Sitting 12 Inches Away From Heaven

On a recent flight to Paris, I discovered what a difference 12 inches can make in the quality of food and service you receive. On the way over, I was in the bulkhead seat directly behind the First Class cabin, a tantalizing few inches away from good food, unlimited cocktails, real china, and deferential service.

On Air France (www.airfrance.us), First class passengers get their own liter bottle of water to keep at their seat. Economy passengers have to beg for a Dixie cup of water every time they get thirsty. First class gets real china, glassware, and silverware, while economy gets plastic foil-wrapped cups of liquid, plastic cutlery, and plastic microwave containers of food.

In economy, you get one free cocktail and a choice of two entrees, but in First Class, you get unlimited aperitifs, cocktails, wine and after-dinner liqueurs to accompany your four-course meal, which I had the opportunity to experience on my return flight. With a choice of duck foie gras terrine or sautéed shrimp for hors d’Oeuvres, lamb noisette, red snapper, or Mediterranean chicken for the entrée, a cheese course, and a dessert sampler, it was like flying in a gourmet restaurant. Air France also has a lovely wine list that includes a delicate champagne, a White Languedoc, a Burgundy and a Bordeaux.

When you’re on a long, transatlantic flight, those 12 inches can make a world of difference. You can arrive sleepless, stiff, cranky, and hungry or well-fed, rested, and ready to see the sights, and while the price difference makes it difficult for us to go First Class all the time, it’s well worth searching out good sale fares to avoid sitting in what is increasingly becoming a “cattle car” in economy. Maybe they should just rename “Economy” and call it “Second Class” because passengers are certainly treated in that manner just 12 inches behind the First and Business class cabins.

Finding the Best Airport Lounges

One of the best perks of flying first or business class is getting access to the pre-flight lounge. Especially with overseas flights where you have to check in two to three hours early, it’s great to have a comfortable place to while away the extra time and most of the lounges not only offer business centers with power outlets for laptops and phones, but also free beverages, snacks, newspapers, and magazines.

The Swiss Air lounge at New York’s JFK (a Star Alliance partner) is one of the nicest, with a hot buffet in addition to the standard nuts, cookies, and crackers. Complimentary wine, beer, sodas, juice and mixed drinks are also available at almost all airline club lounges. The new Air France club at Charles de Gaulle in Paris is huge, with separate dining and business areas and loads of take-on-the-plane snack food.

When I got stranded for hours in Stockholm and Chicago on a recent trip to Norway, I fervently wished I had a club membership, especially after paying $20 for a beer and peanuts at the Stockholm airport. You can buy a one day club pass from most airlines for around $25, while yearly fees range from $400-$500 depending on your frequent flier miles. If you have miles stockpiled, you can use those to buy a club membership as well (generally around 70,000 miles for an annual membership)

There’s also a company called Priority Pass (www.prioritypass.com) that offers a membership good at over 500 airline lounges worldwide. Prices are roughly the same as the individual airline clubs.

And, while amenities vary at every airport throughout the world, with the price of food and alcohol in the airports, a club membership easily pays for itself if you travel regularly.

Packing an Airline Survival Food Kit

These days, with airlines charging for aisle seats, luggage, and now food, you have to really think ahead when you travel or you’ll starve before you ever reach your destination. On my recent trip to Quebec, I was dismayed to find that Air Canada doesn’t accept credit cards for food purchases. It was especially disappointing as it looked like they actually had decent food. Most other major airlines, including Jet Blue, won’t accept cash anymore which , at least, makes sense… their flight attendants don’t have to run up and down the aisle shouting “Does anyone have change for a $20?”

So, if I hadn’t had my emergency food rations in my backpack, I would have been out of luck on Air Canada. Thankfully, I had cheese, crackers, nuts, and a chocolate croissant stashed away, in addition to a bottle of water. You also have to be careful about where and when you buy your beverages, as I discovered in Europe on my last trip. Many of the airports there have not one security checkpoint, but two, so I wasted about $6 on a bottle of water after I cleared security only to find that I had to go through an additional security screening at my gate.

