# Royal Canadian Mounted Claw!



## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

In addition to enjoying The Hooded Claw, Dudley Doright was one of the favorite icons of my childhood. Figure that one out!

As Scarlet's vacation is winding down to an end, mine is about to begin. Tomorrow morning at oh-dark-thirty, I will fly to Montreal to spend almost two weeks in Quebec. I'll spend two days visiting a friend from high school who married a Canadian, has become a citizen, and raised a family there. She'll play tour guide and ferry me around Montreal. Then I'll hop a train to Quebec City and join a semi-independent "Road Scholar" tour of Quebec City for four days. Then I'll take the train back to Montreal and spend a couple of more days touristing around Montreal before flying home.

For those who have an unhealthily obsessive interest in other people's vacations, highlights of the trip will include:

Notre Dame cathedral in Montreal, which has a GORGEOUS interior (I saw it last time I was there).

Lunch at Chateau Frontenac in QC (I can afford to lunch there, but can't afford to stay there) and a meal at Les Anciens Canadiens (supposedly built in 1675), a famous Quebecois restaurant.

The Plains of Abraham battlefield and museum, where the English took over Quebec for the last time (the Francophones would say "so far!").

Touring the Residence of the Governor-General of Canada (la-de-da, I will look for him or her and say "Hi GUV!")

Visiting an old prison that is now a museum of Inuit (that's Eskimo to most of us) art.

Touring the old walled city of Quebec.

I'll fly home October 22, at which point I'll be home for a week before I go buzzing off to Washington DC for work, hopefully followed by a Kindle meetup!

I should have wifi access most of the time, and will probably post here. May even manage to post a picture from the road. But I probably won't be imparting my pearls of wisdom in most areas of these forums, and will have at best a brief appearance in chat. Carry on without me, and Scarlet will be home and back to participating before long!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Have a great trip, Claw!  I love Quebec....sigh....

Betsy


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## 25803 (Oct 24, 2010)

Hope you have a wonderful trip, THC!


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## loonlover (Jul 4, 2009)

Have a great trip, THC.


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## spotsmom (Jan 20, 2011)

Have loads of fun Claw!!  We wlll miss you!!  If you see Sgt Preston, tell him we miss him too.


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Have a good time and please do keep us informed. Vicarious vacations are always fun.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Safe travels, Claw.  Have fun!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

spotsmom said:


> Have loads of fun Claw!! We wlll miss you!! If you see Sgt Preston, tell him we miss him too.


Isn't he stationed in the Yukon? Other end of Canada, I think....


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Sounds like a great plan!  Enjoy the trip


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## spotsmom (Jan 20, 2011)

Sgt Preston and King get around...


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

Have a wonderful trip!

I had a wonderful time years ago when I visited my sister in Montreal. (My sister is one of the First Violins with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal [Montréal Symphony Orchestra].) Our mom was also visiting at the time and we visited Quebec city one day. Our trip was in December; the weather for your visit should be much warmer.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

You know, I never thought to find out where you got the Hooded Claw name and picture until now. Something you said in this thread made me look it up. I saw many hours of cartoons as a kid but "The Perils of Penelope Pitstop" was unknown to me until just now. I saw some clips on YouTube, and what a peculiar show it was.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

have fun boss


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

Have a fun and safe trip! I've been dying to see Montreal ever since reading the Inspector Gamache books by Louise Penny. I'll get there one of these days!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

R. M. Reed said:


> I saw many hours of cartoons as a kid but "The Perils of Penelope Pitstop" was unknown to me until just now. I saw some clips on YouTube, and what a peculiar show it was.


Peculiar. Yep, it was definitely peculiar! I'll go with that.....


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I am at Cindy's house and all is well!

Slept for only two hours last night, I was very wired up.  But had an excellent flight up today.  Sat in exit row with nobody next to me.  No trouble with customs, and Cindy was right there when I left customs.

On the way home, we stopped at a cathedral whose name I've forgotten to check out the stained glass, came home for Thanksgiving leftovers for dinner (riddle that one, Americans!) and when we went out for n evening drive, had something I've been waiting for.....Poutine.  Only in Quebec would they make cheese curds and gravy on French fries a snack food!

I'm about to collapse, off to bed and a big day of museums and stuff tomorrow!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Ha!  I'm using my iPad on household wifi here.  KB adverts are totally different.  Royal Bank of Canada retirement planning, and Van Houtte coffee.  Beats the old firearms training ads!


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## spotsmom (Jan 20, 2011)

Good grief, Claw!!!  Poutine?  Sounds absolutely gross!!!

