No lecture today; we are headed out for another walking tour with a visit to the Morrin Cultural Centre, followed by visiting the Dufferin Terrace, the site of old Chateau Saint Louis.
The Morrin Centre was actually a prison in the early days of the city and the site of many hangings on its front steps! We were again met by a local docent dressed in periodic costume, a very nice touch. What made her more intriguing is her ability to provide the history with voices that mimic the character she was trying to portray. She was an excellent and entertaining actress! The visit included a visit to the jail cells located in the lower level of the building. It was a jail from 1808 to 1867. In 1868 it became Morrin College, the first English speaking college in Quebec. That lasted until 1902. Since 1868 the building also became a cultural center which contains the private English-language library of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec (LHSQ). Founded in 1824, the LHSQ is the oldest existing learned society in Canada. Its history is linked to the intellectual development of Quebec and Canada.
Chantal always carried a pinwheel to use as a guide for us to follow!
Another example of street art in Quebec City.
Entrance to the Morrin Centre.
Local color.
The Morrin cultural Centre, once an infamous prison. It was built in 1808.
Chantal taking a group picture of us at the Morrin Centre.
Group photo in front of the Morrin Centre.
Our docent at the Morrin Centre who had an amazing ability to use different voices as she told stories about the history of the center.
Our docent explaining the early history of the Morrin Centre when it was a prison.
Original 18th century staircases. They don’t make them like that anymore.
Lecture hall used when the building was Morrin College in the mid-19th century.
An area once used as a chemistry lab.
The chemical periodic table in the 19th century.
Innovative lights that were designed to distribute more light.
The well stocked library. Surprisingly it is only available to members of the society.
A famous author who wrote stories that take place in Quebec City.
Talking about the executions that occurred here.
Entryway to the jail, made purposely narrow to constrain movement.
The jail area in the lower level.
Hard to see but there are multiple carvings made by prisoners dating back to the 19th century.
Very little light and fresh air was admitted to the jail.
One of jail cells.
One of the tour docents in the Morrin Centre.
From there we walked the short distance back to the shores of the St. Lawrence River to see the ruins of Chateau Saint Louis, which served as the home of both the French and British governors of Quebec early in its history. The ruins are located under the promenade we had walked on several times the last few days. Again a docent led us on this “underground” tour of the ruins of the 17-18th century chateau.
Another cruise ship stopping in Quebec City. It a a popular stop.
The story of the Chateau Saint Louis.
Evolution of the Chateau over the years.
Charles Huault de Montmagny was the first governor of New France. He arrived in 1636.
The first British governor, James Murray, who took over in 1760 when the British defeated the French.
The ruins of the ice storage area in the Chateau Saint Louis.
The original kitchen of Chateau Saint Louis.
Some of the 500,000 artifacts found when the Chateau Saint Louis was excavated.
An amazing job of reconstructing this glassware found in the site.
More artifacts from the chateau.
An elaborate hair pin was found during excavation.
Explanation on how the promenade came to be.
Surprisingly no one knew what Champlain really looked like. All portraits of him are strictly guesses.
It was soon lunch time and we were bused outside the walls of old Quebec to the nearby Museum of Fine Arts where we enjoyed a sit-down lunch in their modern cafe located within the museum itself. Afterwards, local docents led us on a tour of the more interesting exhibits on display.
The cafe in the Museum of Fine Art.
I was gutsy and ordered the blood pudding lunch. It was a patty made of blood sausage. Yes, it was tasty!
Intriguing staircase in the museum.
A place to sit and enjoy an outdoor patio with more art.
Outdoor patio overlooking other buildings in the museum complex.
A futuristic art display made with metal pieces that looked like legos.
Native art carved from the bones of larger animals.
Art carved in a whale bone. They were really creative.
A jaw bone with native art.
Explanation of the massive 40 meter long display of art created by the artist.
One of the three panels of art created by Jean Paul Riopelle.
A second panel.
It was the last evening of our tour so a special farewell dinner was planned for us at the Fairmont Frontenac hotel. We went a bit early so that we could walk through an area where hotel artifacts were on display before sitting down to our last meal as a group.
The lobby of the Fairmont Frontenac. It was not as impressive as I expected it to be.
Lobby display of fresh flowers.
Display of historical dishes used during colonial times.
Our farewell dinner menu.
Farewell Manhattan toast.
I chose the braised beef cheek.
Our dessert.
Saying goodbye to our fellow travelers.
Not sure why this was there but it made for a nice place to take a picture.
Fountain in the park adjacent to the Fairmont.
Loved the way buildings are lit at night.
Today was a relaxing day as we only accumulated 7,836 steps! Tomorrow we all go our separate ways.
