Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Monday Road Trip – Voyage Routier du Lundi


Last evening Francois and I attended a reception hosted by Lieutenant-Commander André Gervais, Commanding Officer, HMCS RADISSON, Navel Reserve Division (http://www.navy.forces.gc.ca/navres/1/1-n_eng.asp?category=93) on board the HMCS Shawinigan in Trois-Rivières.  The Shawinigan and two other maritime vessels are on Great Lakes deployment to selected ports along the St. Lawrence Seaway.  

 
A bit of background on the Shawinigan:
HMCS Shawinigan(http://www.navy.forces.gc.ca/shawinigan/0/0-s_eng.asp)  is a Kingston-class coastal defence vessel that has served in the Canadian Forces since 1997.
Shawinigan is the fifth ship of her class which is the name for the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel Project. She is the second vessel to use the designation HMCS Shawinigan.
Shawinigan was laid down on 26 April 1996 at Halifax Shipyards Ltd., Halifax and was launched on 15 November 1996. She was officially commissioned into the CF on 14 June 1997 and carries the pennant number 704. She is assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and is homeported at CFB Halifax.

 
In 1997 the Shawinigan was christened by Aline Chrétien (wife of Canada’s 20th Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien) and this evening she was honoured with a photo of the original launch.  During the presentation it was explained that she made 25 attempts to break the bottle of Champaign on the hull of the ship, finally with success, an event that was well documented on This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Canada’s longest running satirical TV series.   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Hour_Has_22_Minutes ).



Prior to the evening reception we enjoyed a pleasant meal near the Trois-Rivières waterfront.  Could almost imagine we were back in Paris (almost).


Trois-Rivières : capitale de la poésie…



Trois-Rivières History (version française á suivre)
In 1535, when Europeans arrived at the site of Trois-Rivières, the area was a beach where natives spent the summer. Despite its advantages, Trois-Rivières remained a seasonal fur trading post until 1634, when the Sieur de Laviolette established a permanent fur trading post that attracted natives from the Saint-Maurice Valley and the Outaouais region. The post was destroyed during the Iroquois wars but was resurrected in the 18th and 19th centuries.

In 1730, iron and cast were manufactured at the Forges of Saint-Maurice added to the region's potential. Products were carried nine miles by boat, then distributed to Canadian markets.
Beginning in 1805, the port was under the jurisdiction of the Corporation de la Maison de la Trinité du Québec. Before 1815, Trois-Rivières still lacked port facilities, and the first steamboats travelling between Québec and Montréal anchored in the open sea near Trois-Rivières to stock wood for their boilers. Passengers and cargo were ferried in small boats.
In 1818, the first port facility, including a dock and a hangar, was built near the rue Saint-Antoine Street. After 1836, wood replaced fur in importance, as the depletion of American forests produced a demand for local timber and the development of major sawmills on the Caché River and in the Grès region. To allow for a log run to Trois-Rivières, the government poured large sums into the development of teh Saint-Maurice River.

The port also benefited from the opening of the back country. In 1858, the city dock was build, linking the north and south shores of the St. Lawrence. Between 1874 and 1879, 165 barges left the port with cargoes of wood. Of the 198 flagged ships, 165 were bound for Great Britain.
The Commission du Port de Trois-Rivières was created on May 17, 1882. It include a president, two federally-appointed commissioners, the mayor and the president of the Trois-Rivières Chamber of Commerce whose mandate was to oversee the administration of the port. Starting 1883, private docks were acquired and new ones were built.
Following a decline in the lumber market, paper mills were constructed in Grand-Mère in 1885 and Shawinigan in 1902.
The hydroelectric development of the Saint-Maurice promoted increasing industrialization in Trois-Rivières including the establishment of Wabasso Cotton (1902), the Canada Iron Foundry (1908), the Saint-Maurice Paper Mill (1910), International Paper (1920) and St. Lawrence Paper (1922).
By 1909, the Harbour Commission owned 1,185 metres of wharf. In 1935, this has increased to 2743.3 metres, to which new railway and hangars were added.

In 1936, a new grain elevator brought the grain industry to Trois-Rivières, making it a port of call. Grain cargo accounted for 80% of maritime traffic, and all other goods the remaining 20%. The National Harbours Board assumed both the management and further development of the port. Hangar area doubled and grain elevator capacity tripled (a second elevator was built in 1956 and a third in 1962). Greater storage area was needed for bulk cargo.
Between 1936 and 1948, the Port of Trois-Rivières ranked second among St. Lawrence ports in terms of volume of transhipped cargo and had carved out an enviable niche among Canadian ports. Over the last fifty years, the port has gradually diversified and adjusted to new markets.
In 1982, the National Harbours Board became the Canada Ports Corporation, and the new legislation gave Canadian ports more autonomy. The Port of Trois-Rivières received the status of divisional port, to be locally administered by an executive manager under the supervision of a national office.

