ITV French Students Visit Quebec

Eleven members of the French ITV Classes, their teacher, and four other adults visited Quebec City  March 17 – 20, 2018. Breckenridge students were Olivia Eichhorn and Jennifer Puchalski. Lafayette High School students were Shayla Lallier, Marcus Paradis and Rachel Wieland. Red Lake County Central students were Allison Aakhus, Britain Arlt, Grace Gieseke, Sophia Linder, Zoe Russillo andAbigail Walton. Adult travelers were Breckenridge parent Paul Eichhorn, grand-parent, Eloise Kettner (Grace Gieseke), parent/teacher/chaperone Roberta Guillemette, former student (and participant in the 2016 trip to Quebec) Deidra Walton, and French Teacher and trip coordinator, Lynn Vatthauer. The trip was arranged by Uniropa, Inc. a student tour company specializing in trips to Quebec. 

Our adventure began Friday, March 16th, at 5:00 in the evening when a bus from RLCC began picking up travelers from Oklee. After stopping in Plummer and Red Lake Falls, 13 members of the trip headed to Fargo to meet up with the remaining three members of the group to stay overnight in a local hotel. The group ate pizza and went to bed early since we had to leave for the airport at 4:00AM the next day. Fortunately, all of our flights (Fargo to Chicago; Chicago to Newark; Newark to Quebec City) were on schedule and we finally arrived in Quebec City around 3:30 Saturday afternoon, March 17th. After going through customs, we were greeted by our wonderful tour guide, Jacques, who lead us out of the airport to a bus that transferred us to our home for the next three nights, the Quebec Hilton Hotel.

We barely had time to put our luggage in the hotel before we headed back out for a long, cold walk from upper to lower Quebec for supper. We ate at the Café du Mondel, a restaurant located near the St. Laurence River. We were fortunate to have a river view from the restaurant where we had a wonderful three course meal that began with soup. We had a choice of three main course options and concluded the meal with some of the student’s favorite dessert of the trip, Profiterole au Chocolat – an ice cream-filled cream puff dripping with hot fudge sauce. One student sited the restaurant as her highlight of Saturday’s events, specifically mentioning the dessert. After supper we walked a short distance to the dock where we took a ferry across to the island of Lévis where we experienced an incredible view of Quebec City, highlighted by the beautifully lit Chateau Frontenac, the most recognized building in Quebec City.  The majority of the students stated the ferry ride as the most memorable event of the day. There was a nice couple with a dog onboard who visited with some of us. They welcomed us to their beautiful city, which impressed the students.  Mrs. Aakhus and Mrs. Vatthauer were amused by the students reenacting a scene from “The Titanic” on the deck of the ferry.  Jacques led us back up to the upper village and our warm hotel after the ferry ride and we were happy to call it a night after a very long, exhausting, yet exciting day.

 We woke up Sunday morning to a temperature of 5 degrees above zero. After bundling up we left the hotel for a busy day of exploring both the upper and lower towns of Quebec City, beginning with a crepe breakfast at the delightful restaurant, Au Petit Coin Breton, a 10-minute walk from our hotel. After a hardy breakfast we went back out into the cold for our tour of the walled city, hanging on every tidbit of information given us by our knowledgeable tour guide, Jacques.  After about an hour in the cold we reached the Notre-Dame-de-Quebec Cathedral/Basilica. Jacques asked if we would like to go in to warm up and take in part of the early morning mass.  This stop was noted by several students as the high-point of Sunday’s adventures. Purely by luck, the mass was still going on and the Bishop himself was presiding over the service, along with other officials of the church. We were fortunate enough to partake in the passing of the peace, hear The Lord’s Prayer, hymns and prayers, all in French.  As one student put it “I loved hearing the mass in French and seeing the Bishop”. What an experience for one and all!  We stayed to take some pictures of this beautiful cathedral and learned all about the Holy Door, currently closed (since 2014) until the next Jubilee Year, yet to be declared by the Pope.

