4 Reasons Why Our Tour Consultant Sheri Duff Loves Quebec

Quebec is a place steeped in history and culture, enchanting all who visit it - including Country Walkers Guest Services Representative Sheri Duff.

[caption id="attachment_13563" align="alignnone" width="468"] Quebec: Quebec City & the Saguenay Fjord[/caption]

Sheri joined a Country Walkers guided walking tour of Quebec in August 2016 and fell head over heels for this breathtaking Canadian province. We sat down and chatted with Sheri to learn four reasons why she loves Quebec:

1. 1. Beauty 
      While it was just a quick four hours for Sheri from her home in Vermont to Quebec City, she felt like she was transported to another world."It's like you're in Paris, but you're just over the border," she said. "There were outdoor cafes and flowers everywhere, and everyone speaks French. It takes you away even though you're not far from America. It's a real treat."Her group stayed in high-end hotels while in the city, or as Sheri referred to them: "accommodations to die for." She gushed about one hotel on the banks of the beautiful Saint Lawrence River in the historic, cobblestone street neighborhood called Lower Town. Every morning on their walk to a favorite breakfast spot, her group would pass museums, art galleries, glass-blowing studios and lively outdoor cafés.
   2. Cuisine 
      Sheri still thinks back on the amazing meals she ate while on the tour. She enjoyed a mix of elegant meals in fine restaurants and casual local staples like poutine and "squeaky cheese," cheese curds named for the sound the cheese makes when you chew it. She also had her first glass of beer in Quebec City."It was really delicious!" she said with excitement. There was no shortage of great eats while on the tour. "We ate so well," she recalled. "They just fed you all the time."Not like they didn't burn it all off! With days spent hiking through nature reserves outside the city and evenings traversing the city, Sheri savored every meal after long days of adventuring.
   3. Wildlife
      The most surprising aspect of her trip was the incredible wildlife she saw on hikes outside of Quebec City, what she and her tour mates called "mega fauna." The animals that made the biggest impression on Sheri by far were the beluga whales. She recalled a day trip to a fjord outside the city where fresh water and salt water meet and where whales pass by every summer."We went on a beautiful hike and walked up to an overlook, and we were able to watch a pod of beluga whales," she remembered. "It was amazing. That was our favorite day."They also spent a day whale-watching, getting up close and personal with the magnificent creatures of the sea.Another favorite hike was through the lushly forested Jacques-Cartier National Park, located just an hour away from Quebec City."It was an absolutely beautiful, gorgeous hike," said Sheri. "Like Maine but grander, with pine trees, rivers and lots of trails you can choose from, all cut into a glacier valley."
   4. Camaraderie
      Another reason Sheri loves Quebec? Its local hospitality. She was blown away by the friendliness and knowledge of her tour guides as well as the locals she encountered."We met the people who own the restaurants we ate at, the people who ran the whale-watching tour," she said. "They took us to a nice quiet spot in the boat and explained the history, geography and geology of the area. We got a history lesson every day."Sheri's tour group bonded during their adventures together, with many of her fellow tour mates becoming close friends she still talks with today.

Intrigued by Sheri's adventure? Discover these and other reasons to fall in love with Quebec by joining the Country Walkers Quebec: Quebec City & the Saguenay Fjord tour. To request a free Country Walkers catalog and learn more about other exciting destinations throughout the world, click here. If you would like to speak with one of our Travel Experts, please call 800-234-6900. They are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. EST and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST.