New France

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I never realized. The US got the mountains of New York and Vermont, Canada got the flat rich farmland in the valley south of the St Lawrence. So flat. After entering Canada, I skirted the slight elevation of Mont Real, and then rode the absolutely flat farmland until the hills of Quebec city, three hours later. Its interesting if you get the Michelin map of Quebec. It opens to show Southern Quebec, the Maritime Provinces, and Northern New York, Vermont and Maine, exactly the land claimed by Champlain and his successors for New France, until they gave it up in the treaty of Paris in 1763 at end of the French and Indian War. That war is all you hear about when you visit Quebec. The epic battle on the Plains of Abraham in 1759, where both General Wolfe and General Montcalm were killed. Both sides lost their leaders, and equal numbers of men, but somehow the British called it their win. The fortress is still intact, and the walls of the old city have plaques all over explaining odd bits of the event. Old Town Quebec City is almost too quaint. The Gibraltar of North America, it sits on an impregnable hill, guarding access to the St Lawrence and the interior of the continent. The emphasis is very much on tourism, history and eating. The Canadians are great at all three. The dominant feature of the old town is now a huge late 19th century hotel that looks like a castle -- Chateau Frontenac. The wide boardwalk around the hotel allows students from all over Canada to romp, while the serious tourists take in the sunset high above the river, a piano playing in the background.

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Photos

Both Montcalm and Wolfe honored on the same monument
Canadians do their best to bring their many heritages together.

Chateau Frontenace
Is it a castle? No, its a hotel.

The Death of General Montcalm
In French, so that those of us that teach French can read it to the others.

Monument to the river logger
Makes me think of the statue to the Prospector, in Whitehorse, Yukon.

The spire of the Anglican cathedral
which is surrounded by the churches and schools of the many Catholic orders active in the city for centuries.

Comments

[Rebecca]

I just liked it
Love your comment--sometimes it's hard to parse out the specifics of why particular things appeal to you, but that doesn't mean you don't have a strong reaction to it. I've never been to Quebec, but I'm ready to go. Safe travels.