2024 Ranney Quebec Cultural Journey
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Blog 5: Another day, another night
Today was filled with water, adventures, and cats. Everyone felt the power of Montmorency Falls, with some braving the 468 stairs to climb up and down. Thanks Saif for keeping a countdown! Witnessing the strength of nature is always awe-inspiring. We then headed to Le Grand Marché de Québec for a meal, where some enjoyed a good nap while others savored delicious food. In the afternoon, we indulged in chocolate and visited a nearby coffee shop, where we encountered a plethora of cats. There’s nothing better than a daily dose of love, which perfectly encapsulates the day. As the trip draws to a close, know that everyone here loves and misses you at home.
Joey Mac Intosh (Program Leader)
Blog 4: History and slushie !
This saturday was JAM-PACKED! We went on a big tour of old Quebec. My personal favorite part of the tour was seeing the church. I loved the architecture and thought it was #lit! I think it’s the most visually appealing place we saw today. Our tour guide showed us some really neat spots that I would like to visit again sometime very, very soon. He also showed us plenty of radical statues and explained the stories behind them. A lot of them are very intriguing and it was cool to be given a few slices of Quebec’s rich history.
– Adam T.
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This Saturday was quite a busy one. I feel like the morning is very far from the ending, almost as if it was two separate days. The tour was packed with a ton of walking and historical information. I was very intrigued by the architecture, and was finding myself stopping to take pictures a ton (sorry Joey). The rest of the day was quite simple, with a tour of a reservation and an amazing trip to get a slushie! I keep on finding myself getting caught on the churches we saw today, and the nighttime adventure I went on. If I have any advice to give to tourists, listen to David Bowie’s album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” while walking through Old Quebec at night. Trust me, it is a whole experience in itself. I am content with how this day went, and I am excitedly anticipating tomorrow!
– Jackie P.
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I had a great day today! It was admittedly a little hard to listen to the tour guides throughout the whole tour, but when I did listen it was very interesting! I loved learning about the holy door and it was cool to go through it. Lunch was very wonderful as well. I’d never had duck before and it was pretty good! It was also very cool to learn about the history and life of the First Nations. The legends were also very cool! Dinner was delicious, the crepes were incredible! Overall, it was a pretty fun day and I loved learning everything.
– Ethan G
Blog 3: A Day in Two Cities: Montreal's Modernity and Quebec City's History
This morning, I began my day with an iced latte from the local Starbucks in Montreal. I am very particular about my coffee order, but I must say, my barista nailed it! It was light and foamy but not too milky, just the way I like it! I also found it interesting how in Montreal, Starbucks sells their coffee in biodegradable cups rather than plastic. Montreal seems to be very protective of the environment, and many citizens take active measures to prevent waste and littering. For instance, hundreds of people travel on bikes rather than cars using their bike exchange program. Another example is when I attempted to throw out a glass bottle in a regular trash can, an employee at my hotel helped me find a recycling bin to prevent waste. These measures to protect the environment consequently make Montreal a cleaner city. After enjoying my coffee, the group took a 3hr bus ride to our hotel in Quebec City. My bus ride consisted of chatting with friends about the prior day’s adventures, blasting music in my earbuds, and even practicing some French with Joey. We took a lunch stop half way through the trip to eat a delicious buffet-style meal. I am not sure which I enjoyed more: eating my delicious personalized plate or watching Darren scarf down four plates of pudding and two plates of food right next to me. After the final hour of our bus ride, we finally arrived at Quebec City! It is beautiful. It feels much older and more European than the city of Montreal. I love the cobblestone streets and buildings. The city feels more like a big European village. As soon as we arrived, I knew I wouldn’t want to leave any time soon. Once we settled into our hotel, I explored the shops and restaurants of Quebec City with Darren and Jake. We also took pictures near the cliff, giving us an entire panoramic view of Quebec. At night, the group enjoyed burgers and house-crafted sodas for dinner. Then, we walked to a local ice cream shop selling bonbons and ice cream. Since we are in Canada, I figured the maple flavor was worth trying (and it was). Our first day in Quebec City was amazing. As we walked around, I became even more excited because there is so much to explore. As of now, I like Quebec City more than Montreal because of its European feel. It truly does feel like the France of North America.
