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Any interest in a Quebec City meet next summer?

Started by AsphaltPlanet, October 25, 2013, 12:17:04 PM

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AsphaltPlanet

I know this is a long way away, but I have been looking for an excuse to go back to Quebec City, and I think a road meet might fit the bill.  Quebec City is a fantastic city, rich in history.  It is interesting from a transportation perspective too, as in addition to the old Quebec Bridge (still the longest cantilever bridge in the world), a freeway tunnel was once proposed and somewhat started for a new road that would run through downtown.  It's too far away to pick a weekend for right now, but I am thinking of sometime in late June or earlier July.

Thoughts?
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Duke87

If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

corco

I'd be interested if it's in the same window as the New York meet (June 28-29)- I'm going to be spending about a week in Quebec before then, so if it were the weekend before I could shuffle the trip around to be in Quebec City that prior Saturday or something.

Alternatively, if the New York meet didn't end up occurring for some reason I could schedule the trip around this meet.

jpi

Sounds pretty cool but I would net to get a passport since the last time I was in Canada was in June 2002 (ironically in Quebec) and if finances allow, I am still considering the NYC road meet too.
Jason Ilyes
JPI
Lebanon, TN
Home Of The Barrel

Dr Frankenstein

#4
Do get a passport or a passport card, jpi! :)

It's going to be interesting and it's close enough to be a day trip. I think this city has the most freeway miles per capita in the country, if not the continent. So there's a lot of freeways to look at.

Both bridges are worth looking at and they're conveniently placed just next to each other. Boulevard Champlain / Unsigned 136 is also worth a look. And the only button copy sign known to exist in Québec near A-40.

In the vincinity, there's ÃŽle-d'Orléans and its suspension bridge.

Apart from that, the whole city (and especially Vieux-Québec, the Old Town district) will make you feel like you've been to Europe. I mean, Montreal feels American compared to this.

froggie

I'd be interested, as I'd be in Vermont full-time by then.  But it would depend on what I wind up doing as far as work/college and whether it's during a rumored vacation I may be taking with my better half next summer.

vdeane

I'd love to, but I doubt I'd be able to, between my financial situation and not knowing French.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

Dr Frankenstein

#7
Quote from: vdeane on October 25, 2013, 08:24:26 PM[...]and not knowing French.

This goes for everyone, and has been mentioned in other threads, especially for the 2011 Montreal meet and the 2012 Capital Region meet.

Given how touristy Québec City is, this is unlikely to be a serious enough issue for anyone. Sure, there will be thicker accents than in Montreal or Gatineau, perhaps even that the person serving you will go and request help from someone else, but it is in no way required for anyone to be able to speak French.

It's pretty much like going to Amsterdam or Berlin: as a tourist, no one will expect you to be fluent in the local language. If you want to feel more at ease, you can buy one of those phrasebooks for travelers.

I'll be there and will be able to help anyway.

For the record: AsphaltPlanet knows some French but isn't fluent yet (or are you now?), Duke87 hardly speaks any French (but his cousin, 'place-saint-henri', speaks it almost fluently), I'm not aware of jpi and froggie knowing any French at all, and corco has started studying it just now.

oscar

#8
I agree.  I've traveled all over Quebec province including rural areas, knowing only about fifteen basic French phrases plus being able to comprehend road sign French.  No serious problems at all.  True, I had the usual worry that people were talking about me behind my back in a non-English language.  But I grew up with an Italian mother who on the phone regularly talked Italian with her friends, and made sure the kids never learned Italian, so I'm kind of used to that. 

I've been to Quebec city twice, including some of the roadgeek sights AsphaltPlanet mentioned, such as traveling the old bridge he mentioned (still in use, as part of QC 175).  But I'd like to go back and spend a few more days doing touristy things, too.  I'd be interested in a meet there, if it works with my schedule.
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jpi

I know VERY little french. When Steph and I were in Quebec in 2002 we spent time in Montreal which was like being in Toronto but when we went to Sherbrook, that was a different story. Still it is a beautiful part of Canada.
Jason Ilyes
JPI
Lebanon, TN
Home Of The Barrel

lordsutch

Sounds like fun, if I can fit it in my schedule.

AsphaltPlanet

I wouldn't be too concerned about speaking french.  As Dr. Frank says, Quebec City is pretty touristy and caters to many English speaking tourists.  I have also never had a problem with the language barrier along the A-20 corridor of Quebec either, as again, there are lots of English folks passing through.

I didn't realize my tentative date was so close to the proposed NYC meet.  I know Corco that you prefer this, I don't know if others will however, as it could mean a lot of travel for people in a short amount of time.  Seeing as the meet is likely 8 months away, I think I have some time to firm up the date.
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akotchi

I would try to make this one.  I will take any excuse to get back to Quebec City again.

I took French in high school, but that was many moons ago.  A few phrases came in handy when we were in Quebec in 2007, when we went as far north and east as Saguenay, but we got by largely without needing to know the language.
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corco

Quote from: AsphaltPlanet on October 26, 2013, 07:30:41 AM

I didn't realize my tentative date was so close to the proposed NYC meet.  I know Corco that you prefer this, I don't know if others will however, as it could mean a lot of travel for people in a short amount of time.  Seeing as the meet is likely 8 months away, I think I have some time to firm up the date.

