Camped once more in Quebec City, we take a day to visit the north shore of the St. Lawrence where there are at least four economuseums. They are located in or near the town of Baie St. Paul and the picturesque Iles-Aux-Coudres. We are visiting the island because it has a working water grist mill and windmill. It is an economuseum, and like Heather Lawson’s ‘raspberry bay stone’, will have artisans at work, an interpretive centre and displays as well as someone to answer all your questions. At Les Moulins de l’Isle-aux-Coudres, there is a watermill and a windmill, both artfully restored and fully operational. For me, the grist mill is a fantastic little trip. It is quite a remarkable piece of engineering. The windmill is also very ingenious as the whole roof swivels to catch the wind.
Also in the area is La Papeterie Saint-Gilles, where one sees the art of making paper by hand. While these economuseums are what attracted us to the area, the town of Baie St. Paul is a very, very pleasant surprise. There are many, many talented artists living in the area and Baie St. Paul is where a lot of their works are on display. There are some really great art galleries here selling some really great artwork. The paper making shop is kind of relaxing. Watching the rhythm established by the artisans as they manufacture sheet after sheet of paper is hypnotic. This museum has also the distinction of being owned by Felix-Antoine Savard, credited with the founding of economuseums and as such, was the first museum of this type.
The day after our north shore trip we head off to Ottawa but make one more stop at another economuseum featuring the extraction of essential oils from plants. This one is called Aliksir! This essence of the plant is used in various types of medicinal cures and therapies, fragrant oils, and aromatherapies. It is a nice place but more medicinal in purpose, leaving us feeling that we need to know and understand a whole lot more about the applications of these oils. Today there are economuseums all over Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. Check some of them out, you are sure to enjoy them.
