Streets near hotel
At last we had a full day to explore Quebec City. Our hotel is situated in the old part of the city right below the old city wall and the streets all around us are filled with restaurants and art galleries. Just what we like! There are three galleries just steps from our hotel (and another half dozen or more within a couple blocks). We could also see our future home for the next week and a half just two blocks away. The ship terminal is very conveniently located on the river directly opposite our hotel so no taxi needed for the transfer to the ship tomorrow.
Our ship lurking in the background – do you really think we can’t see you?
The weather was blustery but not enough to deter us from traipsing through as many of the quaint streets as possible. We covered the lower area around our hotel and then climbed up the hill to the upper area of the old town, where the famous Hotel Frontanec is located. We could have taken the funicular, but when we saw how short the climb actually was, we opted for the picturesquely winding street to the top.
Hotel Frontanec
We crested the top of the hill and the overlook of the Saint Lawrence River just as a lovely stormy squall hit. The flags on the summer pavilions were completely horizontal and the rain obscured the view of the other side of the river. We had thought to walk along the city walls, but decided it was wiser to leave that for tomorrow. We instead headed for the protection of the building-lined streets and were rewarded with yet more picturesque streets that are more reminiscent of Europe than of anyplace else in North America. It was fun just wandering and soaking up the ambiance.
Many Halloween displays around town, this one in front of City Hall
Because we knew we wanted to have room for another good dinner, our lunch was a selection of delicious croissants from a patisserie. So then we had to make a dinner choice- tough times! After the rather brisk and damp afternoon of shopping, we could not resist the pull of Le Lapin Sauté, a restaurant with stone walls, low lights, and a very cozy interior. It was the perfect atmosphere and we had to start with the rabbit poutine with a mustard sauce and Perron cheddar cheese curds. We’re in Canada, eh? Scrumptious. Then we could not resist the Duck and Rabbit Duet which very nicely gave a taste of many of the other locally sourced and homemade features of the menu, including rabbit rillette, wood smoked duck breast, potatoes sautéed in duck fat, duck sausage, and confit of both duck leg and rabbit leg. Ça suffit, n’est-ce pas?
Our dinner restaurant – loosely translates as The Cooked Rabbit.
Okay, so they speak a lot of French around here. The people in the shops always greet us with “Bonjour!” but try as we might, when we respond with our own “Bonjour!”, they always switch to English. So we entered one shop and the clerk approached us and said the usual Bonjour. She then started asking a couple of simple questions in French, and Tami realized with amazement that she understood the questions! She responded appropriately! The clerk asked Tami if she spoke French. A little, itsy bit. So then the clerk launched into further French. Oops. It was far beyond Tami’s ability so we all quickly switched to English, but Tami had her little thrill of the day. And Tami’s other thrill? She found one of those elusive 2’ x 3’ flags she loves so dearly, this one for Quebec. And what was Mike’s big thrill? An awesome new bike jersey, of course!
Now THAT’s a jersey for Mike!
Some more pictures from our walks:
Where is that ship?
Getting ahead in Quebec.
For Brent.
