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Published: July 21st 2010
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Due to my slackness I figured I would keep writing and continue with my recent adventure which took place just over a week ago now to Quebec City in Canada. This time I travelled with a friend of mine Debbie and we really just picked the city out randomly. Thoughts of Europe had creeped into our minds but limited leave days and a long flight meant that ideas were thrown around and somehow we ended up with Quebec City. Having never had an overarching desire to see Canada just yet (I was planning on saving it for my retirement) I must admit that we were both pleasantly surprised and had an absolute blast.
We arrived on a Friday afternoon and a quick workout, shower and change saw us hit the town by 1900. Due to our lack of actual planning we didn't realise that there was a Summer Music festival going and that it would be on for the next 2 weeks. Our first stop was the Grand Allee which is a strip of restaurants and hotels in a very popular area. Part of the music festival was right across the street and we ended up listening to tunes all
night for free in the surprisingly warm weather of Quebec. We bar hopped through the area, saw the worlds largest outdoor disco ball, a man shaving a women's head in public and overall experienced a very party like atmosphere.
After some not so good foie gras we ended up drinking cocktails and smoking cigars in a bar listening to live latin tunes. Upon walking back I saw the John Butler Trio and heard the unique Australian voices that were. 10,000miles away to see a local artist. A relaxed start to the morning saw us head into the walled city and we were both amazed at the architecture and European style of this amazing city. You could've been anywhere in Paris or Italy and would probably never guess Quebec....except for the big red flagged maple leaf though. Breakfast was crepes and espresso in a very old style traditional creperie and then we commenced wandering around the old city. Time literally flew by and the next thing we knew the afternoon was beckoning with beer and cheese. A late rain storm saw us 'trapped' in a patisserie surrounded by croissants and coffee which magically appeared in front of us. A slow
wander back to the hotel through shops saw a first full and exciting day come to an end with a box of tums and a subway sandwich.
Completely revived and ready to start the next day which was more walking through the city finding new areas of the town undiscovered. Breakfast was in an awesome café surrounded by open brick windows and a view of the street. We walked through the Hotel Frontenac which is the main sight of Quebec City overlooking the St Lawrence River and meandered through streets just taking in the amazing city. A few antique stores later we stumbled across a massive open farmers market with free tastes and lots of wine tastings which after 2 hours in the heat and no lunch left one of us a little buzzed and both in need of lunch. A great lunch of chorizo and Jamaican sausage set us up for the free carnival next door which resulted in Debbie juggling and showing of her carnie skills to the locals.
Surprised by the heat we wandered some more and came across a public fountain where we decided it was time to cool down. We splashed about with
some locals and reoriented ourselves ready to walk again and peruse yet another part of this great city. After a day walking about Debbie took a LLD and I headed to the gym. About an hour later I was joined by the newly refreshed Debbie and we headed back to the Grand Allee for some great Italian food and festive atmosphere. A few wines and some more walking about had us back to the hotel in the early morning and pleasantly surprised with our choice of destination.
After a late start the next morning I had a loose plan to find a farmers market and a local brewery throughout the day. Being the day of the World Cup final Espana and Holland were represented equally throughout the Canadian town. A cup of coffee and yet again more walking saw a slightly agitated Aussie arrive at the less then impressive market which was reviewed by the New York Times. The one the previous day had been sensational whereas this was like a fancy Coles or Woolies. Providing me a great distraction from my disheartenment Debbie suggested lunch and when I realised I was starving I couldn't have agreed more. A
pitcher of Sangria in which the ice didn't have time to melt and one of the best burgers I had ever eaten made up for the shitful excuse of a farmers market. It was now time to find the brewery and the heat plus lack of good directions were making it difficult. We decided to watch the second half of the world cup at a pub with a couple of beers and then attempt to head to the brewery.
After Spain were declared the worlds best we walked through the ghetto to find a quaint open air brewery with a tasting tray some peanuts and a very relaxed atmosphere. After not figuring out what beer was what we arranged them into colors and about halfway through realised the big sign behind us was the beer listing....idiots. Anyway after downing the beer and staring at the large walk ahead of us we slowly walked back to the hotel for a rest and then it was out to the old town again. With music throughout the streets we settled on red wine and veal with the Latin guitar guy we had seen at a different bar only 2 nights ago.
The walk back included a beer stop and some quirky street performers and we were back to the hotel.
For our last day we decided on renting bikes and going across the other side of the St Lawrence to check it out. Debbie being a spin instructor had no issues but the little Aussie who had not ridden a bike longer then 10mins was a little anxious about 6 hours on a bike. Nevertheless it turned out to be a great day out and about with some laughs a moving bike seat, a stupidly large hill and some great scenery. After returning the bikes and indulging in a gastronomical meat meal it was more walking to another area of the city which we nearly missed. More cobble stones streets shops and cafes saw the afternoon end up in the bar of Hotel Frontenac sipping martinis....very tough life. Out and about we decided to chug on and perused the shops took part in some street dancing and finished off with some red wine and pasta to finish our amazing Quebec City trip. This place was sensational and I fully recommend it to anyone. We definitely lucked in with the music
festival and our hotel of choice was in a fabulous position and centrally located...what a great time!
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