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| Umbrellas in hand and ready to explore Quebec City. If it wasn't for an occasional rain, the flowers behind me wouldn't be as spectacular |
Our final cruise destination was Quebec City. To reach it we traveled down the Saint Lawrence Seaway/River. The ship had to move at a fairly slow speed because this area is home to several different types of whales. On the morning of our "Sea Day" (Wednesday) we saw a couple of Humpbacks not too far off the back of the ship. As the sun was setting we were treated with a large pod (20+) of Beluga Whales swimming by just a 100 yards or so from the ship. Of course we didn't have the phones with us at the time so there are no pictures. You're just going to have to trust us on this one.
We arrived to Quebec City at around 9:00 AM on Thursday. The welcoming committee greeting us as we sailed in was gray skies and occasional rain. We had gotten a little spoiled by the amazing weather that we had the entire cruise up to this point. We were also a little bummed because we had really been looking forward to Quebec City. Beth had enjoyed a little time here with her mom and sisters but for me it was my first visit to this French Canadian city of just over 500,000.
We certainly weren't going to let a little rain stand in the way of exploring the lower and upper sections of the "Old City" and as much of the surrounding areas as our feet would let us. The "old city" as the name implies is the older section of Quebec City. It has numerous landmarks dating back to the 17th century and was where the Battle of the Plains of Abraham took place between the French who had colonized the area and British armies. As was the case in most battles that were fought between countries back in those days, the British prevailed. Although the French lost the battle and ultimately lost possession of all the land they had colonized, laws were created to protect the French language in this area. This is why 260 years later French remains the most commonly spoken language in the province of Quebec.
Undeterred by the weather and with umbrellas ready we were off quickly and on our way. Our first task was to scout out the train station. We'd be spending the night on the ship and then catching a very early (5:25 AM) train to Montreal on Friday morning. We discovered it was only about a ten minute walk from the cruise terminal and although we weren't planning on walking we were pleased that it was close and would allow us to catch a couple of extra minutes of sleep.
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| Quebec City Train Station |
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| There was plenty of water flowing from this fountain in front of the train station |
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| The biggest ball of bricks we had ever laid our eyes on! |
We then made our way up a short but fairly steep road to the upper section of the old city. Many of the narrow streets in this area remain cobblestone. At this time of year planters and flower boxes can be found along all the streets and below many windows. They're all full of colorful flowers enjoying the pleasant temperatures of the Canadian summer. In this area you can also find the old cathedral, the Royal Palace, numerous small parks and the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac Hotel which towers over all the buildings. If eating and shopping are your thing, you're sure to find what you're looking for along Saint Jean Avenue.
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| If you look closely, this tricycle is made out of candy |
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| Saint Jean Avenue on a soggy morning |
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| American General Consulate Office |
After exploring the upper section of the old city and the impressive boardwalk that overlooks the river and lower section of the old city it was time for lunch. I had read on Trip Advisor that one of the top rated restaurants (Bachir) in the city was within easy walking distance. It was a Mediterranean restaurant which is one of my favorite types of food. It was also listed as a "cheap eat", which made it even more desirable. The walk took us out of the old city, past the very impressive National Assembly building. This building has numerous statues in the façade honoring those who played key roles in Canada and Quebec's history. The building is called a "National Assembly" because it refers to the province of Quebec as a nation within the country of Canada. Our food quest then took us along the "Grand Allee". This is a really nice tree lined street with a mix of shops, restaurants and private residences on each side.
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| National Assembly Building |
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| Grande Allee, at the beginning it is mostly commercial...……. |
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| it then becomes residential |
Even with the umbrellas we had to seek shelter a couple of times for brief but somewhat heavy downpours. Once we reached the restaurant, the food and the friendly service lived up to it's well earned reputation. The nice gentleman that seemed to be the owner even offered us a couple of complimentary pieces of delicious baklava as we said goodbye.
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| Found it! |
By the time we finished eating it was mid-afternoon and while it was still overcast, the skies looked a little friendlier. We were able to put away the well used umbrellas for the rest of the day for the walk back towards the ship. Although the umbrellas were a little worn by now, we had saved a little money on sunscreen for the day.
Our walk back was along a different route and very slow thanks to the numerous benches that just seemed to call our names. Cartier Avenue, with its huge street lamps was quite a site, even in the daytime. The Parc des Champs-de Bataille where the Battle of the Plains of Abraham took place is full of trees, playgrounds, soccer fields, flower gardens and several museums which hopefully we can visit sometime in the future.
There is a smaller but equally scenic boardwalk (Promenade de Gouverneurs) that connects the park to the old city. It passes between the huge Citadel (fort) and the river. The Citadel was built in the late 1600's and actually remains an active military base today.
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| Cartier Avenue |
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| Parc des Champs-de Bataille |
Once back in the city we roamed a bit around the smaller but really nice lower section of the old city. For pedestrians the lower and upper sections are connected by stairs and a funicular. There is a small fee to ride the funicular which we would have gladly paid if we were going from the lower to the upper section, but going down the stairs was easy.
The lower section is the oldest section of the city. We overheard a walking tour guide telling his group that it was slated to be demolished back in the 1960's, but thankfully it was spared the wrecking ball. Today it is a bustling and scenic part of this amazing city. Below are some pictures from the lower section of the old city:
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| If you see Mary's Popcorn Boutique don't pass it by without stopping. |
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| The narrow streets made it seem quite busy in some places...….. |
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| and not so busy in others! |
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| The funicular that connects the lower and upper sections |
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| Although it's the middle of summer this snow globe was on display. Quebec City is famous for it's winter lights and ice displays. |
As we headed back to the ship we had somewhat good intentions of going back out in the evening but our feet and legs told us that was enough for one day. Besides, we had an early train to catch to Montreal the next morning!
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| Thankfully they never started firing at the Caribbean Princess! |
