Quebec City
Trip Start
Sep 03, 2007
1
7
220
Trip End
Jun 17, 2009
Quebec City,
Quebec,
Canada
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Quebec City is the second largest french speaking city in the world after Paris, so this was going to be some "O level" french brushing up session. A walk the next morning showed a very old walled city right on the shore of the St Lawrence river and it was easy to see the strategic importance of it. We walked all the way round the walls and at one point came to the Heights and Plains of Abraham. This is where General Wolfe, in 1759, climbed the cliffs of the Heights overnight and battled with the French forces to take the city
St Lawrence river
. This then set the path that developed Canada's future. We heard the story often during our stay and I'm not sure if the french speakers see it as a development of Canada or whether they have not forgiven us for it yet ! We stayed at a small hotel, just outside the city walls, which had been modernised in a way that blended in with the old surroundings. Since going anywhere in the old city involved serious hill walking, we found it an ideal location. The inside of the old city was very touristy with an abundance of tourist shops and all the restaurants feeling that they had to provide typical "french" meals and charging the rates to match. It was sadly very much a take it or leave it attitude. The shops and restaurants outside the walls were much more friendly and had a better choice of meals with typical Quebec cuisine being bean and pork type stews and a delicious pork plate pie, as well as your normal steaks, pizzas, pastas, etc.. The diet has got no chance!!
There was a typical dish called "potchin" - well, someone had to try it!! It is chips, topped with cheese curd and covered in gravy. Mine came with a spicy sausage. As Crocodile Dundee said, " well you can live on it but................!!!!!! "
I did find a half decent beer called "Belle Guelle"
St Lawrence seaway
. On the last day, a Friday, we were walking back through the old town and they had bloked off one of the main streets and in a large square at the top of it they had grass turfed the whole area and put food and drink stalls and tables and chairs out. There were street entertainers and the whole event was to show the citizens what the streets could be like if they could reduce car traffic.Dozens of people were sat out at rush hour time and there was agreat atmosphere. I wonder if Manchester would close Deansgate when they get the congestion charging in? Just a thought !!!!!! The Canadian people all over think a lot about the city of Quebec because it is so old - it celebrates its 400th year in 2008 and there was a comfortable feel about the town.
