Fortified Syrup: Preservation of the sweet life in Quebec City

By Janet

To this newly minted Evolver, the enduring appeal of the hotel lies in the zeitgeist it represents, not just as a monument to luxury tourism, but as a centerpiece amid a vast spread of the finer things in life, for which Quebec City is famous. As a born and raised suburbanite turned aspiring jet setter, with several stints in some of Europe's most famous cities to my credit, I appreciate an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere, wherein the character of a place is as rich as that of any travel companion. Hearkening back to my own experience as a youngster in this fine land, Quebec City was my first taste – quite literally in syrup drenched beaver tails among other gustatory delights that would turn me into a culinary connoisseur for years to come – of the exotic that hinted at a cultural flair I had yet to fully appreciate. In drawn breaths and exclamations of awe from the current set of first-time visitors to Canada's most European city remind me of how important it is to savour the sweet life from time to time.

The sweet life is more than sensory indulgence; it is the tie that binds a people to their land and to the events that made it great. It is the countless generations of Quebecois who have appreciated the land and the life that bred them and pondered the link between what was and what will be. You can taste it in the food and drink, contemplate it in the cobbled streets and old neighbourhoods, hear it in the street music and feel it in the air. It is the je ne sais quoi that ignites modern day romantics with the fire of the sublime, the siren song that lures the untamed heart to write their own lyrical epic, and the call to become a true cosmopolitan in this rich and diverse world of ours.

Through the tides of time, ever increasing globalization and the constantly quickening pace of the North American lifestyle, a stay in Quebec City is a reminder to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, to appreciate the hardiness of the human spirit that forged a legacy and to pay attention to the connecting force of culture. These lessons are well suited to the younger generations among us, whose lives are increasingly wired in, yet who rarely have a chance to step back and experience a pure embodied connection to the wisdom of the past.