecture of Montreal’s Contemporary Museum of Art. Thought of ordering in my breakfast then I figured some fresh air and a quick walk in the morning could do no harm. I sat alone on the outdoor patio of a café with a newspaper, sipping mocha and having a slice of carrot cake. People were rushing by me to work and for some reason I felt so calm and not bothered by the wriggling sound of the world around. I wish for more days like that in my calendar to take stock of what is lost in the rush for gains.
|
|
Contemporary museum of Art / & / Notre-Dame Basilica
|
All of us had planned to do their own things that morning but to randevu for lunch. I had more time to spend between my breakfast and the lunch appointment. This gap between schedules gave me the time to explore McGill University. I have always loved college campuses so kept walking in search of something interesting. Many times these random walks had made me stumble upon unique places, which I would have never discovered otherwise. I guess walking into the archeological department and their museum was such an act. It is quite an impressive collection for a college. By the time I reached back to the hotel for lunch, rest of the crowd was already present. We synchronized all of our adventures and I listened to what they had to say about the local city tour.
The interior woodwork and the stain-glass window designs of Notre-Dame Basilica was something that captivated them all. I asked them if they took notice of the pulpit, which I thought was a master artistry during gothic revival period. Once we got off that topic, they elaborated about old port area, the Olympic Stadium, Mount Royal Park and Saint Joseph oratory. I was happy for them in that they enjoyed Montreal like me when I first visited that wonderful city. After a quick shopping to stock our supplies for the rest of our trip, we started our final leg to reach Toronto safe.
For a long time every one silently stared through the car’s windows out at the distant terrain and the occasional townships that passed by. I switched on the car radio and picked up tunes from some FM station that played jazz. We sensed there was a bizarre feeling solidifying inside all of us that the journey was ending. However, an aura of gratitude was also building within each of us - An appreciation for the work of the generations before us who had tried to pass on their wisdom as our heritage. We saw the openness of nature to accommodate human curiosity and endeavors, the struggle of immigrants to start a new life, the fortifications they build to protect their way of living, their aspirations to create things of beauty to tell their stories and achievements. The whole occasion was like looking at Claude Monet’s painting of the ‘garden path’, which made no sense when looked up close, but each flower comes alive with a grand revelation when watched at a distance.
|