End of tour
Getting dropped off at our hotel would have been a sensible end to our day. But this was our last chance to try poutine in Quebec. Unfortunately we hadn't come across it in nicer restaurants so now we... or I should say "I" because this was all my doing... was going to have to try the fast food version. The postal worker down by our hotel had told us that while some people liked Chez Ashton's poutine, she didn't."Don't say 'poo-teen,'" she advised, "or it might sound like you're asking for a prostitute. Just say 'poo-tin' and you'll be fine." Our French Canadian friend says that to make it sound Québécois it would be pronounced with a slight S, as in Pou - tsin. Of course, English speaking people in BC would not know what you were talking about so here you might as well just say poo-teen.
Anyway, near the end of the tour the bus drove by a Chez Ashton in the Upper Town. Unfortunately, by the time we got dropped off, we were well past it and had to find our way back a few blocks. In the dark, in the pouring rain.
A mob of young people got there just before us. Apparently they were English-speaking because they were all asking for poo-teen. What we got tasted like French fries drenched with gravy. The cheese didn't squeak and wasn't even noticeable. By the way, I didn't actually want to eat this stuff, I just wanted to taste it.
Then we had to find our way down to our hotel and when we did we were pretty tired and mostly soaking wet. I went down the lobby and got a nice hot pot of tea to take back to our room - actually two pots of tea because of another language miscommunication.
I can probably say that I still have not had poutine. I completely forgot about trying another Quebec favourite, sugar pie!
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