In many of the airports in Europe, like Vienna, once you go through screening to your gate, you’re a prisoner in the gate waiting area with no access to any kind of stores or restaurants so it’s impossible to get any liquids. In those cases, as soon as I board the plane, I ask the flight attendant for a bottle of water. If you ask early, before supplies start running low, you have a better chance of scoring.

A Meal Fit For a Queen

On our last night in Quebec, we were treated to a spectacular dinner at the Chateau Frontenac’s fine dining restaurant, Le Champlain. This historic hotel has, in fact, hosted the Queen, as well as many other world leaders including FDR and Churchill during the Quebec Conference of WWII, and film royalty like Leonardo DiCaprio when he was in town filming “Catch Me if You Can”.

The hotel’s PR Director, Genevieve Parent, welcomed us with the special cocktail invented for the city’s 400th Anniversary, a Champlain Kir, and she brought along the hotel’s canine ambassador, Santol, who greeted everyone with a wagging tail and doggie kisses.

The Chateau’s Executive Chef, Jean Soulard was the first Canadian chef to win the coveted “Maitre cuisinier de France”. Born in a small French country village, he worked in France, Switzerland, and England before taking the reins at the Frontenac in 1993.

His country upbringing inspires and informs his authentic yet simple and elegant cuisine, and he even grows his own herbs on the rooftop of the Chateau. He prepared just such a menu for our dinner. The starter was a layered triumph with smoked duck , sautéed leeks, and goat cheese with a meat glaze and fried spinach. A leek and green pea soup was loaded with morel mushrooms and succulent chunks of lobster, and my filet with pepper sauce was perfectly cooked.

Add a fine red wine from Chile and the good company of my fellow travel writers in the elegant and historic setting of the Chateau, and it was truly a memorable evening. One of my colleagues even came up with a new idea for a political party in the U.S. called The Food Party, whose platform would support better artisanal bread and cheese in American cuisine.

Today, GoNomad editor Max Hartshorne is on his way to Winter Carnival, so be sure to check his blog and feature on this vibrant and welcoming city. (www.fairmont.com/Frontenac)

Eating Italian Food in a French CIty

Just across from the Chateau Frontenac on rue Saint-Louis is one of Quebec City’s favorite Italian restaurants, Au Parmesan. The décor is what I would call Franco-Italian, with a warm bistro feel and eclectic memorabilia like the owner’s extensive collection of limited edition liquor bottles in the shapes of cats, buildings, Victorian ladies, and other unique shapes. These are displayed on a shelf near the ceiling that runs around the perimeter of the dining room.

The menu is full of hearty Italian classics, like the meat-filled cannelloni I tried. Spaghetti and meat sauce, penne with red sauce, and veal are a few of the other selections, sure to please anyone in need of a pasta fix.

On the day we lunched at Au Parmesan, the Winter Carnival Dogsled Race was being held out front on rue Saint-Louis so we had an excellent viewing spot right at the starting line. (www.auparmesan.ca )

Having Cocktails "In the Rocks"

The Hotel de Glace (Ice Hotel) is an annual tradition in Quebec. Every winter from January through the end of March, a huge hotel is constructed entirely of ice, from the exterior building to the furnishings and decorative accents of the rooms and interior public spaces. It features a spacious lobby with an ice chandelier, several unique and individually decorated suites and guest rooms, an ice slide, an ice chapel for weddings, and the N’Ice Bar where we stopped for cocktails.

