Hotel Royal William 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 Citadel, a fortified military base that is still in use today. We venture into the Chateau Frontenac overlooking the harbour and there at the dock is our ship. We brave the cold as long as we dare and decide to end the tour and board our ship early.

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.

... church, which could easily accommodate several thousand souls, had about twenty people participating in the mass which was being celebrated by an Asian priest, there apparently being very few French ones in the trade any more.

From there we went to the Old Walled City, the only walled city in north America we are told, and we had a grand time watching as Malcolm, doing his best imitation of a Quebecoise driver, rocketed through red stop-lights like a pro ...

... back to the Hotel for an early night.

Thanks to quite a bit of snoring, I don't think we all had much sleep though!! :p

Got up pretty early the next day to head further north to Tadoussac, to get the chance to do some whale watching in the Gulf of St.Lawrence. Got there at mid day, another fairly good drive, and got geared up to jump on a Zodiac.
Another perfect day, and we saw 4 different sorts! So that was pretty ...

... I rejoined Jen a short while later and we headed back to the van. Jen had to walk her travel chair down the steep slope (something for her to hang onto as she did not have her cane) and I hung on to her! We both decided that next time we visit, we'll bring Jen's big wheelchair that has more "oomph" and stability to negotiate the uneven pavement and steep and hilly terrain. We took a drive through the lower old town and took some more pictures. Then we ...

... a warming Minestrone soup, a simple Caesar salad, a hearty pasta dish, fresh fruit salad, cookies and copious coffee, served cheerily by the school’s catering team who had given up their weekend for us. The only thing missing was a glass or two of wine, but that was an oversight on my part as I noticed, enviously, that the next table had brought their own. Never mind, a good feed was just the thing to set me up for a brief return visit to Chez Jim’s and the short ...

... don't know French. However, we still saw all the highlights and learned a lot of history. The afternoon tour was amazing. It was only in English, which helped, and our guide was fabulous. We drove to a copper working factory, the St. Anne Beaupry church, and then to the Moremency Falls, taking the first real road in Canada. I'm not sure paving improved it much...the wheels in the bus were going up and ...

... songs from their new album that will be out soon and some of their old ones. I have only heard 'hey there delilah' and didn't think they were that good, but their concert was really enjoyable. I also had to restrain myself from buying yet another T'shirt in the same night - because the Plain White Ts t-shirts were (ironically) beautifully decorated and bright yellow. We even managed to get the right bus on time and got back before the curfew, a great success!

... même ! Revenu chez ma mère, je range tout dans le Sebring, direction chez mon père à Charlesbourg. Soirée tranquille, avec quelques chats, deux ou trois bières, et les légendaires hamburgers sur barbecue de mon père. Miam ! La journée se termine avec un email envoyé à Pierre-Luc, pour l'informer des développements, plus tôt et plus importants que prévus sur notre projet de voyage, et plus précisément sur l'achat de nos billets d'avion, l'étape ultime avant la grande attente !