Yeah, don't schedule it around me- if other folks like that, then do it but otherwise I'll be going to Quebec regardless so I'm a happy camper. And yeah, if NYC doesn't happen for some reason I could schedule the trip around whatever date you guys end up choosing and make this the destination.

vdeane

Quote from: Dr Frankenstein on October 25, 2013, 08:52:53 PM
Quote from: vdeane on October 25, 2013, 08:24:26 PM[...]and not knowing French.

This goes for everyone, and has been mentioned in other threads, especially for the 2011 Montreal meet and the 2012 Capital Region meet.

Given how touristy Québec City is, this is unlikely to be a serious enough issue for anyone. Sure, there will be thicker accents than in Montreal or Gatineau, perhaps even that the person serving you will go and request help from someone else, but it is in no way required for anyone to be able to speak French.

It's pretty much like going to Amsterdam or Berlin: as a tourist, no one will expect you to be fluent in the local language. If you want to feel more at ease, you can buy one of those phrasebooks for travelers.

I'll be there and will be able to help anyway.

For the record: AsphaltPlanet knows some French but isn't fluent yet (or are you now?), Duke87 hardly speaks any French (but his cousin, 'place-saint-henri', speaks it almost fluently), I'm not aware of jpi and froggie knowing any French at all, and corco has started studying it just now.
Interesting.  I always assumed that you needed to know French for anywhere deeper than Montreal.

Finances still stand; I'm not sure if I'll be able to do meets next year yet (or any beyond Corning/Elmira), but if I had to choose between NYC and Quebec City, I'd do Quebec City.  It would be a three-four day weekend including some clinching around Montreal.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

Dougtone

Quote from: vdeane on October 26, 2013, 03:37:53 PM
Interesting.  I always assumed that you needed to know French for anywhere deeper than Montreal.

That was my understanding as well, to an extent, that French was mostly mandatory outside of the Montreal and Gatineau areas.  I've also understood that the further east you travel in Quebec, the more you need to be comfortable using French.  That being said, despite the fact that I took six years of French in school, I haven't had a conversation in French in a number of years and I don't believe that I could without some practice.  I retained some vocabulary pretty well, so at least I can identify things in French.

It's been a while since I've been to Quebec City, only once, which was in 1994.  This meet is something that I'll want to keep on my radar.

cu2010

Quebec City? I've been to Montreal numerous times, never further upriver. It's close enough where it's an easy overnight getaway.

I'm interested. :)
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1995hoo

I'd love to go back to Quebec City, haven't been there since 1984 and my wife has never been there. I'm the psycho who wants to go in winter, though! Previous visit was in August. Beautiful place to visit.
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Janko Dialnice

Let's see. Roads? French language? Fellow roadgeeks? I am definitely interested in attending this meet. Again, it is a question of getting the rest of my life (medical appointments, time off work, Mom's problems) to permit me to attend this. Keep me posted, though.

As for the French language issue, I found that as long as you know some of the pleasantries ("Good morning", "Please", "Thank you", "I'm sorry", etc.) that people seem to appreciate the effort, and may then even switch to English if they are able to speak it. Another trick, especially at a cash register, is opening your wallet in a way that shows you have American currency, or shows your driver's license. That will prove to them that you are a US citizen, and not a stubborn Anglo-Canadian, making them more willing to speak English to you.

deathtopumpkins

I'm always looking for excuses to go to Canada, so I'd certainly be interested. Might be just a tad too far for a day trip though, so if anyone's going to be looking for a hotel room later on once a date has been decided on...
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Duke87

Quote from: Dougtone on October 26, 2013, 11:07:12 PM
Quote from: vdeane on October 26, 2013, 03:37:53 PM
Interesting.  I always assumed that you needed to know French for anywhere deeper than Montreal.

That was my understanding as well, to an extent, that French was mostly mandatory outside of the Montreal and Gatineau areas. 

Not so much. Outside of those areas you are unlikely to find someone who speaks English fluently, but there will be a decent number of people who speak English a little, especially if their job is something like a gas station attendant.

In terms of this being an adjacent weekend to the NYC meet, that doesn't matter for me as the latter I am local to (and even if it weren't, I've been to meets two consecutive weekends before - see Watertown and Williamsport in 2011).
If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

empirestate

I spent several overnight stays in Québec City and had no serious issue with the language. If you find someone who appears stubbornly Francophonic, often just a fractured attempt at coming back to them in French will snap them into English, rather than listen to you continue to butcher the language. :-)

In any case, everyone who hasn't yet been to that city ought to go. There's nowhere else like it in North America, and Montréal isn't a substitute.

Alps

BUTTON COOOOPY

Could try to make this work. Montreal has flights to Iqaluit.

*reveals nothing else*

Brandon

Quote from: Steve on November 19, 2013, 08:52:11 PM
BUTTON COOOOPY

Could try to make this work. Montreal has flights to Iqaluit.

*reveals nothing else*

Trying to get Nunavut under your belt?
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AsphaltPlanet

Looking at my calendar, I am thinking this meet will either be on Saturday May 17th, 2014, or Saturday July 26th, 2014.

Any preference?
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