Garths Guide to Travel Dans La Belle Province

When driving in Montreal don’t even think about running a yellow light, opposing traffic charges ahead the second the light turns amber. Cars in Quebec seem to lack  working signal lights but they do have horns. Don’t attempt to navigate in Quebec with a map made in English Canada; the same philosophy that created the road system should inform the guide. GPS do not fare much better. When a car passes you expect it to pull back in front of you two inches from your bumper. If a major expressway is not congested don’t be shocked if someone crosses five lanes to make an exit right in front of your nose—at least they no longer do it at 100 mph. Quebec highways do no have cloverleaf intersections. Exits occur on both sides of the highway. Services centres are often between the two lanes of traffic.

 

Chemin—road

Rue—street

Chemin de fer—railroad, literally iron road

Street names follow the designator.

 

Nord—north

Sud—south

Est—east

Oeust—West

 

Droit—right

Gauche—left

Arret—stop

Va—go

Debout—above

En Bas—below

Vite—fast

Lent—slow

 

Ouverte—open

Ferme—closed

Sortir—exit

Entre--enter

Circulation…. One way

Defence—Do Not

Travaux—construction, in Quebec controlled by the mafia

 

Pont—bridge

Tonneau—tunnel

Piste—ferry

 

Jour—day

Nuit—night

Soleil—sun

Pleut—rain

Neige—snow

Feux—fog

Vent—wind

 

Centre de Ville—down town

Hotel de Ville—city hall

Hotel Dieux—hospital

Caisse Populaire—bank, trust company

Bibliotechque—library

 

Food

Dejeuner—lunch

Petit Dejeuner—breakfast

L’oeufs—eggs

Jambon—ham

Erable—maple

Pain brille—toast

Beurre—butter

Blanc—white

Noir—black

Sucre—sugar

Poivre—pepper

Sel—salt

Du lait—milk

De L’eau—water

Crème-cream

Crème glace—ice cream

Pomme de terre frit—french fries

Poutine—add BBQ sauce, cheese curds, and gravy

Fromage--cheese

Poulet—chicken

Boeuf—beef

Tortiere—pie, meat pies are popular

Depenneur—grocery—usually sell beer and wine

 

St Hubert equates with Swiss Chalet

 

Dans La Salle Du Bain

Femme—women

Homme--Men

C—Chaud—Hot

F—Froid—Cold

 

Bonjour—Allo—good day, hello—if you make that effort most servers will answer you in English or find someone who can.

S’il vous plait—please

Merci—thank you

Ou Est—Where is? But men don’t ask directions and here you probably wouldn’t understand the answer.

Mange le merde—eat shit—thems fighting words

 

Le Surite Du Quebec, or QPP—fortunately I’ve never attracted their attention. Do ensure that all your paperwork is in order. Without it they’ll assume your vehicle is stolen.