Bienvenue a la
ville de Quebec – Welcome to Quebec City – Part 2
At the time, the bed was the best thing ever in the world.
Back in England, our mattress was old and dipped in the middle. Gary and I
would often gravitate towards the middle which would result in bare sweaty
thigh touching. This bed was so big that when I stretched my arm out I couldn’t
even touch Gary…this was bliss! The room was pitch-black so I didn’t have a
clue what time it was. I was tossing and turning for a few minutes but I was
waking up. With one eye open I reached for my phone. I felt like I’d slept for
a solid twelve hours but to my surprise it was only 6:30am. It was 11:30am in England, so of course I
felt like I’d had a good sleep. Not wanting to waste our time here Gary and I
woke-up and started getting ready. The warm shower was refreshing and took away
all the grubbiness of yesterday. My make-up was applied and my hair was dried.
Apart from using Gary’s roll-on deodorant and smelling slightly manly, I felt
like the normal Francine Gibbs again.
We decided to open the curtains and reveal our view. How can
I describe this? Well, you know the Diet Coke-Cola adverts where women drool
over a good looking guy doing manual work. As a hot blooded heterosexual woman,
in front of me was a large construction site full of men. This was the Canadian
equivalent times a hundred. In England there is a saying that if you bend down
and you show your bum then you have a ‘builder’s bum’. The stereotypical image
of a British builder (Construction worker) is a big beer belly hanging oven jeans
and when bending down the ‘builder’s bum’ would be exposed. The Canadian
Builders had nice perky bums and there was only the odd beer belly in site.
Sorry Britain, this definitely was another point for Canada. Oh…and before I
forget, the view of the City was nice too.
We both were hungry now and luckily as part of our stay,
breakfast was included. The restaurant was modern and the breakfasts looked
amazing! There was the option of waffles with fresh cream and strawberries,
French toast with caramelised apples and many more. I decided to go all out with
the full breakfast with the Canadian twist. There was no greasy bacon or a
fried egg instead there was streaky maple bacon and baked beans with maple
syrup. Gary had the waffles, strawberries and crème fraiche, which were yummy
too. We were definitely in Canada and this was a great way to settle us
in.
Not long after breakfast, we grabbed our coats and took a
short walk to Gary’s future employer’s office. It was only around the corner.
When arriving in the reception area it was chaotic. There were people carrying
strange looking statues and boxes to the elevator. The whole office was moving
to a new location today. Nervously we both waited in the reception area with
all the madness around us. A tall man
entered the reception and welcomed use with a handshake and a ‘bonjour’. This
was the guy that Gary previously explained would be over
seeing his team and plays an important part in the creation of the game. We
weren’t sure if I’d be able to go into the office as creating games is top secret
stuff. Gary asked if I could. After a few exchanges of French words with the
receptionist we both were presented with confidential forms. This was the real
deal. If we were to share any information on this game the company could sue
our asses. It is understandable though the Gaming Industry is bigger than
films. If information was leaked before the release of a game it can cost a
company a hell of lot of money; especially a worldwide company like this one.
Let’s put it this way, I signed the form and I kept my mouth shut from that day
on. You can understand now why I haven’t shared too much about Gary’s work. By
an agreement between me and the company I can’t. Plus, I want his project to do
well so I’m not going to spoil that.
Once settled at a desk, Gary was told what game
he’ll be working on but you’ll have to wait and find out what it is. We both
were blown away from the presentation of the project. I don’t even work in
gaming but even I knew this was shit hot stuff. It looked professional and incredible.
I saw the look on Gary’s face. Like a ton of bricks, it hit him that he would
be working for one of the biggest companies in his industry on an incredible
game. He was even hungrier for this job.
