Thursday July 20 – Quebec City

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!! Hope it was a good day! J

The day dawned dull with low cloud.

The entrance to the hotel was under this archway and up on the left where the car is. A fancy hotel!

A promotion shot of our hotel, Fairmont Chateau Frontenac

Today was Scenic Free Choice day, and we had chosen the walking tour with Margarette – six of us in total (most took a helicopter ride over the city and the cloud wasn’t too low). We went into the old part of town, hearing about the history of some of the buildings, and some very poignant stories. There’s a festival of tall ships – 38 of them – so we went to look at one (the rest we could do later after the tour).

The carvings represent the history - roses for England, fleur-de-li for France, etc.

Oldest building in Quebec

Lots of these giving rides to tourists and locals alike

The 'half' means the apartment (of 1,2, or 3 bedrooms) has both a bathroom and a kitchen!

View down to the wharf area

Canadians have lots of snow, so when summer comes they have outdoor spaces in all sorts of areas so they can enjoy the warmth and sun.

(even little spaces!)

a historic square

Post box

This crashed 'paper plane' art installation was just sitting by the road - perfect for those wanting a photo

3D mural on the wall - needs a double-take to realise it is only a painting

The shore-line was extended many times over the centuries as land was reclaimed back from the sea. These series of wavy lines, and corresponding signs, tells us when and where the shore used to be.

an art installation, made out of old plastic posters

one of the 38 tall ships

Margarette saw this truck near the hotel unloading lots of shaped timber slats, to made sleds. There is a century-old (and still in use) steep wooden sled slide at the end of the boardwalk next to the hotel. She said 'oh, this isn't a good sign', meaning that summer has a limited time to go before cooler weather comes again

This is what the timber slats will make in the coming weeks, ready for the winter

This we did indeed do, after a lunch of shared chicken and veg panini and lemon poppy seed cake in the shade. There were lots of people around, many going onto the tall ships. Only one of the ships was a four-masted square rigger, the rest three- and two-masted. By now the sun was out and the day quite hot.

First Nation musicians - great music, and the girl on the end danced as well

On our way back we saw many people lining the street, and although we didn’t know why they were there, we joined in too! It was for a parade, firstly a navy defence band, and two other bands spread through the parade, and the rest of the parade was some defence folk (cadets mostly) and then the crews of the tall ships. We were hot and bothered so found a shop that sold ice cream, and sat down in the shade for a while.

another 3D mural

Circ du Soleil has its headquarrers and training school in Quebec so in the summer the students perform in various places around the city

We walked a few old streets lined with little exclusive shops souvenir shops (where we did a little shopping) and waited in the queue to get on the funiculaire (cable car) to get back up the cliff to the hotel above. Here we went into the archaeological crypt under the boardwalk, Dufferin (pronounced Dufferon) Terrace, next to the hotel. This was the site of the governors’ château, Château St Louis, gradually being extended with each governor. It was the official residence and seat of power of governors from 1620 to 1834. In 1834 it burnt down, was raised to the ground and a boardwalk built over it where it remained hidden and forgotten until repair work was done on the wall around the city I 2005, when it was discovered. Among other things, the digs revealed an impressive number of objects that bear witness to the daily lives of the governors and their immediate court, from the occupation by Samuel de Champlain and his men in 1620, until the Château Saint-Louis burned in 1834 (Parks Canada). The remains are under the current boardwalk and you can ago into it to look around – free this year, Canada’s official 150^th anniversary. It is well-signed and with displays of many of the objects found. More objects are displayed in the hotel foyer area.

The 'skylight' (three of them along the boardwalk) has a large glass enclosure over the top for people above to look down at parts of the remains.

Both photos courtesy Parks Canada

By now we were tired and hot so came back to the room to rest and cool down. We ventured out only to get dinner, at a little restaurant. We sat outside. Many, many people out and about, especially now that it’s evening and much cooler. Canadians like to enjoy the sun and warmth when they have it. They have many months of short days and lots of snow!