Recap of Venta Quebec City Trip

By Mlle Elysa Esposito

 

We started on an early Monday morning for Quebec City. We made our first stop at a marina called Portneuf just 20 minutes outside of the great city to enjoy a picnic lunch by the water. The students got to enjoy some of their first amazing views of the river that we spoke so much about in the classroom last term. Once arrived, we completed a great 3 hour walking tour of the city with our guide Sophie who showed us some of the important buildings in the city. The students looked on with big eyes as they see everything they discussed in class come to life. Our tour guide Sophie was amazed at the knowledge and interest the students demonstrated during the tour. The students even got to take the ferry across and take in some river views of the city. That night we enjoyed a lovely dinner at a cute restaurant not too far from the hotel. The students put their ordering skills to the test and interacted with various servers.

 

On the third day, we wasted no time and made our way to the plains of Abraham where the students got to be part of an interactive activity which allowed them to re-enact the important battle that was taken place on those very plains between the Brtitish and the French in the 1700s. They were all very good little soldiers, but there had to be a winner. The students were critiqued on their manoeuvers as soldiers, their enthusiasm and their disciplin. It was a very tough decision, but history did indeed repeat itself and the British won the battle yet again. Students got to take a quick a quick tour of the provincial parliament building ("L'Assemble Nationale") where they learned that if they wanted a job in politics, they would need to use both their French and English skills. The group then made their way to la Citadelle where they participated in another interactive tour of the fort and got to take in some other spectacular views of the city. Some of out students even dressed up as gards and got to see how it felt to be a gard on duty. After lunch, our little "pamplebus" took us to the falls of Montmorency where students got quite a spray from the falls coming down over 300 steps! The night was filled with great food, song and danse. Le Relais des Pins, a beautiful sugar shack on l'ile d'Orlean, was ready to welcome us and serve us some real Quebec dishes from "back in the day." The students wasted no time to pick up the spoons and start to play with the music and show off their dance moves.

 

On the third day, the rain finally caught up with us and we had to make changes to our final day activities. Due to the constant rain, the students were not able to complete the scavenger hunt throughout the city. Instead, we made a quick visit to the museum of civilization where they got to check out some pretty cool interactive displays. The students came back that Wednesday even exhausted but content. It was all around a great trip and a great experience!