We went on to meet his future team and they kindly took use
out for lunch. They took use to a posh burger restaurant which was a ten minute
walk away. Yet again, we were surrounded by friendly people. They were
welcoming and we were full of questions. Many of their answers were reassuring
and offered us a lot of comfort. It was an unusual situation to be asking new
people who they bank with, how much are their bills, is there bears, what are
winters like, etc. As quickly as it had begun it was over. We said our goodbyes
to the majority of the team. Outside of the restaurant, we were left standing
with his future manager. He was apologising for his lack of English. Truth be
told, we felt guilty for not speaking French and we could understand him
perfectly. It is a different matter to whether he could understand us,
especially my Brummie accent. There was a slight chill in the air so we didn’t
want to be standing around too long. His manager kindly offered to take use for
a walk to old Quebec City. We had watched many YouTube videos on the history
and the tourist attractions in the City. Old Quebec City is often described as
the most European city in North America. These European influences go back to the 1400s
and 1500s when the English and French explorers arrived in North America and
claimed new regions for their own countries. Over time they continued to push
further inland into the 1700s and repeatedly clashed – this was with the
aboriginal communities as well as each other. In 1756, a fully-fledged war had
broken out between France and England. This is where Quebec City plays a big
part in this history. There is a well-known area here called the Plains of
Abraham. On the 13th September 1979, this is where the French and
English troops met. This was the day both the French and British commanding
officers, Louis-Joseph de Montcalm and James Wolfe, were killed in the battle.
The British did win the battle and ultimately the war. The once named “New
France” colony became British. The British let the French-Canadians remain in
their settlements and carry on with daily life. This is a significant decision
historically as it was the early steps to the French language and culture being
imbedded in Canada. Up until 1947, Canadians were considered British subjects
which changed after the Canadian Citizenship Act. There are still British
influences and traditions here, however the monarch’s role has become largely
symbolic. Queen Elizabeth’s ll’s portrait is found on notes and coins and there
is a bank holiday in May, Victoria Day, in honor of England’s Queen Victoria.
There is so much more I could write about the history but I think that would be
a very long post. In brief, I hope it helps to understand the British- my home
country’s - influence in Canada.
Now, here we were on our way to Old Quebec City with our own
local tour guide. His Manager was fantastic and shared loads of information
with us. We were bombarding him with plenty of questions though. Looking back
we must have looked pathetic with all the “oohs” and “aahs” we were saying. Every
shop or building we would pass, we would point and say “wow, look at that”. We
were the typical tourists!
One of the most famous buildings
in Quebec City is the Château Frontenac Hotel. This is a famous hotel which is
often photographed by many tourists. It made an appearance in every YouTube
video we had watched. Yet again, the realisation of this was kicking in. I
can’t deny it was a stunning building but after all the hype and build-up I was
expecting something more magical. To me, what was more impressive was standing
on the huge platform by the hotel and overlooking the enormous Saint-Lawrence
River. It was the biggest river I had ever seen. It is so wide that a ferry
transports cars and residents to the city of Levis on the opposite side. Stood
there with my rosy cheeks and chill in air I was filled with warmth deep
inside. It reminded me of standing on a British pier by the seaside except this
was beautifully different. This was natural beauty at its best.
We continued walking along the
large platform still overlooking the river. Then we walked up ‘a lot’ of steep
steps up to the Plains of Abraham. I was getting warm in the not so healthy
kind of way. His manager was taking it in his stride whilst I was trying to
disguise my panting. Note to self – I need to get fitter once I move here. Once
at the top, thankfully, we sat inside a band stand overlooking the river. The
sun was shining and there were rays of light shining on our faces. Usually, I
would welcome the warmth on my face but I was boiling hot. This is where his Manager said “Au Revoir”.
The next time Gary would see him is at work in a few months’ time. Once I got
my breathing back to normal we went for a walk around the grounds of the Plains
of Abraham, we couldn’t help but fantasise about how often we would visit here
with a picnic in the Summer. The jetlag was starting to take affect now though.
Bear in mind it may have been six in the afternoon in Canada but our British
body clocks thought it was eleven o’clock. We decided to get a few snacks from
the shop and headed back to the hotel. Back at the hotel we were quickly ready
for bed and again fell asleep at nine o’clock.
To be continued….
No comments:
Post a Comment