Day 4 - Seeing Quebec City

A brisk morning greeted us as we grabbed the Hop-on, Hop-off bus in Place de Armes, in front of the Frontenac Chateau (our hotel). We jumped on the first circuit of the day and shared the upper deck with one other couple. It was sunny but chilly – in the low 50s. The tour took us through the Old Port and past the Museum of Civilization below the high cliffs that channel the St Lawrence through it narrow defile at this point. The 300-foot cliffs and narrow stretch is why Samuel de Champlain (in 1608) chose this location for the site of the fortification that eventually became Quebec (and, in particular, the Frontenac Chateau). The city name is a bastardization of the Algonquin phrase “where the river narrows.”

The bus took us back into the Old Port and around the walled city. Quebec is the only city in North America that is still enclosed by its original walls. The tour led past the city hall and various churches and up to the Plains of Abraham on the bluff overlooking the river. The Plains (also called the Battlefield Plains) was the site of the most decisive battle in North America. In 1759, the British attacked the French on these fields and soundly defeated them to end France’s dream of a colony in the new world. The tour continued back through parts of the city and past the parliament building and grand fountain. It was cold on the upper deck, even with a bit of extra clothing and we were glad to return to the start after an entraining ride.

Marie had struck up a conversation with the other couple on the deck and gotten breakfast and dinner suggestions from them. We walked up St Louis street to the yellow-awning’ed L’Omelet, a small cheery place where we had a standard breakfast in a low-key setting. After breakfast we started exploring on foot, visiting several places we’d passed on the bus tour. A cruise ship had docked at the port overnight (we’d seen hotel patrons rolling their suitcases down to board) and dumped a couple thousand people onto the streets as the day went on. It was crowded in the Old Port and through the walled city. Gail and Marie walked the shopping district in Old Port while Bruce headed to more open spaces. Strolling through downtown, Gail especially like the “umbrella street.” She and Marie walked around and took the funicular up to the plaza and terrace overlooking the river. Marie struck ff walking while Gail did people-watching and listening to the street musicians on the terrace. Bruce walked up the Cap Diamant (the high point on which is situated the military citadel and the Plains of Abraham. He strolled back into the city by the parliament building and down St Louis street to join Gail on the terrace. We went back to the room to freshen up and change then met Marie to walk up the same St Louis street to the restaurant where we’d made reservations earlier. The Sagamite restaurant (a recommendation from the couple on the bus) specializes in indigenous cuisine. We ordered an indigenous vineyards malbec wine to start. The waitress was proud to explain the choices on the menu and we opted for the piece de resistance: the flamed-at-the-table skewer of bison, elk, and deer. We proceeded that with a cold-smoked trout appetizer that was delicious. The meat came on a teepee-like iron skewer that the staff poured whiskey over and set on fire. When that died down, we dug in. The meal came with a few vegetables and several sauces. The meat was excellent! Tender and tasty and thoroughly enjoyable. Back to the hotel to wind down and eventually call it a night.Read more