After all the fun with wildlife, it was time to move on to the city life again- in the city of Quebec. The only city in Northern America with an actual castle (Chateau Frontenac), Quebec is actually almost a French city – although people are more open and easy to make contact with than in France. The city itself was not the most exiting, but we had a good time there nevertheless  – walking and shopping in the city center on a Sunday afternoon. The whole month of July and August, the city sports the Festival d’Ete – which consists of many free and paid performances throughout the city. We happened to run into the ‘Cirque Loco’ – a juggling and acrobatism duo who put on a nice show in the middle of a shopping area. Good for a laugh, a bit of awe and some nice photographs.

Juggling on very high heels

Salto of death, Cirque Loco

A few times, I noted Canadian houses look like Playmobil... but river's edge Quebec wins.

After Quebec, we  moved on to the national parc of Mauricie, for two nights in a forest inhabited by bears and other animals. The first message we got upon arrival was that a black bear was spotted about a kilometer from our camping site, so we should take extra care to not leave any food items outside during the night. Of course, as it goes, we never saw the bear. 😉

But we did see squirrels!

A day at the park was well spent, walking through the forest, and kayaking on Lac Edouard. Apart from squirrels, crows and some falcons we didn’t see much animals, but the weather was good and we enjoyed it.
After kayaking, we tried Quebec’s ‘national dish’ – poutine. A combination of french fries, gravy and cheese – for me it’s an ‘order once and never again thing’. Our evening barbecue, with pepper steak, grilled vegetables went down much better.

If this could be our back garden...

Guys with stony faces... and bodies.

Kayaking on Lake Edouard...

...and against the wind - makes even poutine taste good.

But still, we saw whales and squirrels but no bears. An early morning ride on the day we left the national park didn’t change that – no bears for us this year. We’re leaving bear country, toward Ottawa, Cobourg, Port Perry and Toronto.

Desktop art, to take home 🙂