Percé

Yesterday we left Gaspé and drove around the eastern tip of the peninsula. The views were beautiful!
We stopped in Percé for lunch and a little walk around town. This enormous rock is the town's claim to fame. There is a hole through it, but you can't see it here.
Lunch at the beach
Percé was a charming little tourist town. There were lots of people there strolling around, shopping, and walking on the beach.
We finally got a good view of the rock on our drive out of town. We couldn't stop, so here's an action shot taken out the back window of the van.
After a concert in Maria, we spent the night at a bed-and-breakfast in Carleton, both on the southern coast. This morning we drove back across the middle of the peninsula and back up to the north coast. We have one last concert in Cap-Chat tonight before our break (and my trip home)! As soon as the concert is over, Fred and I will drive all night to the airport in Quebec City. Wish us luck catching our 6 am flights.

A Day in Gaspé

Another day off in Gaspé today. Line and I really wanted to go on a whale watching trip, but the guys ended up needing to take the car for their day-long hike. So today we've been wandering around town.

Breakfast at Tim Horton's, mmmmm.
Downtown Gaspé
Line and I had lunch at this cafe. It's a little hard to see, but that's water in the background - it was a really nice view.
These are absolutely the best cookies ever. They taste like maple syrup. Tonight is our last night in Gaspé. Tomorrow morning we'll drive to Maria, a little town on the southern side of the peninsula, and stay near there for the night.

Another nice weekend in Charlottesville

Riviere au Renard

We usually eat dinner in the town where the concert is. This was last night's fine dining establishment.
Poutine - I tried some. It's french fries with gravy and some kind of curd cheese. It tasted pretty good.
Last night's crowd was wierd. They seemed a little less enthused about the concert than our audiences usually are. There was an enormous bingo tournament going on at the same time in the church basement - maybe they wished they were downstairs.

Arrrived in Gaspé

Hello all! Yesterday we left Rimouski and traveled about 4 hours to Madeleine, a very small village on the North coast. The drive was very pretty and hilly with views of the water around each bend. Our motel was right next to the church, so we were able to walk to the concert. The motel didn't have working lights, shower, or internet, and there was no phone in the room, but there was a tv and it was such a treat to flip it on and hear English. We spent our free time playing rummy outside at a picnic table overlooking the water. We'll be in Gaspé for the next three nights. We're staying in a college dorm and the town looks very pretty with lots of little shops and flowers everywhere. My cell phone works! There is also a computer in the common room that I can use, so consider me a happy camper.

Bowling

Tonight Thomas went bowling with our friends Becky and Matt.
Matt is a professional bowler.

Last Day in Rimouski

In my pre-trip "excitement" about leaving for Quebec, I packed 5 bags (all full to the brim) and my cello. There's no way all that stuff will fit in the tour van, so I pared things down today. I'm sending my biggest suitcase home, but this one is staying with me.Finally finished the triazzle. I'm leaving cell phone and internet range tomorrow. For the next several days we will be traveling up the St. Lawrence river and around the tip of the Gaspé peninsula. On Friday I fly home to Greensboro for a few days (can't wait!), then I come back to Quebec for 2 more weeks of concerts.

Berthier sur Mer

Today was one of our longest days; our concert was a few hours down the river in Berthier sur Mer. We tend to leave "early" for concerts. Tonight we got to town 4 1/2 hours before the concert, which meant we had time for a very leisurely dinner at this restaurant with amazing views of the water.
Tonight's church had a nautical theme, with a big boat hanging from the ceiling.
We took a few pictures of the quartet while we were warming up.

Disaster

Well, almost. Tonight two of us left our music in Rimouski. I was one of them, naturally. The boys had no choice but to drive an hour and a half round trip to fetch the parts, which were on a chair in my living room. So the concert started an hour late. It's the first time in 7-8 years that something like this happened on the tour and of course I was mortified to have played a part in it. But the audience was very cheerful about the whole thing, and with a shortened intermission and "lively" tempi, we finished the concert by 10:30.

I couldn't tell what the venue was going to be like beforehand. I've been struggling with my French and to me, Foyer Jesus-Marie de Trois Pistoles only means: Fireplace Jesus Mary of Three Pistols. It turned out to be a convent and retirement home. The ladies there were so kind. They prepared delicious cookies and punch for us and really made us feel welcome. The concert went well, and it was a nice evening in the end.

Fort Ingall de Cabano

Tonight's concert was in a reconstructed British fort in the countryside. It was a cool and rainy night, but our little wooden building was quite cozy. We didn't have time to tour the museum buildings, so I'm sorry to report I didn't quite learn what the British were doing there or why they made a fort. I'll have to brush up on my Canadian history and get back to you.

These little buidings were cute.Pretty view from the front of the building we played in

Gina's Day Off

Today's a day off, and I felt I should do something productive. So I unpacked my dissertation materials and contemplated getting started.

But I decided my triazzle project was more urgent.

The clogged shower drain also needed attention.


Then I composed a fascinating "before and after" dirty dishes shot while I cleaned the kitchen.


Realized I'm out of drinking water (faucet water tastes like rust). So I walked to the store again to get that and a few other necessities. I talked on the phone the whole way there and back. Thanks for keeping me company, Meaghan!


Next I performed minor surgery on my friend Roy.


All in a day's work!

1/3 Complete

Tonight we finished our seventh concert, which means we're a third of the way through our 21 concerts this summer. Today we had an afternoon concert outdoors, and the evening's concert was in Notre Dame du Portage. Such a pretty town!

The perfect chair.
I realized I couldn't get outside to take a picture of the sunset during intermission without going through the audience, so I took this from the church window.
Tomorrow will be a very welcome day off. Maybe I'll start my dissertation....

Thomas in Charlottesville

Metis sur Mer

Today's Harvest

New Project

Ok, so there's not much to do on a day off in Canada. And the days are longer here than at home (literally - the sun rises an hour and a half earlier, but sets at the same time). So I was delighted when Fred said he'd drive me to Wal-Mart this afternoon. I picked this puzzle out because it has a rapper name and I thought that was cool.
But the Triazzle is crazy hard. The edges don't fit together, so where do you start?

Esprit-Saint

Last night's concert was in Esprit-Saint, a one-street town about 45 minutes away. I guess the population couldn't support a huge crowd; there were only about 25 people at the concert. The church was at the top of a hill with beautiful views of the mountains beyond. If it weren't for the big "arrêt" sign, you'd think you were in Virginia.
Doucy, our violist's dog. She comes with us everywhere and she's adorable. She is thirteen years old.