Day 3 Tour - Quebec City- Ottawa - Montreal

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Tuesday 12 October
Day 3 Quebec City to Montreal 190miles.   Randall and Teresa's Anniversary


The bed last night was like sleeping on a plank of wood it was so hard. This hotel so far is probably my least favorite over the past few weeks. The weather has been cold but not as cold as I expected. A jacket has been necessary but when the sun shines it's lovely, it's just a shame that's not too often. 

Keara and I found some flowers at the supermarket the night before, so I wandered over there at 630am in 2 degrees. I was devastated when I read the door they didn't open until 0800h across to a fast-food chain Tim Hortons and ordered what I thought were Iced Coffees, but once again received a different version. This time it was like a coffee/cream slushy and very sweet. I went back and  I gave Teresa a small anniversary gift, was a glass heart pendant, it came with matching earrings that I don't expect her to wear because they are quite dangly. Our bags were out by 7am and we were off by 730.

The traffic in Quebec city was crazy. We waited at 3 sets of green lights while others were going through reds. We picked up another Dutch tour guide, Liddy for our morning tours of the walled inner city of Quebec. We were informed that you need to be a registered tour guide in some areas so training and quality can be standardized. We learnt that in 1608 that the first French explorers discovered Quebec city. Other dates after that are a little blurred to me because there were so many, but the tour was great. We were told that the French then the British  and even the Americans in 1780 all tried to lay claim to the area, some succeeded but in the end which was around 1869 it remains as it did then, Canadian. The province of Quebec has gone to referendum on several occasions to separate themselves from Canada, the last time in 1995. All times have failed however the last time it was a very close vote. 

Anyway enough rambling, the walled city was like stepping back in time, very old buildings, murals, statues, churches, and cobblestones streets were very interesting to see. A store that just sold scarves. Carmel found a lace store where she bought a doiley for a present. Artists were selling their etchings and paintings along small narrow winding streets. Today was my first experience in a unisex public toilet. It was a little uncomfortable, I walked in a nd saw a woman come out of then cubicle and I did a double take, asking myself if I was in the right one. I proceeded to the high urinal and did my business. I looked over my shoulder and thought it strange that a woman would be waiting in line to use the urinal. Feeling a little rushed I finished and went to use the basin. I couldn't find one. I look back and was shocked to see the woman in line was washing herb hands were I just was. Oh geeez, I guess there aren't urinals in unisex toilets. Lesson learnt!

We left Quebec city after a nice lunch in a small coffee cake shop. It was a relatively short, 3 hours bus trip to our next stop, Montreal. This city was much larger than the last, on the entry you saw the Stadium of the 1976 OlympIcs as well as a maze of roller coasters and many pieces of city art. We took several stops for photo opportunities, across the river to the lovely cityscape. We stopped off at an island in the middle of river. This island was home to botanic gardens, many art areas, a biosphere and the site of the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix. Sam our bus driver negotiated that circuit, in the bus mind you, like a pro. It is open to the public and many push bike riders take advantage of it. 

Our accommodation for the night was very nice, the Holiday Inn, it was very central and the beds, although were double, went too bad. We all went to dinner at a diner called Nickels. Was a great meal and a great price. Teresa's was a little undercooked though. We had a nice stroll around downtown Montreal to work off our dinner which included soup and dessert. There was an abundance of 2 types of buildings, the first was churches, and in contrast the second was strip clubs. 

It was a relatively early night, around 10pm.

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