Driving Through Postcards

Wah, time flies, it's been a week since I last wrote! Well, we just got back from Chateau Beauvallon @ Mont. Tremblant in Quebec this afternoon. Actually, I don't know why we went there, except maybe to end the module (which is also the halfway point of the 18-month programme) on a high note. Beauvallon had nothing to do with the Live Case that LLEE studied. Then again, LLEE isn't just about the Live Case. It's also about personal wellness and leadership, stretch and challenge, and network building.

In the early part of this week, from Mon - Wed, the class was divided into small groups to do site visits all over the country - Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, Calgary, Vancouver, and Halifax. Each site visit group went round their given city/rural town to dialogue with various stakeholders of the Live Case issue (immigration and newcomer policy) - academics, provincial and municipal governments, private sector, NGOs, media etc. By Wed night, everyone had coached/flown into Mont. Tremblant, where the reflections, consolidation and synthesis would take place as a large group. Erm, actually my group (the Ottawa site visits) had a most extravagant ride to Tremblant via stretch limo - apparently it worked out to be cheaper than a 7-seater bus! But it looks and sounds so scandalous...
Beauvallon is very pretty. It's not like Montebello, where there are still some things to see within the facility. To take in the sights on Tremblant (which is a very very popular skiing destination), one has to drive out to either the 'fake' village (imagine cottages in all colours up the side of the mountain, and down at ground level with cobblestone paths) designed for the tourist dollar, or to the 'real' village, which I did.

Some of the LLEE team - Nathalie, Deborah and Benoit - took me to the 'real' village during one evening at Beauvallon. They told me this was a typical Quebecker village, and nothing fancy or orchestrated like the 'fake' one. It was indeed non-exciting in that it had the usual shops that one would expect for 'everyday living', just lining both sides of a street that wasn't too long. But it was quaint.

Perhaps the best part about visiting this authentic village is that I had poutine for the first time! Poutine is the Quebecois way of ensuring early cardiac arrest - fries with curds and gravy. Totally un-gourmet and non-representative of French Canadian food, but it's marvellous. :-) See my first poutine gravy drip? :-p No worries, I'm quite sure I burned it all off - Quebec is so cold! Each of our rooms (a 2-bedroom suite with attached bathrooms) had a very modern looking fireplace that was lit up to keep the place warm.

Another thing I enjoyed very much on this trip was that no matter where we went on Beauvallon's premises (or even driving around Tremblant), it felt like we were driving through postcards. The view at every turn was picture perfect. We also sighted some deer :-) Apparently it's moose hunting season, so we could have run into some moose as well!