Happy Jean Baptiste Day!

From Montreal Gazette

Wish I could have been in Montreal to celebrate as planned, but alas and alack, it was not to be.  My poor pet sitter was having a week from Hades.  The proverbial straw was my basement flooding Friday night after the torrential rains in Connecticut.  I thought it better to return home to manage domestic affairs than to continue on as planned.  A good choice. 


I'm fortunate that my work sends me to Vermont once or twice a year.  So next trip, I'll continue on to Montreal.  And, of course, at some point in the future, will visit Quebec City, hopefully with Dr. DeePlaCeeBoooo to accompany me.  Can't wait!

Despite driving through rain storms and getting my car washed, some Three-Pines back-roads dust still clings in the crevasses of my car.  Je me souviens. 

Abbey & Lac Brome

Today I ventured over to the Abbaye Saint-Benoit Du Lac to hear their Gregorian chants at the 11 am Eucharist mass. I think I last listened to Gregorian chants in college some 20 years ago (really?  yikes!) studying for my music appreciation class, and it's been longer than that since I did the catholic sit-stand jig. While I like to think myself lofty like Gamache, my reaction was pretty much identical to Beauvoir's.  I only thanked god when it was over.  

But it was fun to go and see the place that inspired Penny's latest.  The descriptions of the life of the monks pretty much matched their fictional lives in the book.  Except for the murder part.  That they didn't mention when describing their daily activities.

The space aliens are descending upon the abbey!

I spent the rest of the day at Lac Brome/Knowlton.  Apparently, the town has historically been known as Knowlton, but in the process of the french speakers reclaiming their heritage and their state, have recently renamed it Lac Brome.  But don't quote me on this.

Whatever you call it, it was a nice place to spend the day.  Ate some good meals.  This area has a seemingly unending supply of locally owned bistros with great sandwiches, salads, soups, etc.  Relaxed at the beach park by the lake, imagining it frozen over in the winter, villagers cheering over a mad curling match.  Good times.

I went over to Cowansville thinking I would catch a movie, but then I didn't feel like it and just drove around town a little getting the feel. 

It's a bit much of driving all over the place though.  Tired.  Driving to Montreal tomorrow for the weekend.  Will be happy to be on foot for the weekend, checking out Outremont and joining the festivities for Jean Baptiste day. 

St. Remy

I had thought Sutton was possibly Three Pines.  But Lynda, the owner of the B&B I'm staying at, said this morning that she heard that the fictional town of St. Remy was actually Sutton.  Which solves a mystery for me because I couldn't figure out where St. Remy was.  Most of the area towns mentioned in the books are real towns.  She and I had a lovely chat comparing fact to fiction.

Staying at Gite Vert le Mont B&B.  Very nice and comfortable.  Lynda is very helpful and cooks a wonderful breakfast. 

Today I had to cross the border into Vermont to check my voice mail, get gas, and call some friends.  Good thing I did.  I learned that my pet sitter has been in the hospital and my newly installed sod is dying in the heat wave.  Of course, one of these things is quite a bit more dire than the other.  Fortunately, neither is life threatening and all is well and all are being tended to appropriately, including the furry companions.  But it was a bit more exciting side trip than I had expected.  Filled up at the Pinnacle Peddler.  Nice place in Richford, Vt. 

Then I toodled around a few small towns in the area, looked in some shops, and realized I'd rather be sitting, relaxing, and reading a book in the shade.  So made it back to Sutton (without getting lost and driving knowingly on unpaved roads as I so chose)  without event.  Though I do have to say that the area is filled with lots of great bistros and independent shops selling local products, both artistic and artisanal.  

Back in Sutton, had a lovely lunch at Cafe Tintoretto.  Salad with open-face melt of fresh sliced tomatoes topped with brie on fresh bread.  Mmmmmm.   Juice at Le Cafetier.  Dinner at Tartin'izza - gazpacho soup and greek pizza.  Delicious. Browsed around in the area shops and art galleries. 

Before dinner, I went up to the trails at the base of the Sutton Mountain ski area.  Lovely stream with deep pools perfect for swimming on the summer solstice.  Could it be the Bella Bella?  Perhaps.  So fabulous.   

Hopefully the heat is going to break soon. 

But if not, I'll just keep heading back here to relax in the cool waters.

And enjoy the longest days of the year.

I'm not sure, but I may have espied one or two grown men in the woods dressed like Robin Hood, carrying recurve bows...

