Auberge Maison Roy Quebec City

There was little life on the empty streets of the Old Town which became old probably hundreds of years ago and never came back to life again. Sleepy cafes with strangely impotent coffee, bored prostitute on the stairs of the Museum of American Civilization, an ice rink with cheerful French music from municipal loud speakers but few skaters around - hardly a better place to spend another hundred years in lethargic oblivion.

The stories of Quebec City being a piece of Europe located right here in Canada are so true. The buildings, the streets and the shops are intriguing and offer much to explore. We board a free electric shuttle that motors all through old Quebec. We venture ...

We depart mid afternoon to Toronto and catch a delayed connection to Quebec City to arrive very late Thursday evening. Our stay is at a the Hotel Chateau Laurier, a mid range full service hotel adjacent to the Military Armoury. The room is small but the price is just right. There is a St Hubert Chicken in the Hotel - this place also serves breakfast.

... a stunning piece of architecture with great vaulted ceilings and a myriad of little and not-so-little chapels tucked into every corner. Great pillars at the rear of the sanctuary were festooned with crutches and canes and the like for which the faithful had no further use. As luck would have it a Mass began shortly after we entered and it was quite moving to hear the mighty organ booming and a very capable cantor singing the verses. It was also sad, however, because ...

... swear there was elbow room only in
many parts of the street and outside out hotel it was empty and
peaceful. Quebec City was almost full as it is summer (so they say
but everyone is complaining about the lack of summer), it is also the
start of the 'construction holidays' where all workers take off the
last two weeks in July – a very handy tip to miss this if coming to
Quebec in July. And finally is a huge music festival with Sting ...

... seasoned participants had inflatable mattresses, pillows, a couple of people had folding camping wardrobes and one enterprising guy had even packed a small blow-heater in preparation for drying his damp gear.

This was to be our first experience of the inclusiveness and camaraderie of the event. One of Marina's room mates, another first-timer, had only brought a sleeping bag. On noticing this one of the old-hands, who had come with a sleeping mat and an inflatable ...

... notre premier baiser Ensemble, ils ont pris un appartement Où ils vécurent au gré du temps Une vie avec des lunettes roses Exempte de journées moroses Mais le poids du quotidien, ce p'tit diable malin, Vient s'installer un beau matin Les coeurs qui furent si légers hier Retombent les deux pieds sur terre "Oh, qu'il est triste le sort des amoureux !" Qu'on se dit au bout de quelques années Car on commence toujours à se dire adieu Dès ...

... back was quite entertaining, we sung all sorts of songs and listened to French radio again. We stopped at MacDonald's for tea, I think that the only difference between english MacDo's and Canadian ones is the fact that they sell Poutine in the Canadian MacDonald's. I'm not entirely sure on this though, because it has actually been years since I last stepped inside a MacDonald's. We were quite late back, so we just went straight up to bed, to sleep again!

... and she also made us laugh; when we mentioned going to Berlin she said 'what - Hitler Berlin?' in a shocked way! It's strange the differences between Canada and England, Heather was quite shocked that we didn't know about lots of different things that we don't have in England. Unfortunately on thing that I have discovered that Canada and England have in common is that they are both BN free countries!! Ah well! Also, an interesting linguistic difference! : the ...

... une des raisons), mais les Chutes Montmorency, situées à environ 10-15 minutes de Québec, sont... fermées. Oui, fermées ! Une barrière empêche mon fidèle Sebring de ruer dans les brancards du stationnement. Qu'à cela ne tienne, je vais à l'Île d'Orléans juste à côté, mais un peu par dépit. Grand bien m'en fasse, pourtant : aussitôt passé le pont de l'Île, qui me mène tout de go vers l'un des premiers points de peuplement ...