Hope you get to go to that light show at the Cathedral!


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

spotsmom said:


> Good grief, Claw!!! Poutine? Sounds absolutely gross!!!


Sure does. That's taking the adventurous travel spirit a bit far.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Susan in VA said:


> Sure does. That's taking the adventurous travel spirit a bit far.


I'm probably gonna have cariboo (sic) medallions while I am here. On a more conventional note, duck is apparently a staple.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

The Hooded Claw said:


> cariboo (sic)


Why? I don't mean why are you going to have them, but why is it spelled that way there? Notwithstanding the name of the region, the animal is still "le caribou", isn't it?


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

Have a great time!  I haven't made it to Canada, yet.  I'll be stalking your thread even if I don't post so... give us pictures!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Susan in VA said:


> Why? I don't mean why are you going to have them, but why is it spelled that way there? Notwithstanding the name of the region, the animal is still "le caribou", isn't it?


I haven't followed up, but that's the way it seems to be spelled here!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

A good day.  Started at the basilica of Notre Dame, which is probably my favorite cathedral interior anywhere!  Gorgeous.  I should have cell phone cam shots later this evening in the photo forum.  Camera photos when i get home.  It is still gorgeous, and even better, the organist was practicing, so I was able to just sit and listen and soak the place up for an hour.

Then off to the archeology and history museum.  The highlight is that they have excavated and recovered the foundations, lower walls, and some streets and drains of 16th to 18th Century Montreal, and you can walk around and see the old places, and see projected living history reenact ors talking about what they did there.

Then lunch.  Pizza, European style served on a plate and eaten with knife and fork.

finally off to the mariner's chapel. Smaller and less spectacular than Notre Dame, but with neat sailing ship light fixtures.  Picked up Cindy's husband from his job, and home resting now.

And we'll see the Notre Dame light show next Wednesday!


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Cariboo is the spelling used for a lot of land features in British Columbia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cariboo_Gold_Rush


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Two posts of cell phone pics are up in the photo forum.


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## spotsmom (Jan 20, 2011)

Terrific photos, Claw.  Sometime you must instruct me on how to take a decent cellphone picture.

Keep 'em coming!!  Glad to hear about the light show!!


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Jeff said:


> Cariboo is the spelling used for a lot of land features in British Columbia.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cariboo_Gold_Rush


I know, but he's not near there... and they're talking about the critter, not the region.

<checks French dictionary> Yep, the animal is with a "u". Any natives of Montreal around that could shed light on this?


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

The Hooded Claw said:


> Then lunch. Pizza, European style served on a plate and eaten with knife and fork.


But.. but... how_ else_ would you eat pizza?


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

you eat pizza by folding it in half and lifting it to your mouth.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I'm normally with Scarlet on the eating pizza thing, though I don't bother with the folding in half part.

But when in Europe and Canada, I do as the locals do.


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## NapCat (retired) (Jan 17, 2011)

Have a fun and safe trip Claw.....looking forward to photos and updates !


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Susan in VA said:


> I know, but he's not near there... and they're talking about the critter, not the region.










Maybe the dish is from British Columbia - thus Cariboo Medallions.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

And tonight's KB Canadian ad is that Norah the Psychic has shocking results for li'l ole me!  She is no doubt an amazing psychic just to be able to know I'm here in Canada to see the ad.  Presumably those with less eventful futures see an ad that says "Norah the psychic has rather routine results for you. Oh, and skip buying those lottery tickets."

Why can't Harvey get these good ads for us down in The States?


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Rainy day in Montreal, so it was a day at the art museum.

For me, the highlight was a big medieval collection, but they have a huge museum here and we didn't see it all, despite spending a full day.

In my continuing tradition of trying local foods that I won't get in Oklahoma, I had blood pudding for lunch! Served as fine dining at the museum cafeteria.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pudding

I'd never had it before, but it is a sort of sausage made with cooked-down-to-thick animal blood as an ingredient! It was fairly good, I'll have it again sometime, but not astonishingly wonderful. Candied apples and stray vegetables as side dishes, plus a creme brûlée for dessert. I've had it before, but not often, and it was delicious!

Pictures of the museum (yawn) and the blood pudding up later in the photo forum.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Susan in VA said:


> Why? I don't mean why are you going to have them, but why is it spelled that way there? Notwithstanding the name of the region, the animal is still "le caribou", isn't it?


