Quebec!

Actually, Montreal first, then Quebec, then Montreal again.

Linda planned a little trip in November, and Montreal is a favorite. 

But of the few times we've visited there, we'd never traveled further north to
Quebec City. So, this time we flew to Montreal, and after a night there,
we drove up to Quebec for a week, before returning for three more nights in Montreal!

Montreal sits between Mount Royal (get it?) and the St. Lawrence river. It's a modern city,
but it has an older, original port section that was where the first city began.
Think the French Quarter in New Orleans.  We usually stay in "Old Port" because we are
drawn to such places. But this time we wanted to try something different
so we booked the Hotel St Denis, in the Latin Quarter.

The Latin Quarter is an eclectic part of town, between Old Port, and the newer city.

 It's a cool mix of older buildings and newer, happenin' now places. It's also
home to the University of Montreal, so there's tons of college-agers
that keep the area young at heart!

By the time we drove into town and checked in, it was time for dinner.
We found The 3 Amigos just up the street from our hotel, and while it may seem
nutty to eat Mexican food in Canada, it was actually very good.

Then we strolled the area a little,before heading back to the hotel.
The Rue St Denis by evening.

Next morning we headed north, to Quebec. Instead of the Interstate, we took
the scenic river road, which follows the St Lawrence for a couple of hours.

About half way up we switched over to the Interstate highway to make better time.
Within the main city of Quebec is an older, walled city, which was the original settlement.
The view from modern Quebec into the Old City.

We booked at the Hotel L'Ermitage, which is a sister property operated
by the Hotel Acadia, on the Rue St. Ursule (remember, in the Quebec province,
 everyone speaks french). Upon our arrival we were greeted
and told we had been upgraded to a suite!   SWEET!

Our bedroom 

 Living area

 And Kitchen, which came in handy.  We made coffee and tea each morning,
and even had one or two soup lunches after we got tired of eating all the time!

But not today!  We strolled the old city to get 

our bearings, and found St Patrick's Pub!

Yeah, this'll do

Our kinda place.  Even had the fire going!

After dinner, we strolled some more. The weather was cool,
but not cold, so we really enjoyed all the exploring.

The Old City is a rare mix of residential, shops, cafes, schools and churches, 

and public places for people to gather. And everything is walking distance!

The Cathedral Notre Dame at evening:

 

And the Parc at the Chateaux Frontenac as the sun sets!

And back to our suite at the Hotel Acadia.  Normally, we're not late sleepers,

 but this night we both slept for 10 hours! That's a record.

For breakfast, we stepped just around the corner to Le Feu Sacre.

That morning we took a tour that covered Old City, some points of interest 

in the new city (outside the wall), the Plains of Abraham, and a few other stops.

Quebec City is the capitol of the Provence of Quebec, and this is the Parliament Building.

Outside Parliament, we spotted this group of protesters, but since their signs
were in French,we couldn't make out what they were mad about. So,Linda asked the
Parliament Guard. and he explained, "fracking"...hmm....just like at home!

The Plains of Abraham have nothing to do with the Bible.  It's a vast park 

along the St Lawrence River named after Abraham Martin.

He was a river pilot who settle here in the 1600s. Later, the settlement was defended
from this point (during the French/Indian war).  The French defeated the Indians, and taught everybody to speak French.  Then, in the 1800s, The British beat the French in about 30 minutes, and these cannons were added then, when Quebec was under English control.  The Brits weren't worried about the threat from the Indians, or the possibility of the French returning,,,they feared that rascal George Washington of the USA!

Old City (within the wall) is built on a high bluff, overlooking the St Lawrence. 

But just below the bluff, at about water level, is Old Port. Like the Upper city, 

it's full of cafes, shops, restaurants, art galleries and such. In the background, 

you can see an escalator between the Upper and Lower city, for old people and sissies.

We scoped this area out for later!

Our weather was really great the whole trip.

Cobbled streets and cobbled buildings. That's the St Lawrence over there.

Do I Look Lost?

This fellow was playing his harp, and selling CDs at the edge of the street.
Yeah, we did. Ask Linda to play it for you!

Don't be fooled and try to enter through that gate.
It's a mural painted on the side of the building.

Back up top in our neck of the woods.  The Chateaux Frontenac,
now operated by Fairmount Hotels.

The US Embassy...just in case we need asylum.

We stopped for lunch at The Au Sahara, a great Moroccan restaurant

just down the street from our hotel.

Then it was back for un petite somme (a little nap). Those are our windows
at the very top! Some call it a four story walk-up, some say The Penthouse!

After nap time, we hit the streets for some window shopping (and real shopping).

We worked our way back to St Patrick's for a little refreshment!

Afterwards, we had dinner at the Cafe' de Paris. 

This place became a real favorite for us!

I always like to put the pretty girl in the window seat,
plus it's good for business! This was our view just outside.