On May 1st, 1999, following the dissolution of the Canada Ports Corporation, the Trois-Rivières Port Authority was created pursuant to the Canada Marine Act. A board of seven members was created, most of whom were appointed by the ministre des Transports, in consultation with port users. As a new Canadian Port Authority (CPA), the Port of Trois-Rivières disposes of the necessary tools to conduct its activities in a more commercial, efficient and timely manner. In addition, ti now enjoys the autonomy and latitude required to function according to function consistent with the principles of trade.


 
Historique

En 1535, à l’arrivée des Européens, Trois-Rivières est une plage où séjournent les autochtones durant la saison estivale. En dépit de ses atouts, elle demeurera un lieu de traite de fourrures saisonnier jusqu’en 1634, période à laquelle le Sieur de Laviolette établira un poste de traite de fourrures permanent, attirant ainsi les autochtones de la Vallée du St-Maurice et de l’Outaouais. Les guerres iroquoises viendront à bout de ce poste mais il reprendra vie aux 18e et 19e siècles.

En 1730, des produits en fonte et en fer fabriqués aux Forges de St-Maurice s’ajoutent au potentiel de la région. La distance de neuf milles entre les Forges et Trois-Rivières permet d’acheminer ces produits par bateau jusqu’à Trois-Rivières et ils seront par la suite écoulés sur les marchés canadiens.
Dès 1805, la juridiction du port relève de la Corporation de la Maison de la Trinité du Québec et avant 1815, n’ayant toujours pas d’installations portuaires à Trois-Rivières, les premiers vapeurs, qui effectuaient la navette entre Québec et Montréal, devaient s’ancrer au large de Trois-Rivières pour permettre le renouvellement du bois nécessaire pour chauffer les bouilloires. On transbordera donc passagers et marchandises par petits bateaux.
L’année 1818 correspondrait à la première installation portuaire, soit un quai et un hangar érigés non loin de la rue Saint-Antoine. À compter de 1836, l’ère du bois succède à l’ère de la fourrure car l’épuisement des forêts américaines provoque une forte demande pour le bois de sciage et le développement d’importantes scieries à la rivière Cachée et aux Grès. Pour permettre le flottage du bois jusqu’à Trois-Rivières, le gouvernement consacrera des sommes importantes dans l’aménagement de la rivière Saint-Maurice.

Le port trifluvien retire quelques bénéfices de l’ouverture de son arrière pays et en 1858, la construction du quai de la Ville assure, par bateaux, la liaison entre la rive nord et la rive sud du Saint-Laurent auquel s’ajoutent d’autres quais. Entre les années 1874 et 1879, 165 barges quittent le port avec leur cargaison de planches et quelques 198 navires battant différents pavillons partent avec leur cargaison. 165 d’entre eux partent à destination de la Grande-Bretagne.

Le 17 mai 1882, naît la Commission du Port de Trois-Rivières comprenant : un président, deux commissaires nommés par le gouvernement fédéral, le maire et le président de la Chambre de commerce de Trois-Rivières dont leur rôle consiste à voir à la bonne administration du port. Dès 1883, on fait l’acquisition de quais privés et on construit de nouveaux quais.
En 1885, suite au ralentissement du marché du bois de sciage, surgit la transformation du bois en papier par l’arrivée de moulins à papier à Grand-Mère et en 1902 à Shawinigan.
Grâce à l’aménagement hydroélectrique de la rivière Saint-Maurice, l’industrialisation trifluvienne s’accentue avec l’implantation de la Wabasso Cotton (1902), Canada Iron Foundry (1908), St-Maurice Paper Mill (1910), International Paper (1920) et St-Lawrence Paper en (1922).
En 1909, la Commission du Port de Trois-Rivières est propriétaire de 1 185 mètres de quais. En 1935, la dimension est de 2 743,2 mètres de quais auxquels s’ajoutent de nouvelles voies ferrées ainsi que de nouveaux hangars.

En 1936, l’ère du grain s’implante à Trois-Rivières et l’entrée en opération de l’élévateur à grain lui redonne la vocation de port d’escale. Le marché du grain représente alors 80% du trafic maritime contre 20% pour les produits régionaux. C’est également l’arrivée du Conseil des ports nationaux qui assume la direction du port et qui accentue le développement du port. La superficie des hangars double et la capacité des élévateurs à grain triple (un 2e élévateur en 1956 et le 3e en 1962). L’entreposage des marchandises en vrac nécessite des espaces plus vastes.

