After two and a half days in Québec City, we drove up the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, stopping in Baie St. Paul (a wonderful artistic community) and then reaching Baie Ste. Catherine where the St. Lawrence meets the Saguenay River. The whole drive had spectacular views of the river, really one of the most beautiful drives in Canada, but Pointe Noire was breathtaking. I sat on a picnic table just before we boarded the ferry and sketched the few valiant trees on the hill. The background music of the ferries’ horns and the sight of the soaring birds is still in my mind as I looks at this sketch.
A short ferry ride from Baie Ste. Catherine is Tadoussac, a small town with a great restaurant, La Bohème, which is located in an old general store from 1892. We spent a couple of days here and ate at La Bohème 3 times! I did a bit of sketching in this picturesque place including the red and turquoise church on the shore of the river, reported to be the oldest wooden church in North America. What sketcher could resist those colours! I had my stool with me, so sat right out in front to sketch and paint. The church was visited by lots of people as it was Sunday morning, so I had many comments on my work. The town has a lovely wooden boardwalk with a gazebo at the end where I retreated to finish the sketch.
Leave a Reply