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Published: July 11th 2011
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The girls team
The girls team After a prolonged and protracted journey, we arrived in Québec City late yesterday afternoon. Two uneventful flights brought us to Washington, DC, where we learned that the third leg of our cross-country travel had been cancelled. Many thanks to modern technology, though, we were able to reschedule our flight for the following day, make a hotel reservation, notify our hosts in Québec City, and change our rental car arrangements, all while we stood waiting in line. It was pretty sweet to be able to get out of line and go on our way, without so much as a wave to the grumpy United Airlines workers. And so we were forced to spend one night in Reston, Virginia, where the girls logged a new state and saw their first-ever fireflies, and we all decided that we should come visit the DC area again soon.
The next day, we flew to Montréal and began our drive to Québec City after lunch. Before we left Montréal, we happened upon this amazing fruit and vegetable market called Sami Fruits. Imagine an American-sized grocery store, but filled only with huge 10-foot-square tables with pyramids of fruits and vegetables: eggplant, pear, pineapple, grape, avocado, melon, kiwi.
Dan, Arden & Madeleine with the cannonball at the base of the tree (according to legend, this cannonball landed here during the War of 1759).
Dan, Arden & Madeleine with the cannonball at the base of the tree (according to legend, this cannonball landed here during the War of 1759).
The clientele was very cosmopolitan, with Arabic and Asian languages mixing with French.
As we planned this trip, we kept looking into the sights between Montréal and Québec City. We found almost no information about this 160 mile stretch between the cities, and now we know why. It’s pretty, but after about ten miles of it, we’d seen all there was to see: hay fields, corn fields, deciduous trees, and silos. It seemed like the drive took forever, probably because we were about 36 hours behind schedule by that time, so it was pretty exciting to arrive at the first huge bridge across the massive St. Lawrence River, and to pull in to Québec City.
We are staying on a lovely, quiet, tree-lined street. Most of the homes here are brick or stone, with lush green lawns and flowers. Avenue Maguire, a lively street with shops and restaurants that we have yet to explore is just around the corner.
This morning, though, I was woken by annoying mockingbirds. Why they insist on mimicking car alarms and sirens, I have no idea. And why they were so noisy before sunrise… Finally, just after dawn, I was able to
D & M on the Terrasse Dufferin overlooking the port and the St. Lawrence.
D & M on the Terrasse Dufferin overlooking the port and the St. Lawrence. fall back to sleep, and all of us slept in a bit to make up for our long travel days.
We set off for Vieux Québec, or the Old City. It is the only walled city north of Mexico in North America, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some of the buildings date from the early 1600’s; most are probably from the 1800’s. It is a beautiful old city, with lots of European influence. It’s hilly with narrow streets and is a great place to walk. And walk we did. We saw a lot of the city, including the Chateau Frontenac, a couple of old churches, several large and small parks, and la Citadelle. There are cannons everywhere, which Arden loved climbing all over.
For lunch we had a great selection of French foods, including the specialty of the Québécois region: poutine. Poutine (pronounced “puteen”) is a dish that consists of French fries and cheese covered with gravy. And once you’ve tasted it, you think, “Of course, why not? These three things go great together!” I can see that it would be a wonderful comfort food on a chilly Canadian winter night.
The Festival d’Été de
POUTINE!!!!!!!!!!
POUTINE!!!!!!!!!! Québec, or Summer Festival, is going on right now, with concerts every day. Last night was Elton John, tonight The Black Keys, and tomorrow the Dropkick Murphys. Later in the week is Metallica. All of these concerts are outdoors, and there are many locations, some are free, and many performers are not known to us.
The highlight of the day for Madeleine and Arden was the street performances. In several different areas we happened upon acrobats and jugglers. We caught two shows, including Monsieur René, who was a very entertaining juggler-mime-acrobat. At each of these shows, audience participation was mandatory, and the performers would do all they could, in French as well as English, to get various spectators to assist, and to get the audience in general excited about the spectacle.
Everyone we have encountered here is incredibly friendly and welcoming; most people seem to be bilingual and easily flow between French and English. We feel as if we have our bearings in this city now, and really know what we would like to spend some time visiting in more depth over the next several days. Our girls are such incredible travelers, walking all over the city and
M & A watching Monsieur Rene perform.
M & A watching Monsieur Rene perform. putting up with their parents’ whims. They are easy going and were adventurous with their lunch choices today, which made for an easy day. The weather’s been great, too, mostly sunny and cool. Just as we returned to our car to head back to our apartment tonight, it began to rain, and we’re having a pretty good thunderstorm right now. Glad we’re not out on the Plains d’Abraham for the concerts tonight.
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