Postcards from Québec and Nova Scotia
Lots of driving!
Greetings from Massachusetts where I’m with Yoshi and Kiku!
A quick refresher on what I’m up to: I’m working remotely, living in different parts of North America for a month or two at a time. The majority of my housing has been through TrustedHousesitters, which connects people to places that need someone to watch their home (and cats!). Aside from a few bins in storage, almost everything I own fits in my car, including this folding bike I picked up outside of Chicago!
Schedule
28 Sep–Nov 14: Lévis, QC – Freddy and Bubbles
Nov 20–Dec 7: Halifax, NS – Gidget
Dec 11–Jan 06: Isanti, MN – Butterscotch and Mabel
Jan 10–Apr 05: Belmont, MA (near Boston) – Yoshi and Kiku
Apr 12–May 15: Scottsville, VA (near Charlottesville) – Sarah (and feral cats)
May 29–Jul 06: College Park, MD (near D.C.) – Lucy and Oscar
Jul 08–Aug 02: Brown Deer, WI (near Milwaukee) – Karim
Québec
Montréal is one of my favourite cities, and I’ve been lucky to go there a few times both for fun and for work. This gave me a taste to explore more of Québec. I got to stay in a neighbourhood of Lévis, about a half hour drive from Québec City or a three hour drive north of Montréal.
I stayed with Bubbles and Freddy. Bubbles is a picky eater who begs for meaty treats, and shortly after my arrival broke into my sealed bag of chips and smashed a glass that was on the counter. This, lets say, gave me a bit of anxiety at first, but once we got used to each other we made things work. Bubbles really is a tiny companion who would sometimes rest on my shoulder, sleep at my feet while I slept, and enjoyed being a little hunter with toys around the home.
Bubbles’ cohabitant Freddy, is a big pal who would sleep on his back with his legs spread during the day, and wander the neighbourhood all night. Yes, indoor during the day, outdoor at night. And unlike Bubbles, Freddy would eat anything put in front of him, and was one of the most chill, yet playful cats I’ve met. Chill, as long as you let him outside each night, or he gets ornery.
Québec is an absolutely beautiful province, and close to every other weekend I’d take a road trip to a different town. Of particular interest to me is the prevalence of hydroelectric dams. Québec generates almost all of their electricity from water, their electric utility is aptly named Hydro-Québec, and they’re an energy exporter to other parts of Canada and the U.S. Many of the power plants are now surrounded with parks, such as Parc des Chutes-de-la-Chaudière and the Chute-Montmorency.
Driving an electric vehicle in Québec is a breeze. The abundance of cheap electricity, mixed with provincial targets set many years ago for electrification, charging stations are everywhere. Close to half of Canada’s public chargers are in Québec. Not having to worry about where the next charger is felt a bit like living in the future.
For a place where you can reliably find wonderful cheeses and bread, unfortunately, great pizza is sparse. I can recommend a few: for to-the-book Neapolitan, Nº. 900 is quite reliable, just got VPN certified, and is found all over the Montréal region with a few locations in Québec and Sherbrooke. My favourite pizza in Montréal is Moleskine. They had a creative old space, but recently closed and reemerged in a food hall. In Québec, Pizzazorg is my top pick (get a stool at the back bar). High on my to-do list is Bleuetière Marland, a family farm with a Neapolitan pizza counter. I arrived after they closed for the season in 2022, but they reopen in May 2023. It is reviewed very highly by locals and they seem better than anything I’ve had in the province.
Perhaps instead of pizza, find some great poutines. Frite Alors is a higher tier chain and a good baseline. If you’re in Montréal, check out this English-language blog that has a Poutine story almost weekly, highlighting top picks. A surprise favourite of mine is 130 km north of Québec City, just north of Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, at Restaurant Le Fromageur. Similarly to pizza, sometimes what feels best may not be a critic favourite but something that hits you personally in a way that feels perfect. Le Fromageur is that for me: crispy fries, super squeaky curds, and a measured and not overbearing amount of gravy. On paper, nothing that special or creative, just the basics done top-notch. I was alone at a picnic table in the parking lot in the dark, under the stars, while my car was charing. I kept thinking, “how is this is so perfect way out here?!” Mark it to your to-do list, especially if you’re trekking across Canada as it’s a nice gas station, high speed EV charging station, convenience store, cheese shop, and poutinerie all in one building on an otherwise sparse section of la route Transcanadienne.
Also of note: the best way to get to the most northern point of the eastern U.S. in Maine: through Québec to Lac Pohénégamook. There’s an obscure little park where you can walk around in the U.S., but it is only accessible from Québec. Down the road is the border patrol to the rest of the U.S., but it’s only open during business hours on weekdays, and on the U.S. side it’s just a very, very, long gravel road for logging, presumably.
If you are thinking of going to Québec, especially if you’re stepping outside the tourist areas of Montréal and Québec City, please, let’s get in touch! I was there through the last political cycle and I have a lot of stories navigating the culture and language. I find it fascinating, complicated, and very nuanced, and there are a lot of strong opinions you’ll read. I’ll happily hop on a call for a half hour. Seriously, let’s chat!
Nova Scotia
I had a gap between my stay in Lévis and Halifax, and I stayed in one of the most remote and quietest places I’ve been. It’s in the northeastern corner the Nova Scotia peninsula. The nearest town, Antigonish, is about a half hour away. You could stay there too, if you want a remote getaway (with surprisingly great internet). The location is a good starting point for a day trip to Cape Brenton Island and, well, Antigonish, and that’s about it. It is wonderfully desolate, has virtually no light pollution, and is overall quite peaceful.
When I got to Halifax, I stayed with Gidget. She’d sit next to me while I worked, move around the living room throughout the day depending where the sunlight would get in, and she had a funny wobble to her walk. Cats like rubbing against wall corners, but with Gidget’s wobble, it was more like checking in ice hockey. A cute companion.
Halifax is a beautiful maritime city and home to about half of Nova Scotia’s population. In downtown, there’s a designated Pizza Corner named for the prevalence of pizzerias at the intersection. I was naturally drawn here on my first trip to Halifax, but I’d describe pizzas around there as “utility slices after drinking.” (Hint: if you’re at that intersection and need something in your stomach, go to Willy’s for poutine.) If you stick to pizza, walk a couple blocks away for great fast casual at Score Pizza. A few blocks further is Yeah Yeah’s with nice puffy slices, and for a longer walk, Piatto Pizzeria has wonderful Neapolitan-style pies. (Sidebar: if you’re going to Newfoundland, the locations of Piatto Pizzeria in St. John’s are just as great there too, and might be the best pizza in Newfoundland and Labrador.)
Anyway, to find the best pizza in Halifax, get to the Hydrostone neighbourhood for Salvatore’s Pizzaiolo Trattoria. The mix of cheese and sauce is almost fused with the crust, and the garlic-charged olive oil has a delightfully loud presence. The local alt-weekly, in their 2016 “Best-of” issue, inducted Sal’s into their hall of fame, so it gets listed as such each following year. This is presumably so other pizzerias would have a chance to win by putting Sal’s in a special tier. After flipping through the more recent “Best-of” lists and trying every pizza in them, I’d agree that Sal’s is a notch above the rest.
Keep in touch, and please reach out if you’ll be near where I’m staying!
-Aaron
OMG, so happy to be subscribed to your travels, Aaron!