I
have been using the services of booking.com for the past many years for
reserving accommodation in advance during the expeditions and travels outside
of India. I have seldom gone wrong with it and I have been able to pick up the
type of accommodation I have waned, sometimes with parking, sometimes with
breakfast, sometimes with specific type of view, sometimes apartment and the
choices go on. Initially I was hesitant to use the site as I was not sure what
to expect at the facility after seeing something online and having paid for it.
Most of the time I found congruence. This day I had two experiences at two ends
of the spectrum.
The Gite l'Etiole du Havre B&B in Bathurst blew my mind.
The hosts had taken care of everything that a guest would want. This was most
evident in the breakfast that was put on the table. Jean had been a Chef for
three restaurants in France before he and his lovely wife Joille migrated to
Bathurst to give their daughter a better chance in life. A large piece of
quiche with fruits yogurt and a chocolate brioche presented only in the manner
in which Jean could was nourishment for the eyes and the stomach. Their
comfortable homestay has a part if the woods attached. Jean told me of the bear
that would come from the woods to feast on his garbage - his woods was the
bear's bed and the garbage it's breakfast. Jean thoughtfully packed me a few
chocolate cakes for the long trip ahead today. They didn't last very long into
the trip.
I
reached Levis by 1.30 pm and drove straight to Gite Kezako, which had glorious
views of the St. Lawrence River and came highly recommended by booking.com.
After knocking the door and ringing the bell a few time I realised that the
notice hung on the door saying that check in would be only between 1600 and
1800 hours is sacrosanct. Therefore, I took the two hours I had to go to some
of the attractions nearby and returned at 4 pm. The position was pretty much
the same and I called the number given in the notice on the door. Everything
was said in French and there wasn’t an option to get in a word in English. I
was in anguish till a lady who had rented a part of the premises called the
landlady. She was informed that I did not have a booking for the day, but she
could accommodate me the next two days! I was left high and dry without any
place to stay in Levis. Fortunately, booking.com came to my rescue with an
accommodation away from the attractions, but affordable. Later the landlady
messaged me saying that since I had not confirmed the early check in I had
asked for she took it for granted that I was no longer interested in the
reservation! Ridiculous to say the least for neither the property nor
booking.com informed me of the cancellation. And, I had not sought the
cancellation. I will be bringing this to the attention of the service provider
to initiate corrective action. The saving grace was that the Hotel Motel
Hospitalite turned out to be a comfortable place to lodge the night. 
Before
leaving for Levis I had marked out a few places to visit in the few hours I had
there. Prominent among them was the Fontaine du Quai Paquet, which I had read
had 160 jets shooting water 9 metres up with 170 lights focussed on them in
2400 sqaure metres of open space on the
waterfront facing Quebec old city. The more I read about it the more I wanted
to visit the place. I was happy to know that it was just a short distance away
from Gite Kezako. I drove there and found free parking for a couple of hours. The
fountains were silent and I found a young man going around attending to some of
the fixtures on the ground. After a while I went up and asked him when the
fountains would start. He responded that it was a few weeks away from reopening
after the winter closure! I was devastated. It was too much to take immediately
after the episode with Gite Kezako. The public place is a place to relax with
plenty of seating, landscaped garden and some awesome sights of the lovely city
across the river. I sat there locating some of the landmarks I had been to when
I walked around in the walled city and old Quebec just ten days ago. There is a
large ferry terminal adjacent to the public park from where visitors and
commuters hop over to Quebec City. Many tourists stay in Levis and take the
ferry for sightseeing on the other side of the water. Accommodation is cheaper
in Levis. The weather had become very different in the ten day, too. It was
bright and sunny this time around as against the drenching I took on the last
visit.
After
a while I took a staircase from lower to upper Levis. The wooden staircase with
its handrails painted red is steep along the face of a cliff and has more than
150 steps. I found people of all ages using the staircase for keeping fit. I
was nearly on my last legs when I reached the top of the staircase which gave
me access to the Terrace de Levis. From that vantage height I got stunning
views of the waterfront, the lower level of Levis itself and the majestic
Chateau Frontenac, Parliament Hill and many other landmarks across the River.
The steep climb that nearly exhausted me presented me with the most amazing
panorama – I guess, it is much the same with life; the more one struggles the
greater the enjoyment. 
From the waterfront I had seen a majestic building
towering over the cliff. Now that I was on the upper level I walked to that building,
which looked like a large church to me. When I reached there I discovered that
it was a very big school, the Ecole Marcelle Mallet private secondary school. Marcelle
Mallet had been a nun who dedicated her life to society and the convent she
established now houses a school developing the leaders for tomorrow’s Canada.
A
few blocks away is the striking Notre Dame church that was founded in the
middle of the 19th century and moulded public life and times of that
part of the world. Important among them was the part it played in making a
success of the idea of Alfonso Desjardines, who started the iconic
microfinancing company in 1900. The Caisse populaire de Levis was a means to
take financing for genuine business needs to the rural areas of Levis. The Trust
was formed with a subscription of C$ 5 per member and it remains so even today.
From a sceptical few the membership has grown to several millions and the guide
at the Maison Alphonse-Desjardines told me that he had received his annual
contribution of C$ 125 just the other day. It largely serves the French
Canadian population in Quebec and other French speaking towns and some in
America. A wonderful cooperative movement that saw the development of a large
group of entrepreneurs and businesses due to the availability of finance that
was not usurious. Pierre, the knowledgeable guide at the mansion took me
through the entire life of the great Alphonse Desjardines and the institution
he established while taking a tour of the lovely mansion.
Once
I was safely lodged in the Motel I drove to experience the Quebec Bridge, which
is a unique cantilever structure, the second largest such construction in the
world. The bridge has vehicular traffic, railway tracks and even a pedestrian
walkway. The bridge was commissioned in 1919 after two disasters that cost
plenty of money and 88 lives. The drive through as an exhilarating experience. I
fondly hoped that the much recommended Quebec aquarium would be open, but it
wasn’t and I returned to Fontaine du Quai Paquet hoping to see a colourful
crowd there as the weather was good. I certainly miscalculated. There had been
more people around walking their pets, fishing, sunbathing or just strutting
around. It was almost deserted. I spied an ice cream shop in a distance and
walked there for a ‘fix’. It happened to be the same boutique ice cream outlet
‘chocolat’ I had sampled in the walled city ten days ago. this time it was a
small portion of mango sorbet. I slowly savoured the taste enjoying the views
of the Chateau Frontenac and the River. Later I drove to the Motel for yet another
noodle dinner after a can of ‘Chasing Sun Neipa” beer I had picked up from the
Port Rexton Brewing Company retail outlet a few days back.
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