Entre 1936 et 1948, le port de Trois-Rivières se hisse au 2e rang des ports du Saint-Laurent en terme de volume de marchandises transbordées, en plus de se tailler une place enviable parmi les ports canadiens. Progressivement, au cours des cinquante dernières années, le port de Trois-Rivières se diversifie et s’adapte aux nouveaux marchés.

En 1982, le Conseil des ports nationaux devient la Société canadienne des ports, cette nouvelle législation donne plus d’autonomie aux ports canadiens. Le port de Trois-Rivières obtient alors le statut de port divisionnaire, c’est-à-dire qu’il est administré localement par un directeur-général mais sous la direction d’un bureau national.

Le 1er mai 1999, à la dissolution de la Société canadienne des ports, l’Administration portuaire de Trois-Rivières a été crée en vertu de la Loi maritime du Canada. Un conseil d’administration composé de sept membres, dont la majorité sont nommés, par le ministre des Transports, en consultation avec les utilisateurs du port. À titre de nouvelle administration portuaire canadienne (APC), le port de Trois-Rivières dispose des outils nécessaires pour mener ses activités d’une manière plus commerciale, plus efficace et plus opportune. De plus, elle jouit maintenant de l’autonomie et de la latitude nécessaires pour fonctionner selon des principes commerciaux.

 

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Saturday Road Trip - Voyage Routier du Samedi


On today’s agenda was a road trip to the little village of Charette. For François it was an official military visit – for me another opportunity to discover another area of Québec.


Charette is a municipality of 924  people located 126km north-east of Montreal in Maskinongé Regional County Municipality, in Quebec, Canada. 


Charette is named in honour of one of its first settlers, Édouard Charette, originally from Sainte-Ursule, who built a saw mill and flour mill around 1875. In 1910, the post office opened and in 1918, the Municipality of Charette was established when the Parish of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges (formed in 1914) was incorporated. Its railway station identified the place with the English name of Charette's Mills for a period of time.
On December 31, 2001, Charette was added to the Maskinongé RCM when the Centre-de-la-Mauricie RCM was dissolved.
  • English as first language: 0 %
  • French as first language: 99 %


La municipalité de Charette, fondée en 1914 et constituée en municipalité le 9 février 1918, se trouve dans la région administrative de la Mauricie et fait partie de la municipalité régionale de comté de Maskinongé. Charette occupe une superficie de plus de 42 kilomètres carrés. Sa population tourne autour de 950 Charetoises et Charetois.
Charette est une municipalité agricole et forestière, située à une vingtaine de kilomètres au nord du lac Saint-Pierre, dans les contreforts des Laurentides, à moins de deux heures de voyage de Montréal.

Le nom de la municipalité vient du nom de monsieur Édouard Charette qui s’installa dans ces lieux avec un petit groupe de familles. Grâce aux efforts de M. Charette, le chemin de fer traverse le territoire de la municipalité et une gare y fut construite en 1900.

À la suite de la construction du chemin de fer, la localité a connu un grand essor commercial, industriel et social. Des moulins à scie et à farine y ont été construits, ainsi que de nombreux immeubles résidentiels. Notons en passant que quand la compagnie de chemins de fer Canadien Nord y construit la gare, elle la nomme Charette's Mills, mais les citoyens réclamant un nom français, la station ainsi que le bureau de poste ont alors été appelés Charette.
En 1909, une belle église en bois a été érigée qui existe toujours. La gare, toutefois, a été démolie.
Au début du XXIe siècle, la première plantation des cerises renaît au Québec à Charette. La cerisaie qui porte le nom de Temps des cerises, contient huit mille arbres, apportés de l’Ouest canadien, où la culture de cette plante est répandue. Les propriétaires de la plantation envisagent la création d’un centre d’interprétation de la cerise. Le Temps des cerises offre une visite guidée du verger. On peut même faire la cueillette des cerises au mois d’août.




 
“Le Temps des Cerises receives support from Government of Canada for expansion
Charette, Quebec, July 7, 2011 – The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, today announced that Le Temps des Cerises received $211,154 in repayable financial assistance for the construction of a food processing shop and acquisition of specialized equipment for the manufacture of cherry-based products.
Minister Lebel, who was unable to attend the inauguration of the new facilities, applauded the completion of this project. "I congratulate Mr. Gilles Beaulieu for the vision, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit he has shown in this undertaking. The Government of Canada is proud to support this milestone in the growth and expansion of Le Temps des Cerises."
Founded in 2000, Le Temps des Cerises is Quebec's first commercial cherry orchard. The company's 8,000 trees produce a variety of fruit known as the morello cherry, which it then processes into a variety of products such as dried, yogurt-covered and chocolate-dipped cherries and jams and jellies.”


