Subject: Gaspe Peninsula and Quebec City
Ziners,

My husband and I have just finalized our arrangements for our trip to the Gaspe Peninsula and Quebec City. We will be leaving on July 16, which is the 39th anniversary of the day we met.

We haven't been able to travel together much because we haven't been able to leave our dog. However, one of our sons has been living with us since he graduated from college last year, so we've been taking advantage of it. We were able to go to Venice and make a cross- country road trip to California. We'd wanted to go to Europe again, but the dollar is doing so poorly that we couldn't afford it. I'm very happy with the alternative that we've chosen.

I have wanted to visit the Gaspe Peninsula since I was 9 years old and my family visited Montreal and Quebec City. My father commented that it was too bad that we didn't have time to go to Gaspe because that was the "real" French Canada. Now over 50 years later I'm finally going.

We have been so heartened by all the wonderful people we have come in contact with while planning our trip. The innkeeper at Le Presbytere in Perce (http://www.perce-gite.com/siteang.htm), who speaks beautiful English, spent twenty minutes telling me about all the places we should see on our trip and then sent me a lengthy e-mail that included recommendations for places to stay along our way. (He also firmly informed me that he was going to make me practice my French!)

The rest of the people we contacted spoke little if any English, so my husband made the rest of the reservations. His French, while meager, is far more understandable then mine. Everyone was friendly and helpful, although some of the exchanges were humorous while they tried to understand each other. I'll post a report on our trip when we return.

Landra from Columbia County, NY