Comment ca va?
We have spent the last two weeks in Levis just across from Quebec city on the southern shore of the St. Lawrence river. We have had a nice time visiting Quebec city and its surroundings. See pics at the end of this posting.
The Ferry terminal is about 8 minutes by car from the campsite and the ferry ride itself is a mere 6 minutes.
So we took the ferry several days into the city. I loved the old city with its narrow cobble-stoned roads and sidewalk cafes.
We took the funiculaire up to the Dufferin terrace and visited the Citadel and the Plains of Abrahams - a renowned battle site which has now been made into a very nice park and greenway. The Citadel is a working garrison and so we could visit it only with a tour guide. Our guide was a young architecture student from Belgium working here for the summer. We came across several foreign students working in the US for the summer when we were in Michigan last year. Anyway, the guide and I had a nice chat about Belgium beers.
We saw a very good exhibit on Rome at the Musee de Civilization and an equally excellent one on Ballet Russes at the Musee de la Beaux Arts de Quebec.
A day trip to Ile d'Orleans was very pleasant. Ile d'Orleans is a small island between Quebec city and Levis that is spanned by a bridge from the QC side. The island is very pastoral and agritourism is the big attraction. We drove around and stopped at several galleries as well as at the Chocoletier. I was thrilled to get some raspberries from a roadside stand. I would have loved to pick my own but John was not interested in either doing it or waiting while I picked my own. The berries were delicious and we just ate the last of those a day or so ago.
We also stopped at a fromaggerie and was scandalized at the price of a small piece of cheese.
Well, for that matter, everything in Quebec is very expensive. Gas is over $4.50 per gallon and there is a tax of 13 to 15% on everything including parking at the museum as well as on entrance tickets to the museum.
On the way back we went by Chute de Montmorency (the Montmorency Falls). The brochure boasts that it is higher than the Niagara Falls; it was not as impressive though because it is not as wide.
This did not prevent us from enjoying our stay here. We loved having our morning coffee at one of the cafes soon as we got off the ferry. After walking all over the city, we would stop at one of the cafes to enjoy a nice cool beer.
The weather has been very pleasant. A few 80 deg days, but mostly in the mid to upper 70s with lots of sunshine. We have had two days when it rained throughout the day and I spent the time indoors on my computer - a good way to work "work" without feeling contrary about it.
We leave for New Brunswick tomorrow morning. We will be at Grand Falls for 3 days and after that, we are not sure exactly what our next stop will be.
Au Revoir
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| On the ferry approaching Quebec City |
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| Closer view of Quebec City from the ferry |
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| Boy! this cleat is way bigger than the one needed to tie our sailboat to |
Views of Quebec city:
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| Looking up at the funiculaire as we wait for it to descend |
Vist to the Citadel
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| the guard houses are empty when the GG is not in town |
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| Chateua Fontenac in the background |
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| Very British! and yes there is a second one on the other side |
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| Dufferin terrace with statue of Champlain; Starbucks in the corner - but I preferred the cafes |
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| One of our many ferry crossings; had a pleasant conversation with the little girl and her dad |
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| This is what I love about this city - reminds me so of Paris |
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| through the ferry window as we prepare to head back to Levis |
Ile d'Orleans
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| In the garden behing the gallery of a 70 year old artist |
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| Same gallery and house with back yard overlooking the river |
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| One of many vineyards we visited |
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| driving around the island |
Parc de la chute de Montmorency
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| view of the falls from the cable car taking us up to the top |
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| From the walkway above the falls |
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