Canadian Excursion III

South Burlington, Vermont

Yesterday Libby and I took off for yet another excursion into Canada.  This time is was to the nearby Richelieu River region.   For the benefit of those who don't know, we refer to the river that runs north from Lake Champlain, intersecting the Saint Lawrence River at Sorel Quebec.  It goes near, but avoids the Montreal area.

It is a great day trip, and it appears to be an open secret.  As far as we can see, most Vermonters and most upstate New Yorkers, are not aware of this possibility.

Montreal has its charms; urban charms.  But there is a constant tension of hostility towards English speaking people, plus the brusk or even rude behavior of urban residents.   The rural nature of the Richelieu region is much nicer to our tastes.  As an added bonus, although English is almost never spoken here, the people are warm and friendly and welcoming; very different than Montreal's population.

The first time we saw this region was in 2007 on board Tarwathie.   We had sailed up the Saint Lawrence.  We took the mast down in Sorel, and motored down the river to Chambly, and then to Lake Champlain the next day.  We loved it.

By car, the first thing one sees after crossing the Canadian Border is the intense large scale agriculture.  The farms there rival those in the American plain states or in California's Imperial Valley.  It seems strange, because on the New York and Vermont side of the border one sees mostly forests.

The prettiest part of the trip is north of Iberville, to Sorel.  We drove along the river using route 133 on the East bank going North and route 223 on the West bank going south.    There are numerous small villages along the way.  Our favorite was Saint Denis sur Richelieu.  There is a grand cathedral there (it appeared that all the towns in Quebec competed with each other to have the grandest cathederal).  The streets are narrow, and the houses charming.   There is a little cable ferry to carry cars across the river.  We surmised that it was probably an insular society because street signs noted the names of the families who settled there, (and who may still live there).  The cemetary was right next to the school, thus allowing people to be born, raised, work and die within the same block.    But it was really charming.

Saint Denis sur Richelieu Cathederal, (huge for a population of 2285 people)

Saint Denis sur Richelieu Ferry

The prettiest part of the trip was to see the beautiful homes along the way.   The architecture was hugely varied and interesting, and the homes elegant without being ostentatious in the sense of American MacMansions.  We wondered about the reason.  Could it be that the services of architectural help in house design in more affordable in Canada?  Could it be the right brains on seteroids of these French speaking people who value the aesthetic more and are talented at making it?  We don't know.