Last month I had a wonderful experience and instead of spending my summer going to a comic book convention for work, I took a real vacation to the Canadian province of Quebec. The trip was wonderful with stops in the modern city of Montreal and the classic city of Quebec. The food, the people, the sights, the history, the comic book stores, all of it was fantastic.
I will be posting highlights of the trip in the following months, but probably not in order. For this first post we start in the middle of the trip.
August 25, 2012 at the Pointe-a-Calliére museum Medieval Fair, Montreal Canada.
This is a perfect example of why you research before a trip, because you could miss a wonderful event like this recreated 18th century market. I found out this ahead of time and so I was able to plan to make sure I did not miss it. There seemed to be musicians on every corner and food stall selling amazing food, and all in period clothing. Wealthy ladies strolled by stands to shop, soldiers looked for new recruits, and pirates posed with pictures with the visitors.
form the Museum’s website:
A trip back to the heart of Montréal’s first public market!
Over the course of a weekend, take a trip back in time to find yourself in the company of farmers, craftspeople, and entertainers as they existed in 1750, at the time of Montréal’s very first public marketplace. A not-to-be-missed event in Old Montréal, Pointe-à-Callière’s 18th Century Public Market is a unique experience, a festive marketplace that retains its agricultural role while offering an array of historical activities and presentations in an atmosphere unique to New France.
For food I tried: a wonderful light lemonade that was sweetened with local honey, grilled sausage, veal meat spread (like a Cretons), slices of fresh baked bread, and Marco’s Birch Beer. I have not been drinking soda in the past year, but I love root beer and I was attracted to the all natural ingredients in Marco Soda which did not have all the acidic chemicals. It was quite excellent.
And now for some fun, DID YOU KNOW factoids, courtesy of our friends at Breuvages Marco:
Root beer, birch beer and spruce beer were North America’s first flavoured beverages?
These beverages were made with a combination of roots, molasses, and bark. They were then fermented to achieve the final libation.
Old Fashioned Spruce Beer (the kind that Marco Beverages sells)- was originally made to get this- ward off scurvy! George Washington (yep, the American general), apparently used to give it to his troops for this very reason! Now you know!
They also had actives for everyone including: making a family shield, period dancing, and educational games for the kids. The soldiers would show the kids how to stand at the ready with wooden guns then have them march around ‘in training’.
So, if you get a chance to visit Montreal in August next year, maybe you can time your trip to catch this fun event.
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