Such fun!
After three years of COVID issues, we finally reinstated our 8th grade trips, and I was able to return to Quebec with 39 kiddos, a few parents, and my besties in the traveling business. WHAT FUN! Despite a four-hour (yep! That’s right — 1, 2, 3, 4) FOUR HOUR delay with a broken down bus on the side of a rural road an hour outside of Old Quebec, we had the best time. We could not have asked for better travelers. These kids were amazing, their parents were delightful, the weather was perfect, and the trip was a success. Old Quebec, dating back to the early 1600s, is as close to Europe as I’m going to get for now. No matter how many times I’ve been - 6? 8? I’ve lost count - it never gets old. Well, it is an OLD, OLD city, but I never tire of it. I marveled at every cobblestone we walked on Rue de Petit-Champlain, reveled in the dry wit of our favorite tour guide, walked in the shadows of the Chateau Frontenac, and drank every ounce of culture that filled our cups. Even though our itinerary is similar each year, we see it through the eyes of a different group of students, and this year’s posse was one of the best we’ve ever taken. These innocents: boys who watched the entire Cars trilogy on the bus, girls who bought matching sweatshirts and Christmas ornaments, those who oooh-ed and ahhh-ed at Montmorency Falls, and my charges who lit candles and prayed at Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre for a safe, uneventful drive home made every minute - even those wretched four hours - enjoyable. Some day, I’ll get there on my own to follow my agenda, maybe in the summer when the artists thrive, or in the winter for Carnival, but until then, I’ll take any chance I get to visit that beautiful Vieux-Quebec.
