Chantal kept us on our toes today by scheduling the lecture to start at 8:00 rather than the normal 8:30 so we had to get up earlier! Marie concluded her lectures with one called “Then and Now”, covering some interesting facts about Quebec history and culture.
A lecture about the old and the new.
Catholicism was/is big in Quebec.
The French feel they are the dominant force in Canada.
The movement to secede from Canada has been fairly quiet since 1995 but it is still an issue in Quebec!
Measuring the happiness of people.
Quebec ranks high!
Our field trip today was to the famous Montmorency Falls, located about 12 km north of the city. What makes them somewhat famous is that they are actually higher than the more well known Canadian waterfall – Niagara Falls. Upon arrival at the falls parking lot we were met by a charming young lady dressed in period costume who proceeded to lead us on a guided tour of the falls area and regaled us with stories about the history of the area and some of the eccentric people who have lived here.
Montmorency Falls, located about 12 km from Quebec City.
When we got off the bus we were met by this charming docent, dressed in period dress. She led us on a tour of the area.
Montmorency falls. The waterfalls are 83 m (272′) tall, a full 30 m (99′) higher than Niagara Falls
The falls are on the Montmorency River as it empties into the St. Lawrence River. Note the suspension bridge across the falls; we will be going there.
Our docent explaining the history of the area.
Viewpoint below the falls. It is October and it was still very warm.
Solid rock wall on the north side of the falls.
The gondola that takes us to the top of the falls.
Riding the gondola to the top of the falls.
I cannot imagine what the falls look like during the spring run-off.
That would be quite a stair climb!
Another costumed character from the past greeting visitors.
Preschoolers on a field trip.
The suspension bridge we walked on. It was more stable than I expected.
View of the St. Lawrence River from the suspension bridge.
Note the abandoned boat caught in the edge of the falls.
Crazy number of stairs if you wanted to get down to the river below the falls.
Zip line! Had I had the time I think I would have tried it!
We walked down/back up 99 steps to get to this viewing deck.
Fall colors in all their glory. Lots of reds because of the maple trees.
October is a great time to visit Quebec.
Fountain outside what was once a thriving hotel at the top of the falls.
Once we finished the tour of Montmorency Falls we knew that lunch was on our own and we had the rest of the day to do what we wished. Not one to sit around I had found an afternoon 1.5 hour boat ride on the St. Lawrence River which would give us an opportunity to see Quebec City from the water and some of the surrounding area. Rather than being taken back to the hotel we asked to be dropped off in the lower town as that is where the river cruise landing was located. As we worked our way toward the boat pier we kept our eyes open for a likely place to grab lunch and ultimately picked a promising looking pizza parlor with outdoor tables, most of which were occupied, so we thought it must be good. As it turned out it was excellent and we had a leisurely lunch before working our way to the boat landing for our 2PM departure.
Pizza parlor in lower town with outdoor seating.
Grabbing a bite before our afternoon boat ride.
Margherita pizza with burrata cheese!
An ice cream shop in Lower town.
At last….an ice cream shop.
Our narrator telling us what we are seeing on our 1.5 hour river boat ride.
Watching the world go by as we cruise the St. Lawrence River.
A Princess ship was also in port today.
Views of old Quebec from the water. It was well positioned to be protected from invasion.
The Queen Mary 2 was in port today.
Chateau Frontenac as seen from the water.
A naval shipyard where a new naval ship is being fabricated in secrecy.
A view of the pastoral island of d’Orleans, located in the middle of the St. Lawrence River. In hind sight a visit to the island might have been better than the boat trip.
Montmorency Falls as seen from the St. Lawrence River.
Quebec is a major shipping port of grain. Grain comes by rail from western Canada and stored in these 600 grain silos before being shipped to Europe.
In my opinion the trip was a bit of a disappointment as I thought we would go further and see more than we did. The highlight was maneuvering past the docked Queen Mary 2 located right next to our boat!
I knew we were on our own for dinner this evening and so months before we arrived I searched for a noteworthy restaurant to try while in the city. One that appeared with very high ratings was called “Le Continental” and I managed to snag dinner reservations for the 4 of us, but at 6 PM because that was all that was available, months earlier! It turned out to be an excellent choice. The restaurant is definitely an”old school, traditional French ” restaurant. Tuxedoed waiters, lots of wood and candles, table cloths and fine china. An added touch that I was not aware of was that most of the cooking is done table-side so there was entertainment as we dined! And the best news was that they knew how to really make a marvelous Manhattan which pleased all of us! Gerry and Sue treated us to the marvelous dinner here in honor of our 60th wedding anniversary we had celebrated in June.
The city is getting ready for autumn.
Québec’s oldest gourmet restaurant, located in a house built in 1845 by the Honourable Jean-Thomas Taschereau, justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
My guess is this was the original owner of the building, Honourable Jean-Thomas Taschereau, justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Our leather bound menus. Choice of dishes was hard!
Definitely an old school ambiance.
Old school atmosphere- lots of wood, and candles.
Finally a Manhattan worthy of its name!
Gerry and Sue are experts on the subject of Manhattans! They liked these!
Most dishes are prepared table side. This is our Caesar salad being prepared.
An outstanding Caesar salad.
Filet Mignon big enough to feed a family of 4!
Finishing Gerry & Sue’s filet! It was done perfectly says Sue.
Scallops to die for!
The 4 of us on an evening on the town.
Quiet streets at 8:30 PM.
It was another busy walking day as we logged 11,318 steps for the day.
