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Chateau Frontenac majestically situated above
the port and the Lower Town |
After two days at sea, our cruise ship chugged down the
Saint-Lawrence Seaway into the downtown port at Quebec City, ready for an overnight
stop there, and the end of the cruise for us. We had plans to stay an
additional couple days, as we knew so little about this city. Those of you who
know us, know that we’ve spent a lot of time in France, touring around over the
years, and studying the language. That made Quebec City an obvious place to
vacation. So let’s explore!
Our weather karma finally gave out; Quebec City was cold
and raining with a bitter wind that roared down the St. Lawrence River. We saw plenty
of umbrellas flipped inside out, and tourists huddled in doorways trying to get
out of the wind. At one point, the rain even changed over to a very heavy
sleet, but it only lasted a few minutes. However none of this could detract
from the beauty of this elegant and romantic French city.
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Anne and Serge on Place Royale
in the Lower Town of Quebec City |
Lower
Town
We began our explorations with a private tour of the
Lower Town, following our tour guide Serge Perron on foot thru the wet streets around
the area near the port where our Caribbean Princess was docked. Quebec City is quite old as North America
goes; it was founded by Samuel de Champlain in 1608, just one year after our
own 1st city of Jamestown (1607) was established. The Lower Town was
once the “Wall Street” of Quebec with many former bank buildings and the Place
Royale, a pretty little square built as a tribute to King Louis XIV.
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| Shopping street in the Lower Town |
The whole
area was filled with shops and restaurants, which like the Place Royale, had been
refurbished a few times thru the years.
So what we saw was not exactly original (although it looked terrific),
but a rendition that closely emulated the past.
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| History of Quebec mural |
We also saw an impressive, multi-story mural covering
highlights of the history of Quebec. It’s embarrassing how little we know about
Canada (they, of course, know all about us).
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| Chateau Frontenac |
Intro
to the Upper Town
Because of the inclement weather, Serge finished our
walking tour with a drive up to the Upper Town (aka Old Town) which sits on a
300 foot cliff. He helped us to get our bearings in this new place and drove us
past one of the main attractions here in Quebec City: the Chateau Frontenac, a
huge bastion of a hotel that sits at the highest point of the city. It can be
seen from virtually anywhere in Quebec City, as it protrudes above the cliffs
that create the “upper city.” This
behemoth has 618 hotel rooms on 18 floors, and opened its doors in 1893. It is the most photographed hotel in the
world! Our Hotel Clarendon, built in 1870, is located right in the historic Old
Town about a block from the Chateau Frontenac (a 2-minute walk) and is the
oldest continuously-operating hotel in the city.
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Unique Quebecois fortified wine
called Caribou |
Foodie
Tour
We always love the curious and different indigenous foods
of places we visit, so it was necessary for us to investigate the “Quebec-ie” foods
by taking a local food tour. Our foodie tour thru Quebec City was led by a spry,
mouse-like 60-year-old guide named Judith who showed us some of the hot eating
spots around town. We sampled smoked salmon topped with the ubiquitous Canadian
maple syrup, buckwheat crepes, choco (!), and some of Quebec’s white wines. We also
tasted two of Quebec’s most unusual products: caribou (a fortified wine that
used to be made with caribou blood), and poutine (a Quebecois fast food).
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| Maple syrup tasting |
We even had a maple syrup tasting where we sampled the
three types of maple syrup: early, middle, and late (based on the timing of the
tapping). We tasted maple sugar in a variety of formats – maple syrup mixed
with honey, maple syrup tea, locally grown cranberries (laced with maple
syrup), and maple syrup candies. Maple syrup, as you may have guessed, is quite
the big industry in Canada. In fact, Canada produces 71% of the world's pure maple syrup; 91% of which is produced in Quebec. All the Quebecois maple syrup we tasted was, in our opinion, a
cut above anything you can find in the USA!