Getting Lost

Little side trip today to the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world.  It was too hot a day to really enjoy, so I scurried back to the manoir as quick as I could.  Easier said than done.

I have an unsuppressable exploring instinct, so when I saw a sign for a covered bridge, I thought, ooooh, I'll go see that and see some off-the-beaten path sights.  Well, the bridge was well off the road in the middle of nowhere, so it wasn't a quaint old bridge that is still in use.  I just waved at it as I drove by.  Then I got lost for the first time today.  I started following the signs for Hatley, not realizing it's in the opposite direction of North Hatley.  I also discovered that many streets on the map that look like normal major streets are not, in fact.  They are, rather, unpaved country farming roads. 

So I returned to M.H. rather later than I might have liked, but still with plenty of time to take a dip in the lake, relax by the pool and visit with some of the other guests.  Today I met a gal there who is from Hartford, CT.  Imagine that!  Small world.

Lac Massawippi in North Hatley

I finally tore myself away from the pool and got in the car to drive to Sutton.  Here are some parting pictures.  Adieu! 

Garden terrace overlooking the lake

The library at M.H.

Getting lost became a regular habit on my way here.  But I guess that was to be expected.   Many are said to find Three Pines getting lost going other places.  And Sutton is my best guess of where Three Pines might be located.  However, no Bella Bella in sight.  Too bad.  I could use another swim. 

Tomorrow, I'm only driving on truly major roads, i.e. paved roads, no matter how indirect the route might be to my destination. 

Manoir Hovey

My dearest Dr. DiPlaCiDo,

I have arrived finally and at long last at Manoir Hovey, to officially begin my Three Pines Tour. Woohoo!

The trip from Rutland was easy driving, no wait at the border.  Took maybe three hours.  My meetings went fine, by the way.  Glad to have work done so I can dedicate all my attention to relaxing now.

After getting my things into my room, the first order of business was swimming in Lac Massawippi.  Oh, the water is perfect!  Here's the view (imagine Gamache and Rene Marie having an early morning dip).

My foot enjoying the lake.

Then got dressed for dinner.  The food here is seriously unbelievable.  Really.  For an appetizer, they served food that when described on the menu, made me scratch my head and wonder.  But then, I could only moan with pleasure, and pop my eyes wide with surprise.  For the moaning, they served in the center of the dish three zuchinni flowers stuffed with melted goat cheese on a bed of sprinkled powdery something.  Amazing.  Words cannot describe.  For the popping, around the edge of the dish were pickled strawberries with some sea plant drizzled with a sauce.  Pickled strawberries?  Seriously?  And what the heck is this sea plant?  I still don't know.  But wow!  Tart!  What a great combination of flavors!  But wait...  There's more!

View of the manoir from the dock.

For the entree, they made, special for the vegetarian, this dish:  on a bed of creamy risotto, perfectly cooked veggies, including those small round onions (what are they called?), fiddle heads, asparagus, beets, zucchini, and a few other tasty treats.  Savored every morsel. Such yummy goodness. Then I relaxed with some of their specialty herbal tea out in the garden.

Manoir Hovey in the fading summer twilight.

It's fun imagining Peter's family here, the storm, the surete set up in the library, where would the statue go, Bean running around the property, Mrs. Finney thinking Rene Marie is a maid.  It also seemed really familiar and it took me awhile to place it - it reminds me of Lake Cayuga in Ithaca, NY.  I'm guessing both lakes were created by the same glacial carving action.

When I returned to my room this evening, surprise again!  It was so lovely, I just had to eat it.  Mmmmmm, Belgian chocolate.  It was sooooooo good.  My first chocolate in probably two years.  Just a little jump off that wagon for a few delectable bites.  ;-) 

Wish you were here!  More on the morrow.

Pre-Pines Backpacking in Vermont

Dr. dEEplacEEbOO!  I am happy to report that I survived the wilderness!  All two days of it ;-)  Looking forward to returning to the area.  Really beautiful.

Hi Leah!

Sometimes when I backpack alone, I feel lonely, especially at night when it's dark and the chipmunks are doing their best impersonations of large, scary wild animals.  But this trip, I chatted with you in my head much of the time.  Or drafted blog posts for you to read, most of which I've now forgotten.  So maybe I'm a tad crazy (well, we knew that already), but it was nice having you along for the ride.




I hiked in on an easy trail, and was very grateful for this informative and fabulously illustrated map.  I really wanted to turn right at the lake to get to the camping area, but said to myself, Julie, listen to those who know!  Others who have been here before say the trial to the east of the pond is flooded, so don't go there.  So I turned left and was glad I did.  Beavers are wrecking havoc in the area and many paths are underwater.

