It was COLD… yet the 2020 French class trip to Quebec was amazing! Quebec was a wonderful destination with so many sites to visit and fun activities for the 8th-grade class. After we checked in to the hotel, we visited old Montreal with beautiful old fashioned buildings and had dinner at the Old Port SteakHouse. We went ice-skating under dazzling lights to the sound of modern music.

One of the highlights of the trip was the 360 Observatory Place Ville Marie, which had a breathtaking panoramic view of Montreal and was ideal for picture taking. We next visited the Notre Dame Basilica located in the historic district of Montreal. The oldest catholic church in Montreal is known for its detailed gold interior and beautiful stained glasses.

We had dinner at the Sugar Shack, where they are known for making their own maple syrup; we made music with wooden spoons and danced to the sound of folk music. There we ate homemade maple syrup taffy lightly drizzled with snow.

Our trip continued with a day visit to Quebec city. It was even colder there. We visited the Chateau de Frontenac, a beautifully decorated historic hotel and the Montmorency Falls. These waterfalls are 30 meters taller than Niagara Falls and because of the cold, they were frozen. We closed our trip with a lesson in curling, the Olympic sport of throwing stones in a sheath of ice and directing the stones by sweeping the ice to make them stop at a desired location in the target area. While curling looks easy on the TV, playing the sport was much harder than we thought.

The food in Quebec was amazing. We had crepes with authentic maple syrup, french toast, sausages, taffe, and delicious steaks. This trip was an incredible experience and was a great way to grow closer to our old friends and make new ones. We practiced speaking French and learned about the French heritage of Canada.