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| Poutine, a favorite fast food in Quebec |
We walked outside the walled city thru the St. John Gate
where our group ducked into a snack bar. At various times, the rain was pelting
our group of about 15 people with vicious force. We often found ourselves
ducking under eaves, archways, and soffits along the way until the rain
periodically eased up.
Our tour leader Judith brought us to this snack bar for
the best poutine in the city. We have never eaten this or even heard of it
before but were anxious to dig in and try some. It’s actually a simple fast food
amounting to a small paper tray of French fries, covered with fresh cheese curd
chunks, beef gravy, and a few spices (maybe some chives, salt, and pepper). A
new and delicious way to serve & enjoy fries!
At the Le Moine Echanson Restaurant, Judith got the group
some white organic Canadian wine and a piece of dough that resembled a fritter;
it appeared to have been browned in hot oil. Very tasty, much like a doughnut flavor.
And at La Billig Restaurant, we tasted a buckwheat ham and cheese pancake, served
with a delicious glass of 5% alcohol cider. A perfect combination!
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| Yummy chocolates! |
And finally, at the Enrico Chocolaterie, we sampled a
couple of their fancy chocolate niblets, several of which contained maple
sugar. Naturally, we had to buy a few expensive chocolate bars to bring home. We
always find these foodie tours fun and entertaining and replete with cultural
info that surfaces as a result of the foods we sample, the people we meet, and
questions we ask and have answered.
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| Powerful Montmorency Waterfalls |
Montmorency
Falls and L’IIe D’Orleans
The following day, we took a tour outside Quebec City
with a French guide named Gaston, who was a pleasant, prompt, proper & courteous
60-ish looking gent who spoke impeccable English, and who had lived for 18
years in Australia. Gaston and his wife
returned to Quebec City because they like the cold weather better than the heat
of Oz.
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| Braving the Montmorency Falls |
Gaston loaded us into his White Honda SUV, and we made
our way outside the city to see the famous Montmorency Waterfalls in “Parc de
la Chute Montmorency.” It was raining quite hard at times, and a fine mist was
rising off the churning falls and the river below. Water particles belched
upward and swirled about, and everything for several hundred yards was
completely wetted; it was difficult to even keep our cameras dry!
We hustled along the manmade boardwalk in the front of
the falls, getting a good gander (albeit a wet one!) at the raging falls. The
falls are higher than Niagara Falls, but not as wide. Very impressive! As we
moved ever closer to the falls from the sidelines, we made the decision to
return to the welcome center to dry off and warm up a little. The falls were
very intense and quite scenic, but we were cold and wet, and we were ready to
call it a done deal!
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Typical French farmhouse on L'Ile D'Orleans
with St. Lawrence Estuary in the background |
Gaston took us over a connecting bridge to “L’Ile
D’Orleans” (The Island of Orleans) which is an unspoiled island sitting in the
middle of the Saint Lawrence River about 3 miles east of downtown Quebec City.
The little island is 21 miles long and about 5 miles wide at its widest point,
and it feels like a world apart from the rest of Quebec.
L’Ile D’Orleans attracts tourists like us because of its
rural natural beauty and its renowned local farming produce, such as apples,
strawberries, potatoes, and maple syrup. Numerous bed-and-breakfasts and inns, regional cuisine restaurants, roadside fruit stands, art galleries and craft shops attract some 600,000 visitors every year.
We found it interesting that many of the farm buildings on L'Ile D'Orleans have a round footprint. Why? Seems that the French here are a bit superstitious and believe that the devil hides in the corners. So they outsmart the devil with round buildings! Haaa!
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Driving the rural Chemin Royal
(circle road around L'Ile D'Orleans)
|
We drove the only main road on the island, the circle road also called the "Chemin Royal," which curves around the island for the approximate 50-mile circumference. Along the way, we stopped at a small chocolate shop, a maple syrup-producing facility, a cidery and just enjoyed the views of the fab isolated scenery. There are no stores here. No shopping facilities. No hospitals, or doctors, or schools. You are totally on your own. Quebec City seems close, but with traffic, it takes about 1 1/2 hours to reach. Many rugged people live here, relying solely on themselves and their own resources for survival.
