Canada Trip 2024 - Day 5 - What a Morning
I’ve wanted to go to Montreal since we moved to New York six years ago. It is only a five-hour drive from our apartment, and the idea of having this beautiful French city that close always intrigued me. However, when we arrived in Quebec City, I realized this was what I was looking for. Unfortunately, our last day in Quebec City didn’t get off to the best start. We heard a banging on our hotel door around midnight, maybe a little earlier. After a few pounds on the door, it stopped, and we assumed it must have been someone drunk in the wrong room. Then, a few minutes later, we heard someone trying to get into the room from the connecting door to the room next to us. That had us both shoot out of bed, and the noise from the door stopped when they heard us. Jenn called security, and we eventually found out it was a maintenance worker, thinking we had checked out and wanted to replace the fridge. I was able to fall back asleep, Elle never woke up, and Jenn struggled.
Only a few hours later, the hotel's fire alarm went off. We’ve had this happen a half dozen times in our travels, but never with a newborn. I went to the hall and immediately knew this wasn’t a false alarm; the hotel's elevator shaft was flooded from the fire sprinkler system, and the smell of smoke was strong. I returned to the room, and we immediately packed up Elle and went off. Kudos to Jenn and me for having at least some sense to grab supplies for Elle because the next four hours would have been a nightmare if we hadn't. We walked down the eight flights of stairs and were first directed to the lobby where other parents were seated, but that only lasted a few minutes when the fire department had everyone evacuate the building. Thankfully, it was early September because it was just getting cold, and the fire department was nice enough to hand out warming blankets to everyone.
We spent about an hour outside, at one point being ushered into a bus to take us to a cruise terminal before being stopped just as we were leaving and then brought into the grand ballroom. We spent the next 2+ hours sitting on the floor waiting to be let back into our room. The staff did a phenomenal job of keeping us updated, bringing out coffee, water, and light snacks while hundreds of people sat in their pajamas. We were very grateful to everyone who offered a helping hand, including another family with an infant who gave us diaper wipes, something I forgot to pack. We were allowed to return to our room a little after 8 AM, where we climbed the eight flights of stairs back up. We packed our stuff, fed, and changed Elle before taking the service elevator to our car. It isn’t ideal, nor how we wanted to end our time in Quebec City, but we are grateful to be safe and have another story to tell Elle when she gets older.
Our drive from Quebec City back to Montreal was much more manageable. We stopped once for gas and to feed Elle and eventually made it to The Four Seasons Montreal. In a day of many missteps, we were given keys to a room that was never cleaned, so we had to spend some time in the hotel's lounge before getting a new room. Our room was stunning, and after taking a quick room tour, we ordered a room service hamburger to split and watched the US Open. From there, we walked for about an hour around the nearby town, stretching our legs but realizing that our sightseeing plans would not happen after the morning we had. Instead, we took it easy and returned to the hotel lounge where I had a fashion, and Jenn had a cranberry juice.
And that’s where we remained for the rest of our day. We returned to our room, ordered room service for dinner, and watched more of the US Open. We had a lot of things planned for today, but as seasoned travelers, we also know when we need to pivot, and today was that day. I am so proud of how well Jenn and I worked together through multiple crises today and ensured Elle was our priority. I’m not sure Elle ever realized anything was wrong this morning. Jenn did a great job keeping her warm, comfortable, and well cared for. When you ask me about this trip a few years from now, I’ll immediately think of Jenn holding on to Elle on the ground in the ballroom, kissing her, singing to her, and never letting her go. As lovely as the sights in Montreal are, that’s something to truly cherish.
