After a stirring three-hour hike up and down the 849 m mountain, we jumped into Lake Willoughby. This precipitous area is subject to rock slides, so there’s little development and few people. Of those few, lots are beach-loving nudists. Of the nudists, none are the sort you’d spend much time wishing you could see naked.
  2014 Audi A8 TDI Road Trip. Click image to enlarge |
Let’s leave it at that.
That night, Georgeville held its annual town dance. A band of 15-year-olds played classic and modern rock hits respectably while their parents got loaded, carrying beer, wine and dope around in the open. Though similar to Ontario in many ways, Quebec is far more relaxed about liquor laws. So, you’d think they’d all be berserk all the time but that mostly happens just when repressed Ontario kids cluster here during reading week and March break.
Day 3 – Bienvenue a Montréal
Ayer’s Cliff is a sleepy hamlet 10 km from Magog that comes alive on Saturday mornings in the summer for one and a half hours when moneyed city dwellers descend on the hippyish farmer’s market. Organic quinoa coffee and handmade free-range breads are ubiquitous. People know each other; most are thoroughly bilingual and quick to flip from one tongue to the next. It’s a charming experiment and a good example not just for all of Quebec, or even all of Canada, but the whole world.
  2014 Audi A8 TDI Road Trip. Click image to enlarge |
We bought some lunch supplies for a final repast back at Norm and Anna’s cottage before getting back on the road.
The weather was massively hot and the A8’s pearl black exterior and coal black interior loved soaking up the sun. Fortunately the Valcona leather seats were ventilated.
Unlike Toronto, Montreal hasn’t destroyed all of its beautiful old buildings; just its roads and bridges, which makes driving frustrating. In the summer, there’s always some artsy festival, noisy protest or combination thereof blocking traffic, so you never know when you’ll be stuck for a half hour for no apparent reason. Being in a luxury sedan that’s soundproofed perfection makes it easier to take.
On this trip however we had few problems getting into town. We drove to our friend’s street in leafy Westmount. The A8 looked more at home here than at the lake. It also looked happier here than the narrow, drunk tourist–filled streets of Vieux Montréal where we had dinner. Sexy as it is – with a length of 5.27 m and turning circle of 12.7 m the A8’s a bit big for downtown living, even with overhead-view and reverse cameras; much more suited for drives from uptown to the airport. So we left it and taxied out to become the narrow streets’ drunk tourists ourselves.
  2014 Audi A8 TDI Road Trip. Click image to enlarge |
Day 4 – Loud Music and Tens of Thousands of Grooving Kids
When there’s an event on, the only reason you’d want to take a car to Ile Ste. Helene is if you’re Sebastian Vettel. If you’re here for the car only, skip to Day 5. The only action the Audi A8 saw this day were the affectionate strokes I gave it on our way to the Métro (subway) and the Osheaga Festival. This was its third and final day.
Osheaga? This massive collection of concerts at multiple stages featured some of the hottest names in popular music, plus several duds and a few old farts. The vibe and scene is pure Montreal: loads of fun with few heavies. Mostly it was 20-somethings, but the ages ranged from babies to grandparents.
We caught Charles Bradley’s finale. A soul master only recently discovered with the chops and range of Wilson Picket or Sam Moore, Bradley spent all of his adulthood trying to make it and much of it living on the streets. This guy’s voice bleeds and, for me, none of the other acts could touch him. Not that they weren’t great – he was just better.
