Real and Nicole

I met Real when we were camping in Montreal. When I walked Wubie, often Real would stop by to pet Wubie, and he grew fond of how friendly Wubie was. Later he met Walter and they enjoyed talking with one another.

Real and Nicole had lived in Quebec City for over 30 years and retired last year. They began full time RVing by spending 6 months near Montreal where their grown children and grandchild live, and then spend 6 months in southern Florida.

A few days before we left Montreal for the Gaspe, they invited us to breakfast and from there they spent several hours showing us around the beautiful Richelieu River Valley. We had a great time visiting a sunflower farmer who was giving a presentation on the growing of sunflowers from his field of flowers. All the sunflowers (because of the sun"s position) were facing the visitors. It was a sight to see. We saw quaint small towns, river views, and visited a great friend of theirs.

Real and Nicole are very interesting and fun people to be with. They are very knowledgeable about Quebec's history and its politics, and we learned much from them gaining a better feel and understanding of Quebec. They have been so kind and generous to us.

We left Montreal agreeing that we would visit them in Florida as, a one point, we will be in a campground not too far from them.

While in Gaspe, we received an e-mail from them saying they would be in Quebec City at the same campground as us for our last week. It turns out they had some business to take care of and friends and relatives to see, but mainly, they came to show us their city, and we spent part of most days visiting Old Quebec and seeing it through their eyes.

Real and Nicole both graduated from Laval University in Quebec City. We stopped by one campus of their university in the Old City, and Real took us on a short tour inside the historic buildings and that was quite a special treat. It felt so good to be in the hallways, seeing the classrooms, and looking at the campus. It stirs up such wonderful feelings about education and it made just want to grab a book and start studying something.

We were hoping to meet folks from Quebec to gain a better understanding of this part of Canada, and we were so fortunate that Real and Nicole came our way. It feels like we have started a friendship that will endure.

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