– Annabel S., Jake N. & Darren T.
Blog 2
On the 2nd day, we started off by taking a 3 hour walking tour. While this might sound boring, we got to see lots of great architecture. We got to take lots of great pictures. We went to the train station and it reminded me of Bell Works. We got to explore parts of Chinatown, and we were able to eat there. We also went on a bike tour. We then ate dinner at a pizza place. My favorite part of the day was going to see Cirque du Soleil. Here we got to see a great performance that I really enjoyed.
– Sophia H.
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Hey blog, Today was an amazing day! From the beginning our energy was at a high! While some of us were skeptical about the 3 hour walk, we pushed through. Our tour guide, Nicolas, was so informative and funny. We even learned that ice hockey rules were created by McGill University. We went to Chinatown to see unique foods like egg pastries and boba tea! Our lunch was served family style (with a spin board!!) which was amazing and delicious! We walked to our biking tour where we split into 2 groups, went different ways, to then meet at a beautiful site of Montreal! We even saw a dog swimming in a canal; it was so cute!!! We took many pictures that we will share! We ate fresh pizza for dinner and finished our day with Cirque Du Soleil. It was so entertaining and we all left wowed!! Stay tuned for tomorrow!!
-Ilana K.
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On Day 2, we started out by attending a 3 hour tour of Montreal. I enjoyed this because I learned a lot about Canadian culture and architecture that I didn’t know. I liked the story about the two statues called the English Pug and the French Poodle. Then, we went to Chinatown and ate lunch. Afterwards, we explored the area and I found it to be super different from the other areas we explored. It was very interesting! We also went on a bike tour of the Old Port and ate dinner at a pizza restaurant that my friends and I loved. However, my favorite part of the day was watching Cirque du Soleil’s “Kurios”. I found it very entertaining and really fun to watch!!
– Yasmeen K.
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Day two in Montreal was definitely a roller coaster of emotions. We did plenty of active things such as doing a three hour tour, an hour and a half bike ride, exploring Chinatown and experiencing new food and culture. We then ended the day off with Cirque du Soleil’s “Kurios”. Everyone was definitely determined to get to watch the Circus at the end of the day. The bike ride was a nice experience because I got to see a pretty view that I don’t get to see on a day-to-day basis in New Jersey. Another fun activity we did was exploring Chinatown. I was able to try Boba tea and I was just exploring things around me. The highlight of my day was definitely the Cirque du Soleil. It was amazing and it was shocking to see how much the performers could effortlessly do flips and tricks and risk their life; it was definitely thrilling! This will definitely be a memorable story to tell!
-Sasha S.
Blog 1: Quebec, here we come!
This fun trip started out by a bus ride to the airport. At first I was very nervous that I would lose my passport or get separated from the group but neither happened. Once we got to the airport we quickly went through security and then we had time to chill. We boarded our flight at 10:35 am and it landed at 12:00 pm. Once we landed we went to the hotel and got changed. From there we went and took the metro. Then we were allowed to go out and eat. We met back at our meeting place and were allowed to go and roam for an hour and a half. My friends and I walked around and shopped. After that we took the metro to the spot for dinner. Next we went to the pharmacy to get some snacks for our room. My favorite part of this day was being able to walk around and spend time with new people I don’t usually get time to be with at school.
– Katie S.
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My name is Elizabeth and today was the first day of our trip in Quebec, Canada! We arrived at the airport early and landed In Montreal around noon. I really enjoyed the shopping experience and bought many things such as a new necklace, shirt, sweatshirt and other nice novelties! Afterwards, I enjoyed dinner with my friends as we chatted about our plans tonight! I can’t wait to explore more of Canada tomorrow!
– Elizabeth W.