Slow Boat

SlowBoat's blog posts are a bit behind our actual travel location.  This post catches you up on July 14-15 in Sorel, Quebec

At Sorel, we docked next to a boat that was also red and blue. (Other than that we didn't have a lot in common!)

If the name of the town sounds familiar, you're thinking of those super-warm Canadian winter boots. Sorels aren't made here, but yup, same name.

We stayed at Marina de Saurel, a stylish place where the staff wears crisp uniforms. Our dock-mates were superfriendly.

We biked into town to find ourselves smack in the middle of  . . .

Gib-Fest!

Bon apetit!

This event celebrates a local culinary treat: gibelotte, a tomato-based vegetable soup spiked with chunks of fish.

A traditional French gibellotte is made with rabbit, bacon, onions, and mushrooms; this is the local version using perch or catfish from the river.

After lunch we had a blissful ride on a rails-to-trails bike trail that took us over babbling brooks, past expansive cornfields, and through cool, dense woods edged with clumps of graceful white birches.

Art on the Water

This is the work of Aleandre Marcil, age 6

I got up early the next morning to get in a good walk before a day on the boat.

Not far from the marina was a charming riverfront park, with parallel walking and bike trails.

Everywhere you looked, there were beds of flowers (and a "please taste" herb garden), fanciful statues, and an expansive display of children's art, on the theme of Sorel's waterfront history.

Such a stylish park had nothing so prosaic as park benches.

No, it offered an expanse of hammocks and loungers. Sweet!

A whole field of sun-shaded hammocks (above) and recliners (below) for waterfront lounging.

This "please touch"  sculpture lets you experience what it's like to be up on the prow of a sailboat!