Marci Harris poses in an ice sculpture at the Hôtel de Glace in Valcartier. This was Harris’ 24th trip to Quebec and her second with CHS and fellow CHS French teacher Danelle Mosher. Both feel the trip improves students’ French. “Every time you are exposed to hearing and reading French, students will notice words that they’ve learned,” Harris said. “The diversity and culture in Montreal and the European feel of Quebec City just make it a phenomenal trip.”

Eli Takacs sips a bowl of hot chocolate at the Cochon Dingue, a local restaurant in Quebec City. The party went to the restaurant for a traditional Quebecois breakfast on their second day. “I did enjoy the hot chocolate and the chocolate croissant,” Takacs said. “That is a lot more of like what I’m used to. [The food] didn’t have like a lot of seasoning, which I’m very used to, like having like a lot of seasoning. But hey, I still eat the food because it was good.”

Sophie Richardson, Blix Finn and Coco Pung participate in a scavenger hunt at the Marché Jean-Talon. The group had been led by their tour guide, Jasmine Neveu, who was with the group for all four days in Québec. “She was hilarious, funny, sweet and very well educated and definitely helped me learn a lot more about the Canadian architecture and history,” Richardson said. “I liked all the friends I made and got closer with some people.”

The Basilique Saint-Anne- deBeaupré is a Catholic basilica 20 miles east of Quebec City. Dedicated to Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary, the cathedral was first a shrine, and between 1658 and 1876, pilgrims flocked to the shrine for its alleged healing miracles. In 1876, a cathedral was fully constructed around the shrine, but in 1922, it burned down. The modern cathedral was completed in 1946 and attracts around 500,000 a year, mainly from Canada and the U.S.

Isaac Hardin, Thomas Radesky, Conrad Marra and Nick Mosher prepare to sled down the Himalaya slope at Valcartier. On this slope, which was one of the largest in the park, sledders had to join legs in four-person groups for safety. “I liked that we could go four people at a time, so we could all just stare at each other while we were going down the hill,” Hardin said. “I like to hang out with all my friends, and I like how fast it went.”

Max Bravo-Gomez spells “CHS” with magnets at the Musee des Beaux-Arts in Montreal. The party had done a tour of the museum, as well as a printmaking class there. “If I had to describe the art inside, I would say it’s from another world — straight out of your mind,” Bravo-Gomez said. “Some artists are famous, especially in Montreal, and others, I have no idea who they are. But I know what they have in common — they all can create some pretty dang good art.”