N is for Neuville

Neuville is a village on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River, just west of Quebec City, part of the Portneuf Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1684, and has remained quite picturesque throughout these years... Neuville has an excellent marina for pleasure sailboats and yachts.


The community of Neuville is located in the Quebec Greater Area (Portneuf county), on the Chemin du Roy, the first Canadian road linking Quebec City to Montreal since 1734. The town stands on the northern bank of the St. Lawrence River, some thirty km from Quebec City downtown.

Neuville (population 3800) is one of the oldest parishes in Canada. Indeed, the first settlers come here in 1665. Today, Neuveille is perched atop three ranges of marine terraces that have dominated the St. Lawrence River ever since the glaciers melted.

There are about two dozens remarkable historical buildings in varying styles there and guided tours are available to many of the old homes especially on rue des Érables. This street was opened on the original Chemin du Roy, but is now bypassed by Highway 138.

Historically, the community of Neuville was renowned for supplying limestone to many Quebec buildings and sites, as well as for its shipyard. Later, since the 20th century, the village underwent a period of hotel and resort development.

Church of Saint - Francois-de-Sales

The Church of Saint-François-de-Sales, built in 1854, presents twenty-six paintings by artiste Antoine Plamondon (1804-1895), who also served as mayor of the village.

The Seigneurial Manor of Larue, built in 1835 on a small rolling hill, is one of the major buildings that make up Neuville’s architectural heritage. The Rue du Quai leads to the quay and the marina, which welcomes boating enthusiasts each summer.

Castel Vauquelin Hotel - Neuville, QC

Neuville, QC is 210 km (2 hrs.) from St. Hyacinthe and 34 km (35 min.) from Quebec City.

M is for Mount Royal

Tobogganing on Mount Royal in the 1940's was a highlight for my uncles and mother, they would sled until exhaustion and walk home to hot chocolate and a cozy fire.


Mount Royal (French: mont Royal) is a large hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of downtown Montreal, Quebec (in Canada), the city to which it gave its name.

The hill is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentians and the Appalachian Mountains. It gave its Latin name, Mons Regius, to the Monteregian chain.
The hill consists of three peaks: Colline de la Croix (or Mont Royal proper) at 233 m (764 ft), Colline d'Outremont (or Mount Murray, in the borough of Outremont) at 211 m (692 ft), and Westmount Summit at 201 m (659 ft) elevation above mean sea level.

History of Mount Royal

The Cross on Mount Royal

Mount Royal Funicular Railway - 1900

There are two cemeteries in the area: Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery (Catholic) and Mount Royal Cemetery (non-denominational but primarily Protestant, and including several small Jewish cemeteries) — both of which are now running out of space. In 2008, the refusal of the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery to cede land that it uses as a depot blocked a planned expansion of the park


Outside the park, Mount Royal's slopes are also home to such Montreal landmarks as St. Joseph's Oratory, Canada's largest church; McGill University and its teaching hospitals, including the Royal Victoria Hospital and Montreal General Hospital; McGill's Molson Stadium, home to the CFL's Montreal Alouettes; the McTavish reservoir; Université de Montréal; the École Polytechnique de Montréal; the Îlot-Trafalgar-Gleneagles historic block; and some well-off residential neighbourhoods such as Upper Westmount and Upper Outremont.

Mount Royal is 59 km (56 min.) from St. Hyacinthe and 254 km (2 hrs. 48 min.) from Quebec City.

L is for Laval

Laval and the surrounding area hold a special place for me as that is where my absolutely favorite aunt and uncle lived most of their married lives. I had the opportunity to visit several times and never felt more at home than when I was with Aunt Lili and Uncle Lorne. Wonderful bittersweet memories as both my uncles, Lorne and George have passed on and are buried at Sainte - Dorothee.


The first European Settlers were Jesuits in 1636 when they were granted a seigneury there. Agriculture first appeared in Laval in 1670. In 1675, François de Montmorency-Laval gained control of the seigneury. In 1702 a parish municipality was founded, and dedicated to Saint-François de Sales (not to be confused with the modern-day Saint-François-de-Sales in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean).

The first municipalities on the island were created in 1845, after nearly 200 years of a rural nature. The only built-up area on the island, Sainte-Rose, was incorporated as a village in 1850, and remained as the main community for the remainder of the century. With the dawn of the 20th century came urbanization. Laval-des-Rapides became Laval's first city in 1912, followed by L'Abord-à-Plouffe being granted village status three years later.

Laval-sur-le-Lac was founded in the same year on its tourist-based economy from Montrealers. Laval began to grow throughout the following years, due to its proximity to Montreal that made it an ideal suburb.

To deal with problems caused by urbanization, amalgamations occurred; L'Abord-à-Plouffe amalgamated with Renaud and Saint-Martin creating the city of Chomedey in 1961. The amalgamation turned out to be so successful for the municipalities involved that the Quebec government decided to amalgamate the whole island into a single city of Laval in 1965; however the passage of amalgamation bill was not without controversy.