Charette Google Maps coordinates:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&rlz=&q=charette+quebec&gs_upl=1551l4233l0l4509l11l10l0l0l0l0l385l1978l2.3.3.2l10l0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x4cc6378494f949eb:0x674960673a20aba3,Charette,+QC&gl=ca&ei=dPlYTt36LsL10gHRw5iMDw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQ8gEwAA

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Vendredi 19 août – Graduation de la promotion Bieuville

Chanson thème de la Promotion Bieuville chantée durant la réception.









La fin du stage est finalement arrivée. Avant la cérémonie de graduation, il est de tradition que toute la promotion se recueille à l’Arc de triomphe et de remettre une gerbe de fleurs sur la tombe du Soldat inconnu.












Suite à ceci une cérémonie haute en couleur eut lieu dans l’enceinte de l’École Militaire se terminant par une réception tout aussi bien organisée. Journée inoubliable.































Voici l'emblème de la Promotion Bieuville.






























Tuesday, August 23, 2011

A cure for hiccups


On one of our visits with my grand-kids, François explained that his cure for hiccups was to say ‘Paulette’ three times.  The next time my grand-son Gabriel developed hiccups I asked if he remembered what the French cure was.  He thought for a minute then asked: ooh-la-la

So this one is for you Gabe.  I think this statue may have had the hiccups :-)


Our last weekend together – day two

 Today, our last full day in Paris, we visited the Musée d’Orsay (http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/home.html). It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, an impressive Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It is probably best known for its extensive collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces (the largest in the world).


 
The long entry line was predictable considering it was a weekend but it moved along quickly and was really worth the trip.  


 Mercure inventant le caducée


Bust of Bacchus...and nice profile of an admirer




After, I couldn't resist a photo op with a couple of French guards who seemed really pleased to be having their picture taken with a Canadian officer.

Our last weekend together – continued....


FINALLY we found a restaurant with attitude.  Walked around Saturday evening looking for a good place to dine and found this one not too far from our hotel along the narrow Passage de Saint-André. A beautifully charming place built in the 1600’s.

The Maître d’ asked if we had a reservation indicating in a tone that if we didn’t, we hadn’t a hope in hell of getting a table.  He took some time looking over his seating plan, he sighed, he looked again, and then said he might be able to accommodate us.   Would we like a seat on the balcony?   Not bad at all!.....a little table for two on a private balcony off the main dining room.

 
We enjoyed a delicious dinner of escargots, tartare de boeuf and framboises melba for dessert. The waiter was appropriately snotty, the portions were predictably small and the prices were outrageously high. But yes.....a very agreeable evening. 

Our last weekend together

As mentioned earlier, our posts will be out of sequence but am trying to fill in the blanks of our last weekend in Paris.

Planned events are over and everyone has gone their separate ways.  We have the last weekend in Paris together to do what we choose.


Thankfully we now have the time for François to visit Espace Dali.  It was a lot busier than when I went last week but not so much that we couldn’t enjoy.  This time too there was no one policing photo-taking so I snuck a couple. 

 The master himself


 The 'wanna be'...but an interesting resemblance.

Also had the chance to talk to the curator about the lithograph we purchased – Pilades Amait Hermione from the series l’Art d’Aimer.







Back to the future....22nd August

Our final day in Paris and trip back home to Montreal was uneventful.  Enjoyed a petit déjeuner at our favourite café.  Packed our (far too many) valises.  The hotel check-out is usually 12:00 but the staff generously let us keep our room until our taxi arrived at 13:00.  



This time we were smart and secured an extra large taxi – so embarrassing that we have so much luggage!  One of François’ colleagues from the school was continuing on for a year-long mission in Africa after the course finished and had three bags.  Think we could learn at lot from you Al. 

 
Smooth flight.  François and Major Pig enjoyed a couple of movies.

 
Arrived back in Montreal ahead of schedule but because of sky traffic it was a good two hours before we left the airport for home.  Thankfully (for so many reasons) passing customs was a breeze.

 
This morning we enjoyed a good café au lait and my international version of Croque Monsieur in honour of les aliers (maple Canadian ham – for you M. Sausage – and Swiss cheese but sadly no Danish or Big Macs or Jack Daniels or German beer  – still far too early in the morning).



Haven't unpacked yet but have already hung our new acquisition. Priorities you know.

Francois is now on his way to Shawinigan for the day.  Duty calls.  But tomorrow I have been promised is just for us. 


