After a month in this wonderful country called Canada, I think it's about time I share some of my 'Best Of Québec' stories with you! I would love to get into it all and tell you everything I did, saw and everybody I met in the past few weeks - but I honestly don't have the energy and feel for it. Trust me, I tried. That being said, the sheer volume of experiences (ergo writings) would keep you in front of your computer for or day or two - or immediately make you give up by the sight of so much text.. (éh bro??!) So - to keep you up to date and entertained in an acceptable quantity, hereby some of Québecs Best and (to keep it real) a little bit of the Worst.. Québec is the French state of Canada, which means that the native tongue is the strictly spoken Canadian French (seriously, don't make the mistake thinking it is bilingual - you'll only end up insulting the locals and embarrassing yourself). This language is unfortunately very hard to understand due to the terrible Québecer accent, sorry Catherine! ;) But I've been having fun practicing my high school French, which has (to my great happiness) let me be somewhat able to get around in daily life. However, most of the times when I speak they immediately tell me I have a weird accent. It never occurs to the 'francophones' that their accent is the weird one, and my 'France French' is perfectly acceptable.  And, like the cherry on the French topping, my name is now being pronounced as Éinchè or Ánchè. Loving that :D So far I have traveled to Montréal, Québec, Mont Tremblant, Saguenay and Gaspé. These cities and area's have given me quite a good view on Québec state, with each their own elements. I think my favorite one might just be Gaspé, although I still have a few days left in this area so I can't be entirely sure yet :)  Gaspé is a peninsula situated in the very eastern part of Québec, and is surrounded entirely by the St Lawrence river and the Gulf of St Lawrence, which are directly attached to the North Atlantic Ocean. Though you won't find any big cities or stunning culture within this tiny piece of Canada, it does offer some lovely nature. Gentle mountains, two big National Parks, endless space, tiny (slightly depressing) villages all situated right next to the shores and of course the ocean itself. I like the atmosphere here. People are relaxed, friendly and never lock their front doors. Everybody owns at least one pair of snowshoes, ski's or some kind of snow-related equipment. There are tens of little shacks standing on the frozen Gulf where men are ice fishing, and the only bus company brings you to the trailhead in the next door situated Forillon National Park. I do believe summer would have been a better season to visit this place, but I won't let that bother me! Gear on, extra layer of merino wool and let's hike to that Cap Bon Ami with the beautiful view! Mont Tremblant was another area that I very much enjoyed, though that might have been due to the people I met rather then the nature. The village is a very touristic ski resort a few hours north of Montréal, and very popular with the "bourgeois bobo's". I spend my first nights in the HI hostel, where I met some awesome people that I ended up spending the next few days with. We went hiking, snowshoeing, out for diner and drinks and genuinely enjoyed each others company. The beautiful thing about meeting fellow travelers is that we all share the same state of mind; we are chasing our dreams! The list of people I've met (oh yes, there is a list!) is growing vastly. During these last few weeks alone I have met over 50 people, and all of them contributed to my journey in one way or another. All strangers at first, but most of them soon become known and familiar, the majority of them trusted, and few become a 'someone special'. Either by our shared experiences, their personal stories or background, or the simple awesomeness of (meeting) this person. I can't help but share some of their stories with you, in the hope and assumption that it leaves you just as impressed, full of thoughts or simply smiling - like me. Dennis is 27 year old American, graduated from some big ass university in Business, owns his own home, awesome car (a blue Audi TT with an Angry Birds stuffed animal on the dashboard), and his own car wash company. Decided that one day he wasn't going to drive to his work, but to Canada instead. Came back home for a week, packed his bags and went back north again. Nobody beside his parents know where he is or what he is doing. The last stop he made before crossing the Canadian border was in the middle of the night in a small American village, where he mailed his apartment keys to his ex girlfriend. No note. Dennis told me "You've got to do things as you feel them. If you wait, you might not feel them anymore." T.H. is a ski patrol on the Mont Tremblant mountain, and has been working on that mountain for over 20 years. I met him as I was snowshoeing on the top of the mountain, and we ended up talking for a good time. He was honored when I asked him if I could take his photo and requested I would send it to him. I left him a note with my email address, and we ended up having breakfast later that week. We shared life stories: me of my European and New Zealand 25 young years, him of his New York and Canada 60-something years. T.H. showed me his home where he's living with his young son, a 'super sized' cabin which he built himself situated in a small forest on a lakeside. It's woodsy, homy and filled with great artifacts that fit his personality, spirit and life. Meeting him was a very enriching experience. Some of the other awesome people I met I met through CouchSurfing. I am still