Tours I offer: historical tours, private tours, student tours and a 4-hour “Full Experience” of historical Quebec City
• Travel experience: Very young, I wanted to "see Europe:" London, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Genoa (where I saw my first palm tree), Monaco, Spain, Touraine and Paris. In this way, I got in touch with my European side. Then, I wanted to "feel America." While hitch-hiking, I saw Mexico and Central America. Later, I did a United States "Road Trip" by motorcycle, from Montreal to New Orleans, following in the footsteps of the French explorers. I lived one year in Cincinnati, to teach French and one month in Cuba to learn Spanish. I saw the part of myself that was American. I also traveled to Venice and Florence to see the beauty of the Italian Renaissance, and Sicily twice because I loved it so much. Athens and Rome helped me discover the ancient roots of our civilization. To expand my universe, I visited Bali, Thailand and Istanbul.
• Occupations before being a tourist guide: Professor of Sociology and Political Science at CEGEP. Journalist in Acadia as editor of a magazine. Adviser to the Quebec Office in the Atlantic Provinces.
• What makes my tours special: I like to show what lies behind the obvious: the strategic geography of Quebec City in the 17th century and her role as the capital of New France, a disappeared colonial empire that left its marks. I tell the story of the difficult beginnings of the colony: relations with the Amerindians, the evolution of the economy (from fur- trading to video games); the evolution of politics, from monarchy to democracy; the war of 1759 and the inevitable compromises; the evolution of religious feeling, from the first founding congregations to the recycled churches; the cuisines, Canadian, Acadian, Quebecoise, as part of the ethnics identities. Architectures: French, English and castle.
• The main reason I wanted to become a guide: To continue to do what I have always liked, popularize the subjects that excite me and to make them accessible to more people.