We are missing about four days of posting so will attempt to bring them up to date today.  Unfortunately they will be out of sync chronologically.  The ceremony at the Arc de Triumphe and the graduation I will leave for François to complete as I think it would be best posted en français.

Post Script on reflection:


Things I missed....

Our family and friends (of course)

Waking up early to a beautiful sunrise


Things I will miss......

Our new friends
14+ foot ceilings. Our ten-foot ceiling is making me feel claustrophobic.

Really good bread

The telephone in our apartment – some sort of IP set-up -  that allowed us to call anywhere in the world for free (used it only once though.  Didn’t work for cell phones or oddly your home phone Craig).

Fresh croissants and café au lait without having to make it myself.

And other things far too numerous to mention


Things I will not miss....

Having to figure out how to connect to Free Wee Fee (wifi) but next time we will travel better prepared.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Au Revoir Paris

For those of you who have been following our little Paris adventure, we will be leaving in the next hour or so for CDG airport. We have many more pictures from the past four days but since the laptop is packed will have send this last emission from my phone and complete the last few posts when we are back in Montreal.

Many thanks to all for your comments and many personal emails. We hope you have taken vicarious pleasure in following us through the City of Lights.




"O temps, suspends ton vol! et vous, heures propices, Suspendez votre cours!
Laissez-nous savourer les rapides délices
Des plus beaux de nos jours!"

Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1869)

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Moving out - moving in

This will be Francois` 3rd and final day in Compienge and my day to leave our studio and move into the hotel across the street. I started my day early taking one valise at a time down the tiny elevator.  Started with our smallest bag – no problem.  Next largest still not much of a problem.  Next two were a different story.  The elevator is about 18`x 18` and our two largest bags it would seem just a bit larger.  The 3rd bag was a challenge but I succeeded wedging it in sideways.  Can`t imagine what the desk clerk at our hotel must have been thinking.  By the fourth bag I was encouraged but as I pulled it into the elevator (me first but should have done it in reverse) it got stuck on the little carpet outside our apartment door.  So rollers on the bag would not go forward or backward.  Door of the elevator couldn`t close because the carpet was in the way.  I couldn`t get out as, of course I hadn`t thought ahead to maybe push the bag in first.  Climbed over the bag, unhooked the carpet and voila, done! Whew.
As this was still early morning and our hotel room wouldn`t be available until 13:00h I went shopping in search of a bag to transport our Dali litho.  Thanks to our landlord, Bernard, I found one in a very nice department store – Bazarre Hotel de Ville – otherwise referred to here as BHV.

Enjoyed a very pleasant lunch then headed back to check-in to our hotel.  I was very pleased with the room.  Thankfully all four bags were already in the room. Not the usual European-size I had previously experienced.
Our hotel room - view from street

View from Hotel room

Four steps up to bed/bath area

Little coffee/tea bar


Little sitting room


Hmm! Nice touch!

Bath with plush robes



But it was not our previous place.  Francois made the comment that after renting the studio he is not sure he will ever again be totally satisfied with staying in a hotel anywhere no matter now nice it is.

Francois arrived back from Compienge early evening.  Rushed back to the hotel. Rushed to change into his CF's (green military suit). Rushed back to the school for a dinner with the other professeurs.  Fortunately it wasn't a late evening for him as tomorrow we will both have to start early.

    

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Jardins de Monet

This was my last excursion for this week.  Last night I reserved a train ride to Vernon (about 90 km outside of Paris).  My first class ticket cost just 29 euro and the trip took just a little under an hour.  I took an early metro ride to station Saint-Lazare, caught the train to Vernon at 08:20.  The distance from Vernon to  the Jardins de Monet in Giverny is about 4 km and as it was such a beautiful sunny day I decided to walk.





I was a little hesitant to go this late in the summer thinking the flowers may be beyond their prime.  It is true that May through June is the peak  but this time of the summer all the annuals and the famous Nymphéas (water lilies) are still  worthwhile to see. Maybe a little at the end of their season but still beautiful.




Japanese Foot Bridge - the painting

the real Japanese foot bridge

A bit of background: Claude Monet (1840-1926) lived the last 30 years of his life in Giverny.  Here he created a series of 250 oil paintings depicting his gardens.  Most of them were painted while he suffered from cataracts.  Some in the series are on display in the Musée Marmottan (Paris) and the Orangerie (Paris) houses a permanent collection of eight murals.




Nymphéas

The gardens were beautiful...it was like walking through one of Monet`s paintings......as always the pictures say it all....

PS I took a taxi back to the train station.  My feet were thankful.