Salut. Ca Va?

Greetings from Quebec City in Canada. David, Emma and I are vacationing here with David’s family - his brother and his brother's family plus Grandma and Grandpa Zuckerman. We have joined a bunch of other tourists who are here to celebrate Quebec City’s 400th birthday. I think all the locals moved out to make room for all the tourists. You can buy all the t-shirts and coffee mugs you want but don’t even think about buying a head of lettuce or a mop. Not that I need to buy lettuce or a mop, but I wonder where one would buy such things if one lived in this part of Quebec City.

I can see why Quebec City is a popular destination point. You get to feel like you are in Europe without leaving North America. Like in many European cities, a fortified wall encloses old Quebec City. Some of the streets are paved with cobblestones and the buildings look very European. There are other European (or perhaps French) cues like pork pate at breakfast, baguettes at dinner, and cheese for dessert.

Then there is the language. I studied French in college for three semesters plus I lived in France for 1 semester. That was a long time ago and my French is now a little slow and cranky. I try speaking French to the hotel staff, waiters, etc. but they all do “Le Switch” on me and we are into English. I did manage to have a nice brief conversation in French with a taxi cab driver. He told me he moved here 5 years ago from Paris. He likes Quebec better than France. He said it was easier to work and live here than Paris.

Just about everyone is bilingual, so communicating in English is not a problem. I actually wish it were more of a problem. I wish I had more opportunities to flounder around in French.

Emma is having a great time playing with her cousins. I always enjoy being with family.

We drive to Vermont today to enjoy Part Deux of our vacation back in the States.