MONTEBELLO, QUEBEC, IN THE FALL

The view from Le Chateau Montebello of the Ottawa River

My husband, a native of Ottawa, has long wanted to visit Montebello in western Quebec, Canada. His parents were invited to stay at Le Chateau Montebello and he remembered hearing about it when he was small.

In 2015 we got there at last because our son and daughter-in-law invited us to Ottawa for Thanksgiving. It's a perfect time to see the fall colours and we booked three nights at the acclaimed chateau.

Montebello is actually a small village on the banks of the Ottawa River, an hour's drive from Ottawa. A popular vacation spot in the summer, we found in early October that most of the cafés and restaurants were closed. No doubt some would re-open for Christmas and the snowy months, but we were out of luck.

The chateau gobsmacked me. It's a vast, star-shaped log cabin built of ten thousand red cedar logs from British Columbia and it's surrounded by parkland. The builders took only three months to complete it in 1930 as a private vacation club for the wealthy elite from Montreal and Ottawa, as well as prime ministers and royalty. The grounds have a marina, stables, a curling rink, a golf course, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, and much more. The members enjoyed this club summer and winter. When it snowed they cross-country skied, skated, curled, snowshoed and attended wonderful Christmas parties. In July and August, they hiked, sailed, swam, rode, and partied some more. This lifestyle did not last and the chateau became a hotel decades after WW2 and hosted the G7, NATO, other distinguished meetings. Now it's part of the Fairmont chain, recently acquired by the Accor group.

Inside the hotel is a vast circular lobby around which are the galleries of the upper two floors. Dominating the centre is an enormous stone chimney, below which are six fireplaces surrounded by couches and arm chairs. There is a bar too, with a friendly barman, shops, and the front desk.









The galleries are lined with old photos of the hotel and club members in Chateau Montebello's heyday and they are worth viewing. Around the railings are tables and chairs, often with a chess set or backgammon board to while away the time. The rooms radiate from the galleries and are good sized and comfortable. The bathrooms are small but modern, and the wifi is excellent.

When guests are hungry, there are several options and they're all superb. Aux Chantignoles, wraps-around the banquet room and looks out to the terrace with the Ottawa River beyond. The food was absolutely divine and most sourced locally. We had two dinners and two breakfasts here. There is also the Seigneurie Bar that serves bistro food and good local beer. In the summer, Le Riverain on the huge terrace delivers barbecue fare.

All in all Le Chateau Montebello was quite an experience combining luxury, history, politics, and more. It was a visit I was thrilled to make.

IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2015. All rights reserved

GATINEAU PARK IS AFLAME WITH FALL COLOUR

Here are a few of my images taken yesterday in Gatineau Park, Quebec. I have long wanted to see the famous fall colours and, despite visiting Ottawa twice a year for decades, I have never seen them. Well, now I have on a sunny, warm fall day. This is a must-do, easy day trip from Ottawa; even a half-day drive.

Champlain Lookout on Eardley Escarpment
overlooking the Ottawa River valley

L: Country lane that I inadvertently drove down.

R: At King Lake

IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2014. All rights reserved

RURAL QUEBEC AND BLUE SEA

The moment you cross the Ottawa River going east, you immediately know the province is different. The traffic lights are strung sideways, there's not a word of English on the storefronts and advertisements, and traffic is just a bit less disciplined.

I'm heading north up into the Gatineau hills for about 100 kms to visit Blue Sea, a place my mother-in-law spent her girlhood summers. I drive up Highway 105, that would be unrecognizable to her; today it's a four-lane freeway for the first half of the journey. Then the road meanders through rolling hills, prosperous farms, and tiny villages. Its ranching country, and fat beef steers and good-looking horses predominate among fields of silage. The landscape is soothing and a lush green from the spring rain. Purple lilacs are blooming in profusions here and their perfume fills the air. There's not a cloud in the sky.


At Gracefield, I turn left and follow a country road for the last eleven kilometres. At the end is a T-junction and the lake. Across the road stands a larger-than-life statue of Jesus of the Sacred Heart, covered in gold paint, that perpetually blesses the community that was founded by the church. Very few people are in evidence this morning. The lake is certainly bright blue and crystal clear. Houses and cottages ring its banks.

I turn right and follow the lake's contour, but cannot see it for trees. After driving for a while, it's obvious that the entire waterfront is privately-owned. Same on the other bank. But at the village at the south end where I arrived, there is a boat launch (one of many around the lake) and a view. Blue Sea is the largest lake in the area - 10 kms by 3 kms - and sports seventeen islands, as well as a lake monster (hippocampus) last seen in 1913. With a population of 678 spread around the lake, it's cottage country and a boaters' paradise.

Without a boat, I search for a restaurant for lunch. There's only one — a tiny unlicensed, family-run café with a big name, that tests my French considerably. I speak a bit of Parisian French but not the rural patois of Quebec.

On a glorious sunny day the drive is worth it, but probably not on a grey, dull day. It would be better still with a boat, which I'm sure my late mother-in-law would have had available and enjoyed.

Visit www.bluesea.ca for more info and find out why it has an English name — there's a good reason.


IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2014