In the Innuit (Eskimo) art exhibit, the descriptions had references to caribou in the conventional spelling. The mystery continues.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

New pictures up in the photo gallery.  Every time I see these cell phone camera pics, I appreciate my slr more.  The cell phone cam can't handle the low light in museums.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

After pouring rain this morning, the sky is blue and it's a lovely day!  Unfortunately instead of sightseeing, I take a three hour train ride to Quebec City.  I'm on board now, using the train's wifi to connect. How cool is that?

I've seen wifi on airliners but hadn't considered it on a train.


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## spotsmom (Jan 20, 2011)

The Hooded Claw said:


> In my continuing tradition of trying local foods that I won't get in Oklahoma, I had blood pudding for lunch! Served as fine dining at the museum cafeteria.


Part vampire


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

spotsmom said:


> Part vampire


Alas poor Dracula, the blood is cooked down, no sign of blood in the pudding.


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## spotsmom (Jan 20, 2011)

The Hooded Claw said:


> Alas poor Dracula, the blood is cooked down, no sign of blood in the pudding.


But it started out in there!!!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I've arrived in Quebec City, checked into my motel, and had dinner with the group that will be on this tour. Nothing shocking for dinner, though they had turnip soup as an appetizer.  Short introductory walk around after dinner, though it started raining again halfway through.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Susan in VA said:


> But.. but... how_ else_ would you eat pizza?


Blasphemy!! <shudder>

Folded over, of course. How else can the oil drip down your arm!!!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I'm with an organized tour as of last night.  This morning we heard a presentation on French Canadian history, followed by a walk around the Old Town of Quebec.  The walk was cut short by rain, but we rode a funicular (I love that word!) up to Chateau Frontenac at the end of it and had lunch there.  Frontenac is a very luxurious hotel, and lunch was great, even though it was a buffet.  Highlights were walleye and white asparagus (first I'd ever heard of this).  Pecan pie for dessert was fabulous!

In the afternoon we were on our own.  I chose to go to the Museum of Civilization, especially drawn by a special visiting exhibit on Rome.  I went to that exhibit first, was surprised to find that it had all eras of Rome, not just ancient Rome.  Good exhibit.  I wanted to see another special exhibit on hats, just because I knew my hostess in Montreal will be grilling me about it, she actually has a masters degree in fashion history.

By this time, my feet were killing me, so I rode a bus back to the hotel and am resting till dinner!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

New photos posted, including the track of the dreaded funicular!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

More new photos up Monday.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Waterfall pics up in photo forum.  More later....


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Couple of more shots added, including one of me in jail!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,87906.0.html

New photos up at the link above, including food and a classic motorcycle.

Biome, a museum, then a great dinner followed by listening to a DVD of a group called Brother, who incorporate a digideroo into their rock music! Cindy's husband and I listened to it while talking, then shifted to reading newspapers while it played. Cindy joined us and said it reminded her of a snooty British men's club, whereupon I raised my nose and told her in a clipped accent that this was the Diogenes Club, and no women were allowed on the premesis! . She still gave me an apple crisp for dessert anyway....


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## spotsmom (Jan 20, 2011)

We recently had a case here of a guy in a park who assaulted a local cop with his digideroo (or however you spell that)!!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

spotsmom said:


> We recently had a case here of a guy in a park who assaulted a local cop with his digideroo (or however you spell that)!!


Was the cop ticketing him for double parking his kangaroo?


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Continuing Mike's parade of unusual meals, we have tonight's dinner. The meat is wild boar medallions! I am not making this up, it was hunting night where we ate dinner. When I saw this on the menu, I knew I had to try it. It was good, not fabulous, but being able to talk about eating wild boar will be a lifelong kick for me.

After dinner we went to a theater and saw a performance of French music from the time of the early explorers of Quebec.  Hey, it's something I'll never see in Oklahoma!  Fun music.


Alas, tomorrow I fly home to the real world.


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Have a safe trip. Thanks for sharing. It was fun.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

And I'm sitting at my departure gate in Montreal airport surfing on the free wifi....Canada is great, but it will be good to be home.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Safe travels, Claw.


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## NapCat (retired) (Jan 17, 2011)

Thanks for sharing your adventure with us, Claw.  It has been fun.  
Have a safe trip home.

See 'ya in Chat tonight !


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I am home....And just to let me know I'm back in Oklahoma, there is a severe thunderstorm heading in, possibly with large hail!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

For those who just can't get enough Canadian shots, there is a new post in the Photo Forum with pics taken by a "real" camera instead of my cell phone cam. Much nicer pics, if I do say so myself.

Link to Notre Dame of Montreal here:

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,87906.msg1394197.html#msg1394197


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Thanks for letting us live vicariously through your trip, THC!

Betsy


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