Claudia and Gregory’s Wintry Honeymoon in Quebec City

Claudia and Gregory Arroyo got married on November 16, 2013, in Miami. A month later, Claudia, who works at a consulting firm, and Gregory, a law student, did the opposite of most couples who look for fun in the sun and drove north from their Brooklyn, New York, home to spend a week in the wintry wonderland of Quebec City. What they hadn’t realized was that fate was acting as their travel agent: After they booked the trip, they discovered Gregory’s grandparents had honeymooned in the exact same place.

Length: 5 days 

Drive time: 9 hours from Brooklyn to Quebec City

Tech support: “We used the Duolingo app to brush up on our French before we left,” Claudia says.

Their list included a Topshop fleece-lined parka, Khombu boots, and Uniqlo thermal long underwear, which kept them warm under hooded jackets even when temps were in the teens.

The coziest of cozy, Auberge Place D’Armes, a 21-room inn (from $132/night) in old Quebec, is “exactly what we imagined Christmastime in Canada would be like,” Claudia says. “Our room had a little fireplace and brick walls, and there’s a superb restaurant downstairs, which was ideal for when we didn’t want to trek out in the snow.”

“Petit Champlain is absolutely dreamy—straight out of a picture book,” says Claudia. With twinkle lights strung everywhere and Christmas trees outside each restaurant, it was made for after-dinner walks. “At night, the streets were so quiet, it was like traveling back in time,” Gregory says.

In the city, the couple treated themselves to maple candies and relied on paper maps; the postcards went to friends and family. 

The ubiquitous Quebecois dish of French fries, cheese curds, and thick gravy is as heavy and decadent as it sounds—but it gets a gourmet twist at Le Chic Shack, where crispy smashed potatoes are topped with fresh cheddar curds and light homemade gravy. Claudia’s verdict: “I loved this version—it was hearty but not too rich.”

“I’ve craved Le Petit Cochon Dingue’s raspberry square with thick vanilla cream ever since I ate it. It’s the best dessert I’ve had,” says Claudia. Another fave: maple taffy sold by street vendors all over the city. “It’s thick, sweet, and delicious,” she says.

“Quebec is a walled city, so we took a stroll along the top of a citadel. You can jump off the wall and fall safely into several feet of fresh snow,” Claudia says. “We seriously debated doing it, but we were scared we’d sink right to the bottom of the snow pile—which looked way too cold!”

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