Having woken up relatively early again we had breakfast as early as we could and went for a quick walk round the local area. It had rained overnight but the colourful street art kept everything looking cheerful.
There was quite a big queue at the car hire depot, so it was a while before we got going, but we eventually headed out of the city on the highway and fortunately the traffic wasn’t too bad, so getting used to driving on the right was easier than expected.
We arrived in Val-David at 12:00, checked into our quirky basement flat airbnb and set off to buy a picnic and hire some bikes to explore the surrounding countryside. Following a recommendation from Hans (our airbnb host) we decided to travel south on Le P’tit Train do Nord recreation trail which is a long distance cycle route connecting many of the villages in the Laurentians area (the route doubles as cross country skiing in the winter). We were told this section was the most picturesque of the trail and it did not disappoint.
We pootled past the beautiful Lac Raymond, stunning waterfalls and rock formations along the Riviere du Nord and old signal boxes and trains stations. One of these had been converted into a café which was a great place to stop for a cuppa before turning round to get the bikes back before closing time.
In the late afternoon we wandered through the village which was full of mini art galleries and craft shops alongside cafes and an outdoors ice rink (sans ice!). After dinner we found our second microbrewery of the trip (is a theme emerging?), Le Baril Roulant where we settled in for a relaxed evening drink.
The next morning Claire explored the north section of le P’tit Train do Nord (also beautiful especially with mist clinging to the surface of the river in the fresh but bright early morning) whilst Gareth made a yummy breakfast. Next stop: Quebec City.
Claire and Gareth go travelling! 