Hello and happy Friday! Welcome to my 4th and final post recapping my trip to Canada last week. If you missed the first three recaps, check those out first. Thank you so much for sharing in my travel adventures with me!
- Exploring the Outaouais Region of Canada: Day 1
- Exploring the Outaouais Region of Canada: Day 2
- Exploring the Outaouais Region of Canada: Day 3
On our final night in Quebec, we stayed at the Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello, which is the world’s largest log castle! It was beautiful and cozy inside – check out that massive fireplace.
Apparently Santa comes out of it on Christmas Day and gives out presents to the kids staying on the property. He also arrives by sleigh on the frozen lake! I totally want to come back here in the winter – it sounds magical. :)
One of my other favorite things about this hotel was that they have a canine ambassador!
How cute is he?! He was so sweet and friendly. I couldn’t get a good photo of him since he was so active, but here he is saying hello to Jenn.
After we checked in, we had a couple hours to kill before dinner, so Julie and I headed out on a walk around the grounds. There was a beautiful lake and all sorts of nice trails on the property!
By the time we got back, a beautiful sunset was beginning.
For dinner, we were treated to a meal at Montebello’s restaurant, Aux Chantignoles. I had a salmon appetizer and the steak for my main course, plus a fun pudding type dish for dessert. It was all great!
One page of the menu had all sorts of special diet options – vegan, diabetic, macrobiotic, raw, etc. How cool!
The ladies at dinner, from left: me, Candice, Julie, Kate and Jenn.
It was such a fun group! We were all sad it was our last night together.
The next morning, our last day in Canada, Julie and I got up early for another morning workout. When we got out to the lake, we were treated to a stunning sunrise!
We started on the trails for a quick 2.2 mile run.
And then ended back at the pretty gazebo on the lake for a short HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout, dreamed up by Julie! She even played some music on her phone to pump us up. :)
We did the following for three rounds: 20 burpees + 5 push ups + 20 sit ups + 5 push ups + 20 walking lunges + 20 pulsing squats + 20 jump squats. WHEW! My quads were burning and we were both breathing really hard after this one. I love HIIT workouts – so effective! Julie is a personal trainer and is the queen of quick HIIT workouts– if you’re looking for some new ideas check out her circuit workout page!
After checking out of the hotel, we headed to our second to last stop of the trip: Parc Omega, which is a huge 2,220 acre park where you can drive around and admire typical Canadian animals like wolves, black bears, red deer, buffalos, and more, either from the comfort of your own car or, in our case, in a safari bus!
I’ll let the photo speak for themselves! It was really fun.
Our last stop before heading off to the airport was a chocolate tasting and lunch at ChocoMotive!
Lunch was delicious – I had a cappuccino and the veggie burger with a side quinoa salad. I loved their homemade sandwich thins!
For dessert, of course, we had some chocolate. :) Chocomotive uses only chocolate, sugar and certified organic and fair trade cocoa in their chocolate – no fillers or soy lecithin like a lot of other companies!
With our bellies full, we all headed off to the airport and said our sad goodbyes. Such a wonderful trip with a great group of people. I can’t wait to return to Canada again someday – such a beautiful place! A big thank you again to the Outaouais and Quebec tourism bureaus for having me for this press trip and covering the trip expenses.
How do you stay active when you’re traveling? Running is obviously my #1, but I really love HIIT workouts, too – so quick and effective.
Have you ever stayed at a hotel with a canine ambassador?
I wish all hotels had a canine ambassador! I try to either run or just make good use of the hotel gym when I travel. It really depends on where I’m going. If it’s for work I’m usually in NOVA so there are plenty of places to get in a good workout (I just recently discovered my usual hotel is right next to the W&OD trail). Looks like you had such a great trip!
OMG THAT BABY WOLF. TOO CUTE FOR WORDS.
Right?!
I WAS GOING TO SAY THE SAME THING! IT IS TOO ADORABLE
The pack of wolves…my first thought was “looks like a scene from Twilight”. Team Jacob! Hope you took the baby wolf home!
Lol! Team Jacob for sure.
I used to work at the Fairmont Copley where we had the cutest canine ambassador, Catie Copley! I love the Fairmont’s and I definitely need to make it up to their properties in Quebec. Looked like a fantastic trip!
Thank you for sharing this! The animal reserve reminds me of Yellowstone, except you can’t feed deer there ;)
Such a cool experience, LOVE LOVE the baby wolf. The bear looks a little close for comfort though. Was the picture taken from inside the bus? If not, you are a brave soul!
Don’t worry – we were in a bus AND outside a fence from the bears and wolves! :)
Love the wildlife pics! So gorgeous.
That baby wolf…ridiculous. And that chocolate…also ridiculous. I would want to try every single one of those.
That hotel looks so quaint and homely! I like to run when I’m not injured and getting outdoors is key, great opportunity to explore new places! Always keep my eyes peeled for hotels with gyms though too!
I LOVE all the wildlife pictures! All these trip recaps make me really want to travel to Canada!
All of the animals on this page are too cute! What beautiful scenery in all of these posts from Canada – I have loved reading about your trip!
I love that you two did a run and HIIT combo. I have a HIIT workout printed on a piece of paper that I keep in my suitcase whenever I travel. It is so hard, I don’t think I have ever completed the whole thing. It is always great to mix it up:) Glad you had such a great trip. Love the pics.
Anne, I love your blogs! I am sold on this beautiful region in Canada. Hope to visit one day soon! You are such an inspiration. I look forward to your blog everyday!!! Continue to do what you do! You are very gifted and creative. Kathy
What a sweet comment – thank you so much for reading! :)
Ok I must say that after reading your 4 blog entries about your trip to the Outaouis, I am extremely jealous, even though I live in Ottawa!! You know when things are right at your fingertips you’re almost less likely to see and do them. I’ve done very few of the activities that you did – I’ve been to the Nordic spa (heaven!), and gone zip-lining at Lafleche. Otherwise I obviously have some ‘tourist in my own city’ stuff to get on to of! Your pictures really show the area for its true beauty. Glad you enjoyed your trip to Canada! :)
Totally agree that when things are at your fingertips you are less likely to see them! Kind of like how I’ve never explored many of the big tourist attractions in north America (grand canyon, Yellowstone, Niagara falls, etc). I need to get on it!