The bar itself, and the tables and chairs are, of course, made of ice, and your drinks are served “in the rocks” in a highball glass made of the same. You can visit for the day or spend the night (they provide special arctic sleeping bags), and our guide, Pierre, told us it’s an incredibly popular wedding destination. All you have to do is bring your own minister and the Ice Hotel will handle the rest of the details. (www.hoteldeglace.qc.ca)

Dining and Dogsledding in Duchesnay

I have to say that although I hate to play favorites, the absolute highlight of my recent trip to Quebec was our day in Duchesnay. About 30 minutes from the city, the Station touristique Duchesnay(www.sepaq.com/duchesnay) is the location of the annual Ice Hotel, a lovely Auberge, and the home of Aventure Inukshuk, who offer dogsledding excursions from a couple of hours to several days in length.

We conveniently arrived at the Auberge at lunchtime and were escorted to the lower level dining area which had a lovely stone fireplace and panoramic views of the snowy valley. A big snowstorm was blowing in, and it began snowing heavily before our entrées arrived. I ordered the stew which I thought would be perfect for the blustery, snow-laden day and I wasn’t disappointed.

The bowl was brimming with generous chunks of beef and pork, as well as traditional stew vegetables, with a pretty piped rim of mashed potatoes…comfort food with a capital “C”. Add some crusty bread and it was as near perfect a lunch as I’ve ever had.

After lunch, we headed to the Ice Hotel (www.hoteldeglace.qc.ca) which I’ll tell you more about tomorrow, and then on to Aventure Inukshuk (www.aventureinukshuk.qc.ca) both of which are located on the Station touristique Duchesnay grounds.

I’m a serious Fido-phile so I had been looking forward to the dogsledding excursion, and it was everything I could have hoped for…it was amazing to glide through the snowy woods pulled by eight eager canines who barked and the pawed the ground in agitation every time we had to make a stop. All I needed was an iPod with Springsteen’s “Born to Run” as a soundtrack!

A Warm French Country Dinner with an Icy Rabbit

On our first night in Quebec City, we went to dinner at a charming bistro in the Lower City on rue du Petit-Champlain. It’s called Le Lapin Sauté and since “lapin” means rabbit, you can probably guess the rest.

It was a cold, wintry night and the rabbits that hang above the door of the cozy restaurant had icicles dripping from their paws. But inside, the fire was crackling and the ambience was like a French country farmhouse, with service as warm and friendly as the décor.

The specialty of the house is, of course, rabbit, which I don’t eat, but Go Nomad editor Max Hartshorne is visiting Carnival next week, so perhaps he can review one of those dishes. They are also known for their duck (canard in French) if you’re a lover of game fowl.

I had a fabulous potato leek soup, perfect for the night, and a hearty filet mignon with mushrooms and crispy oven-roasted potatoes. Dessert was a trio of tempting bites including an apple tart, crème brulee with a perfect carmelized crust, and of course, chocolate. It was a memorable evening and an experience I would highly recommend to get the feel of true Quebec hospitality. www.lapinsaute.com

Eating Free Cookies at Mr. Christie's Winter Carnival

I just got home from my first trip to Quebec City’s annual Winter Carnival. Actually, it’s called Mr. Christie’s Winter Carnival, so naturally my first question was, “Who the heck is Mr. Christie?” It turns out that’s the name of the Kraft Foods company that sponsors the yearly family event, and fittingly, at the major site of outdoor activities like sledding and snow rafting, there’s a hospitality tent full of free cookies from chocolate chip to shortbread, and for the diet conscious, even 100-calorie snack packs.

The star of Winter Carnival is Bonhomme, a giant snowman with a colorful sash who is something of a cross between Frosty and Santa Claus, and judging by his ample size, he eats a lot of Mr. Christie’s cookies. The small children adore Bonhomme, who rules the city for the 17 days of Carnival. Legend has it that he sleeps in the Ice Palace and wanders the city by day, so you never know where he might turn up.

He did, however, kick off the festivities at the big bash on Place D’Youville on Saturday night and the hundreds of people there, from toddlers to great-grandfathers, knew all the words of the Bonhomme theme song. www.carnaval.qc.ca