Old Quebec- Europe in America

Old Quebec is truly the most stunning city in America from a charm point of view! (if you think you saw this post already, you did. But it was cut off about a third of the way down so I redid it and am reposting it correctly).

It has been on our list for several years and as we would be so close on this trip we decided to add it in. We could have traveled by boat but it would have added another 6 hours of cruising time up and again back on the St. Lawrence river so we decided to leave our boat at the marina and drive a rental car there in just a bit over 2 hours. We stayed 3 nights.

Waiting to be seated for lunch just an hour after we arrive in the city and who do we meet up with but loopers Aubrey & Terry of Shore Billy who we docked with in Chambly. And this city is packed with tourists. We had a very nice lunch together at a restaurant noted for it’s rabbit dishes which Jim tried and liked.

We had an interesting tour of the Chateau Frontenac. The Roses Room is where President Roosevelt, British PM Churchill and Canadian PM Mackenzie King discussed invasion plans for Europe. Supposedly some important plans were left behind which a bell boy found and delivered to the appropriate persons. The military put a tail on him to be certain he didn’t pass on any secrets! All sorts of famous people stayed here and parts of many movies including Alfred Hitchcock’s I Confess. The inside is beautiful although not quite as unique as the exterior.

There is great ‘street art’ in this city, some permanent and others part of a temporary display. They are out in the open but a bit obscure. You need to look around you to find them when you see the yellow ‘Passages Insolites/Unusual Passages’ sign. It added a unique touch to our wandering.

And how about this bathroom in a restaurant? The ceiling and walls are covered in graffiti, I couldn’t find the door to the stall!

Notre Dame Cathedral, the Joan of Arc Gardens and a visit to Montmorency Falls rounded out our touring. We had a very fine ‘tasting menu’ dinner at Chez Rioux & Pettigrew. The couple at the next table were celebrating their 45th Anniversary, we congratulated them and told them our 46th is in three weeks. We shared a good bit of conversation and laughs the rest of the night.

On our ride back to Irish Eyes we stopped at the ‘Ecological Parc of Anse du Port. A well maintained boardwalk trail and wide marshlands were a very pleasant change from our 3 city days. This chickadee took a special liking to Jim.