Since you're not a backpacker, I took these pictures to impress you ;-)  Before and after.







After setting up camp, I hiked up Stratton Mountain.  This was the birthplace for the idea of the Appalachian trail!  The fire tower was quite high, as you might expect, and breezy, and I was very glad for the handrails.  Great views.



There were two caretakers (husband wife?) who spend the summer in this tiny one room building up there on the mountain.  They were very friendly and I talked with them about beavers and backpacking and Vermont for a while.  But I was itching to go swimming in the pond so said my good-byes and scurried down the mountain side.  There are three tenting spots available where I was, and I was happy to see no one else had joined the area so I could go swimming au natural.  The water was perfect and the caretakers told me there were no leeches.  Even better!

This morning was gray and I was feeling lazy.  Slept in.  Had some breakfast (ramen noodles - yummy!) and tea.  I'm reading this funny (e)book I got from the library.  It was written as two books in the 1940s by a Swede, and then translated and combined into one book for English markets in the 1950s.  It's called The Long Ships.  Great tale of a viking adventurer.  But the introduction is by a modern author, Michael Chabon.  Loved the intro, which you can read here. 

I finally decide to get up in earnest, so I hiked over to Bourne Pond, which is in the Lye Brook Wilderness area.  You might be thinking I was already in the wilderness. You would be wrong!  The Appalachian Trail and Vermont Long Trail are heavily used and well marked.  While they're in the woods, and tough trails, they are established trails.  When I got on the Lye Brook trail, I encountered two different signs warning me that I was entering a wilderness area.  Look out!

Basically, this means that there aren't bridges to get over streams and rivers (as are provided on the AT and LT), downed trees and branches aren't cleared from the trail (as they are on other trails), and the path isn't blazed as frequently (the trees aren't marked with a rectangle of blue paint very often).  In short, it's much more natural and a bit more work to hike.  They strongly suggest you carry a compass (oops!  left it at camp), a detailed map (really?), carry extra food (does a pb&j count?), and a whistle (oops!  left it at camp).  Feeling wholly prepared, I set out.

Perhaps not quite large enough to provide the level of detail recommended.

The initial stream crossing was challenging, but fun, and after that, just some downed trees to climb over or under.  I thought they were harmless, but I discovered their nefarious plan too late.

Bourne Pond was beautiful! Took a nice swim, had my lunch, relaxed in the sun, and rued my approaching deadline to hike out.

When my mom and I went to Norway, I bought this little viking.  He's my travel buddy.  I got the idea from my brother who carries a small stuffed animal on his hiking adventures.  So when I go a-viking, i.e. traveling and adventuring (without the looting, plundering, and raping, of course), I bring him with me.

Surveying the plundering prospects.

Well, during one of my trips over or under a fallen tree, he fell from my pocket!  Perhaps my lifestyle isn't sufficiently exciting for his predilections and he escaped.  But I think the trees wanted a hostage.  That they now have.  I left a note in the Stratton Pond shelter log book.  Maybe someone will find it and contact me.  I can hope. 

APB : Have you seen this viking?

So sad.  I hope The Fates will bless me with his return.  But it was a great little jaunt, even if he had to be sacrificed.

Wildlife viewings:  crazy chipmunks, heard a few loons, swam with two at Bourne Pond, frogs, toads, four snakes, lots o' birds, many tadpoles.  Saw fresh evidence of moose (why is the plural not meese?) and bear.

Final view of Stratton Pond with Stratton Mountain in the distance.

Welcome to my Three Pines tour!

I'm a huge Louise Penny fan.  Since you're reading this, chances are you are too, or else you will be soon hopefully.  I've read and reread all her books and can't say enough good things about them.

But this blog isn't all about the books.  It's about the place.  Based on real life streets, towns, and  landmarks mentioned in the books that exist in Quebec, I'm taking a week's vacation this June to try to find Three Pines.

While I have it on good authority that it's a fictional town, I'm sure, at the very least, that I'll have a great time looking.

Mostly I'm writing this blog for my very good friend and Louise Penny Fan Club cohort who couldn't come with me because she recently got some fabulously incredible job.  She really needs to reconsider her priorities.  Anyway, this is for you, Friend.  Consider it a practice tour. 

I'm buffing up on my French and making my reservations.  The tour begins in four weeks.  Stay tuned.