Looked grim pulling into port, but when we got off to board our bus it was just spitting a little rain and not very cold. Our guide used the question technique that neither Karla nor I are big fans of. He would ask a question i.e. “How much do the tides rise on this part of the river?” Then wait for all the guesses, then give the answer. Very tiresome after a while. “How high is the upper town from the lower? What company built the Hotel Frontenac? Why is there a statue here for Earl Grey?” No need for the interrogative, just tell us the tidbits and move on. They were all good tidbits and he often tied them in to the geography, history or architecture of the where we were or what we were seeing. One thig we did like is he had the bus driver stop so our heads didn’t need to be on swivels as we passed a place of interest by. He also gave us some good pointers on places we could walk to from the ship after the tour.
Interior of the Hotel Frontenac
We drove the lower and upper towns which could easily pass for the older parts of any European city. Of course, here, they say it’s Paris, but one you’ve tread one cobblestone, you’ve pretty much tread them all. He pointed a building that was the prototype for the Empire State Building. Same architect, same structure. No picture, I’m sorry. We stopped the Frontenac Hotel for pictures. The statue of Champlain looks out over the city to be, not the river. According to our guide his desire to establish a city, not just explore the region.
One of the remaining gates to the Upper-City
Who knew? The title of our high school yearbook minus the "le"
The hotel, built by the Canadian Pacific Railroad as a rest stop for transcontinental, even round the world trips retains all that old world grandeur. 64o rooms, starting $400/night in the summer.
We stopped by Plains of Abraham in Battlefield Park, named for river pilot. Earl Grey is credited with saving the park from being sold by the city for residential development. The fast and high rising tides are credited with allowing the British to capture the city from the French in a 25-minute battle. The British ships were able to travel up river with out raising their sails surprising the French and by going around the huge wall that separated the upper- and lower-cities.
Montmorency Falls are just a ten-minute drive from the city center. They don’t officially open until later in the summer, but even Quebec is willing to make exceptions for the first cruise ship after two years.
Upon return to the ship, we set out on foot for the lower-city and the hunt for a souvenir t-shirt. Success was almost immediate, and the clerk recommended a wood fired pizza restaurant for lunch. That sounds kind of prosaic, (no one goes to Quebec for pizza) but simple things are often the best after the ships varied and elegant offerings. We also got a recommendation for dining tonight, Chez Rioux & Pettigrew.
Before
After
Our Dinner at Chez Rioux & Pettigrew. Clockwise--Bison Capriccio, Arancini, for dessert cream filled pastry topped with cherry sorbet, Sea Bass. Accompanied by two red, one white and a dessert wine.
The restaurant before it filled
Grain elevators on the walk back to the ship
The restaurant neighborhood
