Quebec City 5, Quebec, Canada

This was our last day in Quebec City and we are both wish we could spend another week here as there is so much to do and see.  Today we went to the Museum of Civilization, a tour of the Citadelle and a tour of the Governor Generals private residence.

The Museum of Civilization was very interesting.  We first spent time in the First Nations of Quebec.  This was very informative while very sad – the white man says this has been a country for 450 years but the First Nation people say it’s been a country, their country, for thousands of years.  Just like everywhere else the white man has come into their land and destroyed their religion, their language, their communities and their way of life.  In the interviews we listened to they said their leaders were not from universities they were from the universe – it isn’t a map of villages it is a constellation of villages.  In Canada the First Nation people are fighting to get their land back and are winning.

 

Another part of the museum talked about Quebec -“Then & Now”.  There were artifacts from the time the French owned the colonies to when the British fought and took it way from France and it has since been a British colony.  The battle between the French and the British only lasted 20 minutes – 600 soldiers were killed – the British and French commanding officers both died – and the French never contested British sovereignty again.  Unfortunately in both areas we walked through we were not allowed to take pictures – so no pictures.

The British were always anticipating a French invasion when they suddenly realized it was not the French they should be watching it was the Americans they should be looking out for.  The American Colonies tried twice to take the British Colonies but failed both times.

Another part of the museum was a little more fun than the other parts as you can see.

 

On the way to the museum we stopped at a few of the shops along the way and I made some new friends.  This is a very interesting and colorful place.  We would like to come back again for a longer period of time – maybe a month but we will have to think about it for a while.  there is plenty more to see and do in the maritime provinces.  PRC

First, I am very tired. And we had a marvelous day. We went to two museums, walked and went up and down many  stairs.  We started  out at the Musee de la Civilization. Of  particular  interest  was  the exhibit regarding the First Nation peoples (Indigenous or Native) and the history of French Canada.

The First Nation exhibit was heart-breaking. It appears that Canada is more interested in making reparations than the U.S is with Native-Americans.

French Canadian history was  about   the wars between Great Britain and France. I learned that the U.S. attacked Quebec twice and lost. The first time the US attacked was in a blizzard and did not have a chance. They didn’t the second time either even though the weather was more pleasant.

Another interesting point was a video interviewing French Canadians  about  the Quebecois Identity. One gentleman from Quebec said that when he is in Quebec he doesn’t feel Canadian, but when he is in France he definitely does not feel French.

There was a  fun  exhibit  showing  different  perspectives. We enjoyed taking photos there, some of which are included in the blog.

The city of Quebec is quite lovely so we took more photos as she is very photogenic.

We also went on a tour of the Citadelle. Again, we learned more of French Canadian history and were reminded that Canada is a constitutional monarchy. The old city is located inside a fortress and is in a very strategic location on the St. Lawrence River.  The  Governor  General  and  family  are  located in the Citadelle. The governor general represents the Queen. Queen Elizabeth has stayed at the Citadelle twice.

Prior to today we took two days off from sightseeing. Monday we did laundry and I signed up for a free online French class which has been a lot of fun. Tuesday we did some errands as the shower is leaking again. We went to Canadian Tire, Home Depot and COSTCO.  It’s so interesting to see the cultural differences between Canada and the US, especially French Canada. We ate at COSTCO. They had the usual hot dogs, pizza and Caesar Salad. However, they also had French fries, chicken with French fries, ice cream cones and poutine. (I did not have poutine.)  Canadians love their Poutine. They did NOT have churros. You would think that maybe they would substitute them with crepes or croissants…

Tomorrow we are off to St. Flavie also in Quebec province.  We could easily stay another week in Quebec City as there is so much to do and it is so pretty. The name of the RV park in St. Flavie is “Camping  Capitaine  Homard.”  Homard  is French for lobster. There is a seafood  restaurant  in the RV park.  Enough said.