21st September, 2018

We were docked in the commercial port a little further up the St Lawrence River, but only a 5 minute shuttle bus ride to the Lower Town of Quebec. Unfortunately we had arrived on a day when the heavens decided to open, but we set off anyway with our waterproofs on and hoods up and joined the throngs of fellow tourists.

Quebec is the only North American walled city north of Mexico and was founded by Samuel de Champlain in 1608 initially as a trading post. It was made up of the Lower Town which was the commercial area and the Haute-Ville or Upper Town at the top of the cliffs. The cliffs of course became very famous on 13th September, 1759 when Wolfe led his men up to the Plains of Abraham where he defeated the French General Louis de Montcalm. Unfortunately both young generals died that day, but it was a day that saw the defeat of France in North America. Interestingly the British sensibly passed the Quebec Act in 1774 that gave the French Canadians recognition of their separate culture, which meant they did not rebel against the King when the Americans did .

Well, enough of the history lesson, back to our soggy sightseeing. We first made our way to the Place Royal in the Lower Town, with its cobbled streets and church to Our Lady of Victories, the oldest standing cathedral in North America. The rain had eased a bit, so I was able to take a few photos.

However, as it started to come down even heavier, we were better off browsing in the innumerable art galleries and craft, jewellery, clothes and souvenir shops. We finally saw a Mountie (well, sort of) and the sort of animal head that you can safely put on the wall (though the angle of the photo makes it look as though the moose has a snowshoe for a tongue!).

It was then up the funicular railway to the Upper Town, where you are greeted by the imposing and enormous Chateau de Frontenac, a hotel built in the late 1893 by the Canadian Pacific Railway and definitely the dominant feature of Quebec. We popped inside to escape the rain and had a look at the busy lobby and the impressive postbox.

It was then out again, a quick walk around some of the nearby streets and then down into the funicular and diving into a bar/restaurant for a ‘comfort break’. In the end, we were tempted by the soup they were serving (mushroom for Val and beef for me) and I had a glass of a local beer called La Fin du Monde, which at some 9% almost lived up to its name. The rain, sadly, was still hammering down, so we decided to call it a day and head back to the ship in the hope that the next day would bring better weather.

22nd September, 2018

We woke up to sunshine! We only had the morning in Quebec, so we got away on the shuttle bus quite early and saw what Quebec can look like when the sun is shining and what a difference. Mind you, it also brought out the hordes of tourists and you also saw what a tourist trap the city is. There were other cruise ships in town and we jostled with Americans, Chinese, French and lots of other nationalities in the Pace Royal.

I wanted to check out the battlefield of the Plains of Abraham and as Val was not so keen we parted company, she window shopping and me heading off for the Upper Town and beyond.

I had a quick look at the bits of the Lower Town we missed the day before and then set off up the hill to the Dufferin Terrace in front of the Chateau de Frontenac which provides a superb promenade and views over the Lower Town and the river.

I had a rough idea of where I had to go, so I started walking along the promenade in a westward direction, passing a toboggan chute from 1884 and passing by the Citadel which is the residence of the Governor-General when in town. I had not appreciated the number of steps needed to get to the end of the terrace (over 300, I was later told), so I was nicely warmed up by the time I emerged from the trees onto the Plains.

There was a useful diagram of the Plains and I decided I would at least view the spot where Wolfe fell. The only thing the diagram didn’t enlighten me about was how far it was! Still, it was a lovely day with lots of Quebecois enjoying their Saturday, running and walking their dogs in the very extensive park. There was also some nice houses and a number of Martello Towers built to repulse the revolting Americans in the War of 1812. I finally made it to the monument after some dodgy French to ask the way, which was good enough to get a long reply the gist of which is that it is down there on the gauche.

The monument is by the impressive Musee des Beaux-Arts and I attach a photo of both and the area where much of the battle took place.

Time was pressing, so it was off again at pace, walking through the park, past the bandstand and a black squirrel.

I made it back to the Citadel, had a quick look at the gate, but decided there was not enough time to go in, and then explored the Upper Town. There is some fabulous architecture there and you really do not feel you are in North America at all, but rather a French city.

I popped into the Anglican cathedral followed by the Catholic one. No prizes for guessing which one is which. Also what I think is the university and a few more street scenes.

The city is awash with interesting and largely unspoiled architecture and I have really tried to cull them for this blog!

Finally it was back to the shuttle bus stop to meet Val. After 30 minutes and no Val I enquirer of the young lady seeing us onto the bus if she could contact the ship to see if Val was already aboard and yes, she was. Panic over and it was just a breakdown in communication.

We sailed down the St Lawrence in glorious sunshine past the city, yachts and lovely colonial style houses and, in the distance, the Montmorency Falls.

Very impressive, Quebec and well worth the visit and probably worth a second one, especially later in the Autumn when the leaves change colour. We were so lucky to have the sunny weather.