We had Chateaubriand for two, which is prepared table-side.
What a meal! And our host, Jose` Pompilio, (pronounced  Zhosi, the french way)
made it a terrific evening, even though he never stopped flirting with Linda.

Next morning, we decided to head out of the city to see 

what we might find throughout the countryside.

So long Old City, for now.

We drove north, generally following the St Lawrence,
until we came to St Anne's Cathedral.

 We looked around inside, but because parishioners were
in prayer, we didn't take any pictures.

 I knew there was a casino upriver, so we continued northeast for a while,
but when snow started falling, we thought it would be best to head back.

 Really beautiful to watch the snow, but slipperier and slipperier!

 Montmorency Falls, which we missed on the way up!

We stopped at a grocery store and bought some soups, because 

long about now on these trips, we have to cut down from 

three square meals a day, or else my weight will be squared!

 Ah, home sweet home.

After lunch, we did some shopping at the Mall of Quebec, which is really like 

three malls, where each building is a square block in size, and full of shops. 

Once you finish one, you go outside, walk across a street, and go back into 

the next square block building. Then, you do it all over again.

This can be very fun, because we're always on the lookout for stuff you cannot 

find at home, and we keep getting more and more kids to shop for!

Since Canada doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving (truly an American holiday)

they go straight from Halloween right into Christmas! That evening 

we walked Old City awhile, and ended up on rue St Jean,

at Les Freres, where we shared a pizza. It was great! 

On our way back, we passed the Auberge Internationale which is a youth hostel 

not far from our apartment.  In fact, we passed this place many times on our walks.

But this night, we happened to glance in a window, and noticed a guy we recognized!

 
He was sitting alone in the main meeting room, and we couldn't take
a picture (from the dark sidewalk into the lighted room)
but we wanted to. Because he looked like this:

So, all those bottles of cognac people leave at his "grave"
are being drunk by someone else...

Next morning we woke up to snow falling outside our windows, 

so Linda made breakfast and we ate in!  Then we strolled  

down to the Fairmount Hotel (Chateaux Frontenac), and 

checked it out. It is truly a grand place, inside and out.

 

Back outside, in the parc just in front of the hotel, this was the only time
we saw this statue without a pigeon on his head, so we took a picture.

 Royal government building across from the Hotel

 The view from the upper wall, overlooking the lower city and the St Lawrence.

The happy travelers!

The view across the parc, and heading down rue St Anne:

 
And the stairs winding down the hillside to the lower city below.

 Lots more shops and cafes and galleries down here!

You meet the nicest people when you travel.

 It's early November, and they're already decorated for Christmas
(but maybe that,s not so different from home...)

After lunch, we drove into the newer city and just explored.  

We love cruising residential areas and admiring the homes and neighborhoods. 

Then we stumbled upon Boulevard du Galleries, a three block 

section of shops in the middle of the suburbs!

 They were all set for St Nicholas.
Corey, here's where we found your Turkish Delights!
Later, we had dinner at an Italian Restaurant called Cafe Faxs.

Next morning we woke up to snow! We walked down the block 

to Le Petit Coin Latin, which became a favorite spot for us! 

The name translates to The Little (Romantic) Corner.

And this is how she looks just waking up: pretty awesome!

Then the place filled up with high-schoolers from Rhode Island, on a field trip.
It was a french class, practicing their accents in the real world.

After breakfast, we walked the Old City some more and shopped a little.

 Along the upper wall, near the Chateau Frontenac, is a wide boardwalk
that stretches for maybe two hundred yards. At one end of this promenade,
they've built a sled run that would allow three sledders to race at the same time!
In snowy weather, this turns into a major thoroughfare!

 Further along, we strolled through a green space that follows the wall.
As you look through the gate, you get an idea of how thick this wall is.

 We had lunch back in our place, and then drove across the bridge to the
other side of the St Lawrence. This area was developed well after the city,
and was more modern, and mostly suburban, So back to our side of the water,
and St Patrick's Pub, where we are now considered regulars.
(This picture courtesy of two retired marine buddies at the next table!)

From St Patty's, we strolled back to Le Petit Coin for dinner.
Wow, this makes it twice in one day!

 This table for two in the window became our spot.
Like the man said,"put the pretty girl in the window!"

After dinner, we walked around a little more, on the lookout for Edgar Allan Poe
from a couple of nights ago, but he was NEVERMORE to be found.  Get it?
One of the buildings at night, on our walk home:

Overnight, it snowed again, so next morning we ate in.
Then we went for a walk outside the wall. The view into the modern city:

And the view back towards Old City. Even though the snow
had been light, after three nights there was some accumulation,
when the road crews cleared the streets.

 Even in the newer city,  Quebec still has many
buildings that would be considered old by NRH standards!

 Does she look cold?

It's snowed for three nights, but the tree in this churchyard
\reminds us it's still only fall!

We wanted to hail this taxi, just to ride in that carriage, 

but we were only three blocks from home

 
For dinner, we tried the Aux Ancien Canadiens restaurant.

