Road Trip: Northern Quebec: Day 2 & 3

After a wonderful day and night in Quebec City The Canadian and I continued our spring break road trip and headed north along the St. Lawrence River.

The weather was pretty much the opposite of good. The roads were icy, the fog was heavy and the wind was strong. We were heading into the mountains and I was getting worried about the roads. The Canadian promised me it would be fine but I decided to take a nap and pretend we were at the beach.

Once we finally reached the town of La Malbaie and arrived at our hotel I realized the drive was completely worth the terror of the mountain passes. 

Our room at Manoir Richelieu was comfy and cute. I don't know why we didn't get another upgrade -- afterall, we lied and told them it was our honeymoon.

We had a river view, which just so happened to be an ice rink view also. Can you see the fire pit in the center? Umm, is it normal for hotels to have their own skating rink? Just checking.

After relaxing for a bit The Canadian and I headed over to the casino to try our luck. I headed straight for the nickel and penny slots while The Canadian headed toward the black jack table. After loosing $3 my machine started making noise and the screen lit up with directions written at the bottom. Problem was the directions were in French so I couldn't understand what was happening. Figuring I had won millions, I flagged down an English-speaking security guard. He kindly explained that I had won a whole lot of nothing. I went on to lose the rest of my $10 and finally called it a day.

After gambling away our life savings (kidding!) The Canadian somehow managed to talk me into putting on my bathing suit to go for a swim (in a heated pool). I was skeptical but it was totally worth it. Swimming in the snow and lounging in the hot tub was fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the kids swim while wearing winter hats and the lifeguard stand duty in her parka.

And obviously we looked really cool walking through the hotel to the pool. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to bring flip-flops into the Canadian mountains.

The next day we headed back down the mountains in more treacherous weather. As we came into the town of Sainte Anne de Beaupre it occured to The Canadian that the Saint Anne Church was a place we should stop. He couldn't really tell me why, but he knew it was an amazing church.

The basilica was breath-taking. The walls are lined with 240 stained glass windows.

The details and the mosaic work was unlike anything I have ever seen.

It was huge and I had to pick my jaw up off the ground.

The most interesting part of the church was the two pillars of crutches and canes.

I've never even heard of a healing church, let alone seen the evidence of one. I have no words to describe it. It was intense.

And it had 10 confessionals!

And an entire hut outside for blessings. Had it been open I totally would have had the priest bless our car for the rest of the trip.

Can you imagine growing up in a tiny little town and this is your church?! Amazing. 

Once we finally dragged ourselves away from Saint Anne's we continued on our road trip to Edmundston....more on that tomorrow. 

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Workout: Cardio - 60 minute, Weights - Triceps, Chest, Abs