Mont Tremblant

Another weekend here in Canada usually means another nearby city to explore. And this time, I ventured north of Montréal with some friends to Mont Treblant. 

A sleepy ski-resort in the Laurentian mountains of Quebec, the city is beautiful sans snow. With the blazing summer sun, picturesque lake and artificial beach, it was hard to imagine the place as a snow-capped ski resort in the winter months!

 

 

 We arrived on the weekend of the International Jazz Festival - which made for a relaxing backdrop as we spent our time on the beach, by the lake and generally taking some time out from our very busy schedules at the International Space University's Space Studies Program in Montréal. 

 

We stayed in this cute, family-owned B & B. The owner made us the best French toast I've had and I of course drowned it in Maple Syrup -I'm addicted to the stuff now and even take it in my coffee!

 The highlight of the weekend had to be riding a horse for the very first time. I know, how have I lived the past 24 years of my life and never been on a horse? I get that a lot! Last Sunday morning we toured the hills of Mont Treblant from on top of some very large horses. As a  relatively small person, this was pretty daunting - but I'm glad I finally did it - even if my horse Trixie didn't want to listen to me!

 

 Me and Trixie - we had some ups and downs.

After we were done pretending to be cowboys and cowgirls we spent the afternoon by the Mont Treblant lake before driving only 1 hour and a half home to Montréal. 

It's great to be back and in the middle of Department Activities (DA's). My department, Human Performance in Space (HPS) is going well so far. Once DA time is over next week I'll be sure to write a blog post about space life in the HPS Department and at SSP14 - but for now I'm off to get some well-needed rest (ISU - also is known as the Insufficient Sleep University)!

-Nikita

Québec City

Spending the summer in Montreal means that I'm pretty close to some amazing cities. One of which being Québec City. Last weekend some friends and I drove 2 and a half hours north of Montreal to the beautiful capital city of the province of Québec.

The aptly named city is the oldest European settlement in North America. Winding cobblestone roads are the norm here, so much so that it's easy to forget you're in Canada and feel as though you're strolling the streets of Paris. 

This street in particular reminded me of the Parisian Montmartre. A famed tourist spot - I was told I couldn't leave Québec City without taking a photo here. 

Montmorency Falls was by far the highlight of the trip. The stunning waterfall flows on the Montmorency River and is 30 metres higher than Niagara Falls. We walked up a winding staircase beside it as apposed to taking the cable car - a decision I at first was hesitant about but the views were totally worth it :)

We got pretty up close and personal with the waterfall in this shot! It's incredible being so close to such a powerful force of nature such as this.

This area of Québec City is called the Old Port.  What appears to be a castle or a palace in the first photo is in fact a hotel. Le Château Frontenac was built in 1893 and is said to be the most photographed hotel in the world. It certainly is impressive, as are the views from the pier looking out across the Fleuve Saint-Laurent. 

It was a wonderfully warm weekend in Quebec and a great break from the busy SSP schedule. We've had the opportunity to attend some very interesting panels and events so far and I will write a blog post on SSP life so far very soon :)

Nikita