Laval was named after the first owner of Île Jésus, François de Montmorency-Laval, the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Quebec. At the time, Laval had a population of 170,000. Laval became a Regional County Municipality in 1980. Prior to that, it was the County of Laval.
The 14 municipalities, which existed prior to the incorporation of the amalgamated City of Laval on 6 August 1965, were:

• Auteuil
• Chomedey
• Duvernay
• Fabreville
• Îles-Laval
• Laval-des-Rapides
• Laval-Ouest
• Laval-sur-le-Lac
• Pont-Viau
• Sainte-Dorothée
• Sainte-Rose
• Saint-François
• Saint-Vincent-de-Paul
• Vimont

Laval is 68 km (51 min.) from St. Hyacinthe and 267 km (2 hrs. 45 min.) from Quebec City.

K is for Kirkland

The city of Kirkland is named after Charles-Aimé Kirkland, a Quebec provincial politician. It was originally incorporated as a municipality in 1961. On January 1, 2002, as part of the 2002–2006 municipal reorganization of Montreal, it was merged into the city of Montreal and became a borough.

Note: Kirkland de-merged several years ago and is no longer part of Montreal. It is its own city, with its own mayor and city council.

Several notable athletes called Kirkland home:

Tanith Belbin - Ice Dancer
Louis Leblanc - Hockey Player
Randy McKay - Hockey Player
Brandon Reid - Hockey Player
Sergio Momesso - Hockey Player

Celebrate Kirkland Day!


Kirkland, QC is 82 km ( 1 hr. 11 min.) from St. Hyacinthe, QC and 277 km (3 hrs.) from Quebec City, QC

J is for Joliette

A city of nature, work and culture, Joliette’s origins date back to 1823 when Barthélemy Joliette, upon discovering the hydraulic power of the L’Assomption River, founded the village he called Industrie. It wasn’t until its incorporation in 1864 that it became the city of Joliette.

Named a bishopric in 1902, Joliette became the regional capital and was already home to a college and a courthouse. Place Bourget welcomes festival goers during numerous events organized in the city centre.

Today, the cultural legacy of the Clercs de Saint-Viateur , the first officials of the college, lives on at the Musée d’art de Joliette and in events like the Festival de Lanaudière.

Cathédrale Saint-Charles-Borromée, Joliette, Lanaudière, Québec, Canada.

Joliette is 108 km (1 hr. 20 min.) from St. Hyacinthe and 215 km (2 hr. 21 min.) from Quebec City.

I is for Inuit - People of the Canadian Artic

The people of the Canadian Arctic are known as the Inuit. They used to be called Eskimos, which came from a Native American word for 'eater of raw meat'. Now the Arctic people are officially known as the Inuit, which means 'the people', or singularly, Inuk, which means 'the person'.

 The Inuit were the last native people to arrive in North America. All the good land to the south was already occupied by hostile Indians so they settled in the Arctic. Nobody else wanted it because it was one of the most extreme climates in the world. But the Inuit were masters at adapting to sustain their people over thousands of years.

The Inuit lived in an area comprising a large part of northern Earth, including Northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland, and Siberia.

 The languages of the Inuit can be divided into many different languages and dialects. However, all of the Inuit languages come from one main language family: the Inuit-Aleut, also known as the Eskimaleut language family.
The languages groups can be grouped into an Eastern branch and a Western branch, which can then be further divided into individual languages and dialects of those languages.

Eastern Branch (Inuktitut languages):

• The Eastern Branch languages have three different names for the language.
  • Inuktitut (in Canada)
  • Inupiaq (in Alaska)
  • Kalaallisut (in Greenland)
• There are three different names, but it is considered to be the same language.
• There are also many dialects from this language branch spoken in the three countries.

Western Branch (Yupik languages):

• Yupik is divided into three distinct languages.
  • Central Alaskan Yupik
  • Pacific Gulf Yupik (Alaska)
  • Siberian Yupik (Canada and Alaska)
• Each of these three languages has several dialects as well.

The Inuktitut and Yupik languages are both quite hard to learn and speak, because they are very complex languages.

The Inuit have a distinct culture and appearance from other First Peoples groups in Canada, which really set them apart. Historically, the Canadian Inuit were divided into eight main groups: Labrador Inuit, Ungava or New Quebec Inuit, Baffin Island, Igloolik, Caribou, Netsilik, Copper and Western Arctic Inuit.

H is for Hudson

Hudson, Quebec, Canada, is an off-island suburb of Montreal, with a population of 5,135. It is located on the south-west bank of the lower Ottawa River, in Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality. Situated about 60 km (37 mi) west of downtown Montreal, many residents commute to work on the Island of Montreal.


Hudson is a municipality within the Greater Montreal. Although a rural agglomeration since the early part of the 19th century, the Town of Hudson was founded in June 1969 by merging the villages of Hudson, Hudson Heights and Como.
A relatively wealthy town, Hudson is known for its large, turn-of-the century houses, many of which border the Lake of Two Mountains. A ferry from Hudson takes cars across the lake (a widening of the Ottawa River) to the village of Oka.

Hudson has been dubbed "the leafy Anglo-enclave", as, unlike the surrounding mainly French-speaking municipalities, Hudson has a majority English-speaking population, although many residents speak both languages.

 

The town of Hudson is celebrating its 150th Anniversary this summer!  

Hudson is 110 km (1 hr. 19 min.) from St. Hyacinthe and 305 km ( 3 hrs. 15 min.) from Quebec City.