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| Tapping sugar maple for maple syrup |
We especially enjoyed the maple syrup production place, called the "Sugar Shack." We got an interesting tutorial and tour on how to make maple syrup. We learned that the sugar maple tree must be at least 50 years old to tap the sap. Lisa, our Sugar Shack guide, told us that freshly-tapped maple syrup is called "maple water" and must be heated for long periods of time to evaporate some of the water and create the syrup. After her rendition of the work needed to get a gallon of maple syrup, we concluded that obtaining maple syrup is one of the more time-intensive jobs here in Canada. No wonder maple syrup cost so darn much! But, it tasted sooooo good here in a land where it is freshly made. Wish we could get some like this back home.
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| Rolling maple syrup on snow |
We also got to roll maple syrup on a popsicle stick after it was cooled in a tray of snow. A fun way to enjoy maple syrup!
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| Pouring cider at Domaine Steinbach |
The Cidery called Domaine Steinbach was another great place to visit. They gave us several tastings of various ciders, some of which were spiked at 11% to 19% alcohol. We never knew that cider was converted to spirits anywhere! The Cidery also offered an incredible number of other products to sample: mustards, salsas, confitures (jams), teas, and much more were available in addition to the cider itself. We had so many tastings of all those things, we called it lunch!
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| Frank imitates Bacchus at a winery on L'Ile De Orleans |
With surrounding views of the changing St. Lawrence River Estuary, we were inundated with bucolic beauty everywhere. We thought what it might be like to live like this, close to nature, totally autonomous, and without the amenities that we find so comforting and readily accessible in our life back in Pennsylvania. No, we concluded; in the end, this life is for the young and tough. Not the old and feeble like us!
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| Aux Anciens Canadiens |
Around Old Town
Back in Old Town, we ate dinner at a restaurant recommended by Gaston called "Aux Anciens Canadiens." Great place situated in the oldest house in Quebec City and specializing in authentic Quebecois cuisine.
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Eating like the Quebecois in Old Town at
the Aux Anciens Canadiens
|
We ate a marvelous multi-course meal featuring local meats like red deer and elk, swigged some local beer, and topped it all off with creamy Maple Syrup Pie which was simply out of this world. Just writing about it is making us salivate!
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Another view of the lovely fortress-like
Chateau Frontenac
|
We spent our last day wandering around the charming Old Town, doing some souvenir shopping, and taking a walk on the walls that surround the city.
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| Kangaroo stew! |
We were lucky enough to stumble on a quintessential French cafe called Le Petite Coin Latin. Cute French decor, a sweet little old French waiter, Edith Piaf singing in the background, and wonderful food. Anne was in heaven! She was so enamored with the place; she momentarily lost her mind and ordered a stew made with kangaroo meat (where do you get that in Canada?) These Canadians sure like unusual meats. Anyway, it tasted great and marked the first time we have ever eaten kangaroo!
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Look at the 3-gun fire power on
this multiple camera-toting tourist
|
We had a very unusual experience when three Asian (probably Chinese) tourists approached us on the street and began babbling something about camera. Frank thought they wanted him to take their picture, but they wanted a picture with US! Of course, we agreed, but it was so weird. The one guy had three super expensive cameras hanging around his neck, and he especially wanted a shot of Frank thoughtfully rubbing his beard. (To clarify: Frank rubbing his own beard -- not Frank rubbing the Asian guy's beard lol). Frank was happy to comply, and it turned out to be a great photo. Who knows what billboard in Beijing Frank's face may appear on?
More pics:
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Anne sucks on maple syrup taffy rolled in snow
at The Sugar Shack |
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| Anne and our tour guide Gaston at the Sugar Shack |
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Admiring the grapes at winery on
L'Ile D'Orleans (St Lawrence Estuary in backdrop) |
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| Fountain in the center of Old Town in Quebec City |
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St. John's Gate in the ancient city walls
of Quebec City |
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| Here's to another successful travel adventure! |