The warm and welcoming parlor:

The waitress Audrey.  Well, not our waitress.
She had to be our waitress' great granddaughter.

One thing I love about Linda is she's always up for trying
new stuff, which I love!  Tonight I had the Pig's Knuckles.
 It's a pork joint from somewhere on a pig, (not his hands) served with poutine.
That's a pile of fries covered with chunks of cheese and savory gravy.
And actually, it was very good!

Linda had a dish like a chicken pot pie, served on a plate!
And for desert, we traded bites of blueberry and maple pies,
and they were both yummy!

Next day, we had a late breakfast st Le Petit Coin.

 
No, we didn't just drink our breakfast. (That's my Bloody Mary,
and that bowl is actually Linda's hot chocolate)
We're waiting for his Eggs Benedict and her croissants and jam.

 The weather was fine, so we walked the Plains of Abraham.

Quebec Train Station, which is now half train station/half restaurants and cafes.
This was the model for those chocolate covered cookies!

On the bus tour a few days ago, we were told about Quebec's
Farmer's Market, which is open every day.  So, here we go!

Within the Farmer's Market, one booth had this cabinet which could have come
from an old library. But instead of card files, it was full of cooking spices!

In the lobby was this vaulted ceiling, with stained glass sides and top.

Since this was our last evening in Quebec, we walked back to 

the Cafe de Paris, because we had enjoyed it so much!

Jose lead us to our "regular" table, and just like the first night, 

he pestered Linda to straighten that picture on the wall behind us.

And tonight, when the Chateaubriand arrived table side, he insisted
that I assist the waiter in serving our plates. Great fun!

After dinner, we declined the coffee and tea which is usually
served at the end of this meal, (too stuffed) so Jose sent over
two complimentary nightcaps, cognac and java beans!

 Our Host with the most, Jose Pompilio. If this looks like a picture of

Linda and Jose, with me just jamming my head into the frame,
well, that's because it is!  I was lucky to get in this picture at all.

But still, if you ever get to Quebec, you gotta try the Cafe de Paris!

 Last night in Old City, and it was a great one.
Tomorrow we drive back to Montreal.  Au Revoir Quebec!

After another fine breakfast at Le Petit Coin, we drove out the
older river road, towards Montreal.  It's considered the more scenic route.

And we certainly saw some unique places along the way.
Knock knock knock    Yes?    Is Cinderella home?

I dunno, we just liked this place!

And we're back!

The Hotel St Denis is in the heart of the Latin Quarter, which is way cool,
but we were only a few minutes walk from Montreal's Old Port, which is
another favorite neighborhood.  Actually, this is where the city began!

On this trip, in mid-November, Old Port is pretty quiet. But normally,

from March through October, this area is always crowded. 

This is Cartier Place, a square in the middle of Old Port, that 

serves as a collecting place for people in the warmer months.

The Hotel D'Ville

Dinner in the Old Port.

And just like in Quebec, the Christmas decorations are out!

Next morning we had breakfast at a little cafe in the next block.

They serve these Omelettes, which are waffle/croissants with egg,
cheese and ham or spinach fillings. They were most yummy!

 Then we drove up and around Mount Royal, for really nice views of the city.

That's our hotel, right in between those big buildings and that bridge!

 Later we parked and walked up and down Rue St Denis, taking in the charm.

That evening we walked back to Old Port,

 and shared a salad, and Poutine with pulled pork.

Next morning we took the Metro (subway) down to the Centre de Montreal, 

a giant mall built under several tall office buildings, in the center of the city!

Selfie!

The Metro station is built underground, on the same level as the mall.
If you wanted, you could ride downtown, shop all day, eat lunch in one
of their two food courts, and go back home without ever going outdoors!
Here's Linda, just outside at street level, to show what the surface looks like.

Now back under, where the mall's giant Christmas tree has framed video
screens on all sides, with game monitors down on floor level, for kids to play!

After a morning of shopping, we resurfaced to find lunch with a view!

Pizza Il Focolaio, a popular local spot, had great food, and a view of the city park!

In these trees you'll notice the big silver snowflakes that light up at night.
It was cool, because while we were eating, it actually snowed,
but it was not cold enough to stick!

After a little shopping, we headed home, and that evening we hit the street.

The rue Saint Denis at twilight:

We decided on this second floor Italian ristorante, Chez Paesano.

 Our table awaits...

I wish I could remember the name of this dish, and I'm not talking about Linda!

Back on the street, we tried to walk off that dinner! Those red globes
in the trees are for Christmas decorations.

The run all along rue Saint Denis.

Some of the older buildings up close, and the modern ones in the back there!

This cathedral sits across the street and just down from our hotel.  At night they shine
a laser light show from across the street onto the face of the church!

And this guy decorates the entire side of his two story building!

Those crazy Canadians, eh?

It's been a great trip, but tomorrow we fly back.

And though we've seen and done a lot, it'll be great to be home!