Friend in for a Visit, May 25 - June 1

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I am behind in my entries. I am entering this one on June 19th and we have already started our trip into the Gaspe, so I need to get the past ones done. Most night have been too tired to do entries as we have been crazy busy packing to come back home.

Sheila came to visit me for a week at the end of May. It was great to have company to show around our favorite places. She had never been to Quebec and really enjoyed it. As a special gift for my and her birthdays, Claude gave us a night in a small hotel in Old Quebec. He kept the kids. It was a great chance to visit and explore on our own.

The hotel was the Auberge Place d'Armes and it faced onto the Place D'Armes and the Chateau Frontenac in old Quebec. The street in front was only a pedestrian street so you actually parked a couple of blocks away. Luckily we had only one suitcase, but it was heavy! We had the attic room and it was very cool! done up in kind of a funky western style. There were 3 small dormer windows that overlooked the square. Very comfy and deluxe. The weekend was cold and rainy on and off, but we had a great time walking all around the old city. Had a great dinner in a restaurant located on the stairs going down to Petit Champlain quarter.

On Saturday night we re-joined with Claude and boys and sunday we took a drive around Ile d'Orleans. Too rainy to go to the citadel fort like we had planned. After the Island, the rain had stopped and we decided to head up the north shore to Sainte Anne de Beaupre. there is a huge, famous cathedral there. It was amazing. Certainly could rival many of the ones you see pictures of from Europe. It is even more amazing considering it was built in the 1920s. Normally such ornate carvings were done much longer ago when it was more common and costs were lower. It was really a stunning building.

On Monday her and I took Marc into Quebec city fo visit the Parc de la Coloumbe (not sure of spelling). This had been the governor general's residence at some point in time and it had beautiful gardens. Was finally a very nice hot day. that evening we went walking on the Trails in Duschesnay and had dinner at the outdoor Casse Croute in Ste. Catherine. We have been trying to expose Sheila to all the Quebec food we can. tonight it was poutine and belgian chocolate dipped ice cream. Not a low cal or low fat evening!

On our last night we served fresh fiddleheads as a last new food for her. It was great to have had a friend here and we certainly had a great visit. Now the final chaos of getting ready to go home is really upon me!

(remember to scroll down to see all the picures - the ones of the church are worth it I think).

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