[GoofyMom]

I've just had the pleasure of a quick visit to Quebec City, Quebec. My hubby had a convention to attend so I tagged along with him. I won't do a big trip report, but I will share a few thoughts and some photos of this beautiful city. A little background about Quebec City - it is one of the oldest cities in North America, founded in 1608 (I know that because they're still celebrating their 400th anniversary) by the French although they had settled there as early as the mid 1500's; it is one of the few remaining walled cities in North America (the only one outside of Mexico); its location on the river made it worth fighting over between the British, the Americans and the French in the 1800s, hence the wall. The official language is French, although nearly everybody you would deal with in the tourist areas also speak English. Ok, lesson over. We didn't leave the tourist area, so that's all you are going to see. So, here goes:

When: May 11-14, 2009
Who: My hubby Dan and myself

Monday, May 11:


We got a nice upgrade from the 5th floor to the 14th floor and the view was wonderful!


Quebec Parliament Building to the left; Chateau Frontenac to the right (green roof); background is St Lawrence River.


The St Lawrence River and the Plains of Abraham - the famous battlefield where the British defeated the French in 17-something.


The Citadel, a fort built by the British in the early 1800s to protect them and The Loyalists from invasion by the Americans. It was never needed because of the treaty signed between the two nations that made the Canadian/American border the longest unprotected border in the world. More on the Citadel later...


This is what Grand Allee looks like. Grand Allee is the main street in the tourist area of New Quebec.


Our hotel (L'hotel Le Concorde) sticks out like a sore thumb among all the historic architecture. We had a late mid-afternoon lunch at a little sidewalk cafe after we checked in and unpacked. As you can see, the weather was a little breezy but nice enough you didn't need a sweater. Meals are leisurely because they start you with bread and drinks, then you order your meal. It takes a while for your soup or salad to arrive. No rushing. Then your entree. No rushing. Then dessert and coffee. We preferred the prix fixe menus and many restaurants wouldn't offer you an a la carte menu unless you requested it. By the time we had finished lunch it was time for Dan to register for his conference and attend the mixer. I hung out with him a little, but it was pretty boring so I headed up to our room for the rest of the night.

Tuesday morning Dan went to his conference, I set out to walk to Vieux Quebec (Old Quebec). The wall was only 3 blocks down a gentle slope from our hotel. As soon as you pass through the wall you feel like you have just transported to to a different world. The streets narrow. The buildings are even older-looking. And the hill steepens!!

Old Quebec is comprised of two distinct areas - Haute Ville (The Upper Town) and Basse Ville (The Lower Town). They are connected by the Breakneck Stairs and the Funiculaire, which is basically an elevator/train thing that goes up the hill at a 45º angle. Or you can do like I did and follow the street up, but even with the switchbacks, it was really hard hiking.


This is Basse Ville (The Lower City). I can't emphasize enough -- that hill is killer to walk up!


The cliff mocking me on my way up...

I met Dan at the hotel when his conference had ended for the day and we headed back to Old Quebec so he could see how cool it was down there too.


About to pass through the wall into Haute Ville. And I know it looks like it, but no, I didn't have to pee...




This tree is growing around a HUGE cannonball!


Half-way down Breakneck Stairs


The street we will be walking down, taken from the stairs


The street beside the Funiculaire bottom entrance. Looks very old France


The Funiculaire's tracks.


One of the narrow stairways to the street below


One of the cobblestone streets in Basse Ville.


We decided it was time to head back up the hill


This mural tells the story of Quebec City. From Samuel de Champlain the founder of Quebec City in the green jacket and dark pants standing at the forefront of the mural, to present time (which is cut off on the left side of the photo )


Dan and his good buddy Sam...


Here comes our ride up the hill - I'm not dumb enough to climb that cliff twice in one day! It cost CA$1.75 per person and probably took less than 30 seconds but it was worth it! Some of you may remember I had an accident last June that earned me a trip to the ER in an ambulance and walking is still sometimes very painful.


The view looking down from our Funiculaire car


There's a little boardwalk at the top of the Funiculaire


Some of the ruins you can see from the boardwalk


Looking down on Lower Town from the Boardwalk


The Cannonball Tree again


Grand Allee at dusk. Notice the McDonalds These buildings are almost all restaurants and cafes.

Back to the hotel for the night. Wednesday morning, Dan was in his conference and I stayed in the room recuperating from my hike on Tuesday. We had a tour of the Citadel at 3:00. In the summer they have a Changing of the Guard ceremony, complete with the red wool coats and tall bearskin hats, just like at Buckingham Palace in London, and including their goat mascot, but we were there too early in the year to see that.

You are not allowed to tour it yourself because The Citadel is an active military base, home of the Van Doo's. Van Doo's is the nickname for the 22nd Regiment. In French the number 22 is Vingt-deux and when pronounced with an English accent it sounds like Van Doo. They are currently serving in Afghanistan so there wasn't a lot of activity other than a few reservists.





Some background of the Citadel:





Our tour group, about to enter the building they used as a jail but have converted to a museum, in front of the Governor General's residence (white entrance on the left) and the Van Doo's Commanding Officer's residence (white entrance on the right). Neither were in residence - the Governor General (the Queen's representative in Canada) is in her Ottawa residence and the Commander is in Afghanistan.


The windows of the jail/museum


Our tour guide, Julien, in front of some of the weapons in the museum.


One of the cells - maybe if jail was like this again, they wouldn't be quite so full as they are now....


Old British/Canadian military uniforms. Canada is still a Commonwealth nation with Queen Elizabeth as the official Head of the country, although she is mostly just a figurehead now. However, and a lot of Canadians don't even know this, it wasn't until 1982 that Canada became legally independent from Britain (yes, I do remember it ) and so up until 1982 whenever Britain would declare war, Canada was "invited" to join too.


I think this is WWII equipment because of the Red Ensign flag. In WWI they would have used the British Union Jack. The Red Ensign was our flag from after WWI until 1965 when we adopted our current Maple Leaf flag.


Yeah, we don't use these anymore....




Some more of the buidings inside the fort.


The Guards' uniform and the goat mascot.




View of the City from the top of the fort. Our hotel is the tall one on the left with the revolving restaurant on the top.


The St. Lawrence River from the fort. And as a major coincidence, some of you may remember that last summer Dan was stranded on an ice breaker in the Arctic Ocean... well - there it is. The Canadian Ice Breaker Des Grossiers in port at Quebec City! ♫ ♪It's a small world after all ♫ ♪


The Chateau Frontenac, Lower Town, and St Lawrence River from the fort.


Dan and me in front of "Rachel", the biggest gun at the fort.


Fort walls are thicker than you'd imagine!


For our last night in Quebec, we ate dinner at the revolving restaurant.


The modern Quebec City


Sun setting over the hills


Overlooking Grand Allee at dusk

And that's the end. Quebec City was a great place to visit and hopefully I'll be able to return some day to explore it a little more thoroughly. Sorry this was so long, but hey -- at least I finished this one....