Quebec City 2, Quebec, Canada

We had a wonderful day – there was a 70% chance of rain but we decided to go for it anyway.  We booked the 1 day hop-on hop-off bus tour around the city and this morning took the shuttle from the RV Park into town.  We arrived just in time to catch the first bus tour of the morning.  We stayed on the bus to make a complete around the city trip so we could decide where we wanted to go.  The tour takes 90 minutes.  The weather was beautiful as we drove around on the open air upper deck of the bus.  The weather was cool and windy at times and there was hardly any rain the speak of.

The old city is a city of contrasts.  There is construction everywhere – the refurbishing of the old and the building of the modern – side by side they co-exist in harmony with each other.  You can take a picture of a barracks occupied by the french soldiers in the 1600’s and in the same picture see a steel and glass office building that is 10 years old.  One does not besmirch the relevance of the other.

The city is peppered with churches, statues, monuments and parks with colorful gardens.   At this time of year the city is a beehive of activity with crews planting flowers everywhere in preparation for the summer tourist season.

After our first complete trip around the city we stopped for coffee and a pastry.  Then we walked down one of the narrow streets visiting many of the small shops on each side of the street – not surprisingly a large percentage were very tourist oriented.  We did stop at the historic Notre–Dame de Québec Basilica–Cathedral.  JY lite a candle and looked at the jewelry in the gift shop.  I watched some restoration workers applying gold leaf to one of the columns.

The bus driver for our tour was unbelievable – he drove the bus down these narrow streets and gave a lot of the passengers heart attacks as he went around really tight corners and dodged other cars.  I told him he could drive his bus through the eye of a needle and he said, “no the bus is to big” to which I replied, “maybe so but I think you are that good.” He laughed and gave me a big hug and said, “thank you my friend.”  PRC

It was a marvelous day. We did the on/off tour of beautiful Quebec City. It was cold and rainy a few times during the day but sometimes sunny – altogether a winning combination. The city has several things going for it: 1) Safety – It has one of the lowest crime rates in Canada; 2) Beauty – It’s a lovely city; 3) Cost of living – It has a low unemployment rate.  Consequently, it has attracted lots of younger people especially in the field of software engineering and computer games.

Historically it’s interesting also. Important battles between the French and English went on here. In fact the old city is located in a fortress. It is also a port city. A Holland America cruise ship was docked there today on the St. Lawrence River. Apparently this river is a very difficult one to navigate.

To top of the day we had a Quebecoise (French Canadian) dinner. The restaurant was called aux Anciens Canadiens.  We had the prixe fix (fixed price) menu. This was pea soup, Quebec meat pie and vegetables and maple syrup pie. Peter splurged and had lobster bisque which was delicious.

After dinner we checked out the Château Frontenac, a very expensive hotel perched on a hill with gorgeous views of the St. Lawrence River.  Heard a good quote regarding Canada by a First Nation poet while on our tour today – “My country is not a country; my country is winter.” 

 

                                         We are “home” now working on the blog. Our new neighbors just pulled in. By the way, pulling in can be quite a process. Out jumped the wife who appears to be a bundle of energy directing the truck and trailer.  Looks like the parents or in-laws just pulled in also. And they already have a camp fire started and here comes the beer. This lively French family looks like a lot of fun. I know they will be up a lot later than us…

JY