 After the Basilica we went back out into the cold to our next destination, The Chateau Frontenac (also known as the Fairmont Hotel). Our tour guide told us about the history of the chateau and we stopped for a group photo at the statue of Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer and cartographer best known for discovering New France and the city of Quebec.  After a quick look inside the hotel/chateau, we ventured back down to the lower town where we split up into small groups to have lunch and shop for souvenirs.  Two student chose this as their favorite part of Sunday pointing out that their lunches and shopping experiences were wonderful, including riding the funicular back to the upper village rather than climbing up all of the stairs they had to descend to get down to lower-town.  After lunch the group visited The Martello Tower. We were given a hands-on history lesson by a resident historian, dressed as a captain of the British army.  Our captain divided the students into four groups and sent them to all three floors of the tower searching for words taped to the walls and objects on each level.  Their task was to unscramble words written on the slips of paper and write them down on a clipboard.  All of the words, in both French and English, were significant to the Martello Tower so it was another fun way to learn about life of a soldier in those times.  After our history lesson and activity in the tower, we walked back to our hotel to drop off our purchases before going to supper at Le Petit Chateau, which specializes in fondue. We ate beef fondue, which was a new experience for most of the group.  We were given thinly sliced beef we put on a fondue fork and cooked in a broth at the table. We were served bread, a baked potato, salad and a variety of sauces to go with the beef.  For dessert we were served a thick crepe with a dab of maple butter on it.  From the restaurant we went to The Morin Center, a former prison, then science school and library in Quebec City. Upon entrance we were asked to trade out our winter boots and shoes for “slippers”. We soon discovered the reason for the change was to help keep the rocks and ice from the outside off the original wood floor.  A young woman, wearing a dress from the era, told us the history of the building and led us through two science experiments. The students seemed to enjoy this part of the trip and one student mentioned this as her favorite part of the day. It was fun to see the students step up to the competition, even after being out in the cold most of the day. 

 Monday, March 19th, was another cold day but full of new adventures for one and all. The big treat of the day was being served breakfast in the dining hall of The Parliament.  Unfortunately, they were not in session so we didn’t get to rub elbows with members of the Quebec government but we felt pretty special being served on beautiful china with the fleur de lys emblem on them.  After breakfast we were given a tour of the parliament by a native Quebecois woman who was very impressed by the fact that we came from Minnesota, a state with many French-Canadian connections. She asked us if we knew of the towns of Terre Bonne, Gentilly and Huot and she was delighted to find out that half of us came from that part of the state and she really warmed up to the group when we gave her the names of the families represented by the students as well as other names from Red Lake County. She went on to tell the students how they could look up their French-Canadian heritage so they would have more of a connection to their roots.—a highlight for several students as well as Mme V., who loves to bring the students to Quebec exactly for that purpose – so many of the students can see from where they and their grand-parents originate.  From the Parliament we took a short walk to a chocolate museum where the students learned a little about the process of making chocolate candy and most bought samples to eat on the spot as well as bring home for gifts. Then, we loaded a bus for a day of exploring the Beaupre Coast.  First stop, Valcartier Village, home of the Hotel de Glace, Ice Hotel. We were given a brief tour, then were allowed to wander through the hotel and chapel. Several students gave the ice slide a try. It was bitter cold but very fun to see and hear about the hotel, which they build and tear down every year. Our next stop was a grocery store where we had lunch. The students had many choices from the deli and bakery sections and got to see many specially dishes from the region.  After lunch we went to a copper workshop and art museum where the students learned an embossing technique they were able to try out on a small piece of copper sheeting. They brought their masterpieces home to show their parents. Then, it was onto the beautiful basilica of Ste. Anne de Beaupre. Our tour guide, Jacques, told us about the healing powers of the church and we were fascinated by the crutches hanging at the entry of the chapel signifying the healing powers of the church.  Montmorency Falls was next on our list. Higher than Niagara Falls, the students began their exploration walking across the suspended bridge over the falls. The beauty of the half-frozen water and the thundering sound of the falls pounding down onto the frozen river below was breath-taking. Our final stop of the day was a sugar shack on the island of Orleans, across the river from Quebec City.  The group learned about the process of making maple syrup products and were treated to a traditional Sugar Shack meal – some of the student’s favorite meal of the trip. After playing spoons and dancing we went outside for some maple taffy which is made by pouring hat syrup onto snow. This was a nice treat to end a very long yet wonderful day of exploration.

Tuesday we had to say “Au revoir” to Jacques, our fantastic tour guide, and the beautiful province of Quebec, a place we all hope to return one day.  Our trip home was a little stressful but we all made it back safely (our luggage arriving a day after us), which is what counts. We are very grateful for the opportunity to visit Quebec and all feel a little more confident speaking French because of this positive experience.  We would like to thank everyone who supported our fundraising efforts as well as those who gave us donations to help defer the cost of our trip.  We especially want to mention Dean Vatthauer whose generous donation paid for our Fargo hotel and pizza as well as the meal at Café du Monde our first night.  It was a very memorable trip that will not soon be forgotten.  Merci beaucoup!

Submitted by Lynn Vatthauer with input from the student travelers.