surfing my way through Canada, and continue to be amazed by the hospitality and generosity strangers can offer you. Apparently this one thing that connects us (a subscription on the CouchSurfing website) is enough to form some kind of a bond, and allow traveler and host to interact as though we are friends. One of the last hosts I was staying with was something even better then that.. Five minutes after I was welcomed in Catherine's home in Québec city I knew we would get along and that our minds, wishes and dreams were somewhat alike. Catherine's roommates Loulou and Adreanne were nothing but sweet, relaxed and fun to be around and very soon I 'transformed' from "la couchsurfer" to roommate "Elisabetha" (my name once again prove to be too difficult). These girls and I became real friends, and we had so much fun just spending time together. I stayed with them for 10 days, and felt at home the entire time. When on the road, I consider this to be one of the most valuable things. A new surfing experience I've discovered is something called Amigo Express. It is an online organization where people offer you a seat in their car to wherever they're going in exchange for some gas-money. This way you'll reach your destination fast and cheap, and you get to meet some great people. Best experience yet was from Québec city to Saguenay, where my driver Alex and I talked enthusiastically for 3 hours straight and he ended up giving me a tour around the fire station where he worked. Another interesting soul with an awesome life story that I had the pleasure to meet. Of course, I've done a million more things in the past month. Some worth mentioning: I had the local 'poutine' cuisine (quite gross if you ask me), had maple syrup pancakes, maple syrup on snow and in whiskey (a lot better then the poutine). I did a lot of snowshoeing, some winter hiking and exploring of the cities and area's. I watched an outdoors ice hockey game (-25C), stayed in and relaxed, cooked, baked, spent hours planning, preparing and organizing the rest of my journey, and dreaming of all that is left to come! Every now and then some of the best aspects of traveling can 'come back and bite you in the ass' and become some of the most tiresome. For as a traveler you are always on the road, always moving from one place to another, and your homes (however lovely) are always temporary. Every day brings you new faces and places, questions and situations... Where do I go now? They told me it was only a 10 minute walk, but I've been at it for at least 30.. I wonder if they have a bus here? Was I supposed to do that? She put waaay too much food on my plate, again!!! I wonder if I'm allowed to stay longer? God I wish I had my laptop now.. Is it acceptable for me to hang in front of the TV and not be the enthusiastic spirited couchsurfer? I really want to go get out of here, but how in the world do I find transport back to the city? Oh man I don't like mushrooms and they are all over the dish that she made specially for me... Why am I too tall for this bed? No thank you, I don't want to eat pasta for lunch - where is your Gouda cheese and hagelslag? Yes I know I am a tourist here, but today I'll take it easy and stay in thank you.. Gosh, she is so incredibly busy and stressed out - why ever did she invite me to stay? Why doesn't my credit card just work already?! I wonder if it's rude to buy a box of cookies and eat the entire thing by myself? Shiiit, still haven't found a place to sleep for tomorrow night! And so on... Sometimes it's hard for me to let these little things go and don't worry about them. It's simply not a part of my personality (yet) to skip over these bumps and bruises in the road, although I very much hope that I'll get better at it as I go. Another thorn in my side has been the American Volunteer Visa that I need for my time in Denali National Park in Alaska. Oh yes lovely ladies and dear gentlemen, here we go again! Visa stories are not nearly finished, don't you worry 'bout a thing! I swear I could write a book about my troubles, or perhaps I should simply write a complaint letter with the gripping 'Are you Fucking Kidding Me?!' title. When this it all over of course. Anyway, let's just say that I am still working on acquiring it, and it costs me a hell of a lot of time, energy, money, patience and perseverance. So please, if you have a moment next Tuesday, keep your fingers crossed, pray to the heavens, send some good luck to Canada, inform the Karma gods to send the good stuff my way, grasp your lucky dolls and ask that the Visa people be merciful - because I have my Incredibly Important Interview... So right now I am surfing in Gaspé, where the current snowstorm has taken over the stunning view. This is as far east as I will go in Canada. Soon I will travel back to Montréal, on to Toronto for a short visit, and then I am going to take the big cross over.. I will take the bus from Toronto to Edmonton, to the Rocky Mountains! And as a quick Google Maps Search will tell you; driving from Toronto to Edmonton is a whopping 3470 km, which will take a full 50 hour nonstop ride by bus... Oh yeah, I can't wait! :s :) * Inge's note: I just wanted to write another thank you for following me with so many and such enthusiasm! I get really excited every time someone left another reply, and some of you have really surprised me with your visits and comments here :) :D It's heartwarming to have such support, truly. This entry is another long one, lots to tell! But now you've got something to read to each other again Carolijn, during your coffee break Gwen or if you miss the traveling buufje ;) Cheers guys, next update from the 50 hours bus trip!