I kicked off my first day in Quebec by having lunch with Raphaelle’s relatives ahead of a big wedding that was happening in her family. The food was great and it was cool to meet them all.

I spent the afternoon wandering around town and relaxing, before sleeping for 10 hours – though had the life scared out of me several times by one of Raphaelle’s 3 cats. I’m pretty sure they are plotting something, since I swear I heard them whispering, and I have seen the Cravendale advert (cats with thumbs) too many times not to be scared.

When I finally woke up, it was my birthday. I was 23 now, and according to Blink 182, nobody likes you when you’re 23. Therefore it concerned me that nobody was treating me any differently. I marched out to MacDonald’s to Skype with my parents and watch Serena Williams try to ruin my dad’s special day, which she did, in 3 sets.

With Raphaelle out at the wedding, it was a happy coincidence that my cousin Simon and his family were in town that afternoon, and I headed out to meet them inside the old walls. Off we went to see the sights, with the kids insistent that they were going to make Simon’s life as difficult as possible by using him as a human climbing-frame while we strolled around. I wanted to join in, but figured he wouldn’t thank me for it. We saw Chateau Fontenac, the most photographed hotel in the world, as well as various sights in the famous walled old town.

In the evening, I was treated to dinner, and wore my birthday vest. It said “It’s my birthday”, in English and then in French, and underneath “I know you care”. Clearly the waitress didn’t know what that meant because she did not. Shannon went home with the kids while Simon and I continued the festivities, first in a fairly standard place in town, followed by a less standard place where I got the impression that the guy sat across from us wanted to stab us up. Based on what I saw, I can only assume he was incapable of blinking. We ended the night in MacDonald’s where Simon started a pleasant conversation with a member of staff about the Rwandan genocide. I wouldn’t have had the night any other way.