Quebec City, part duex

It makes more sense to use "duex" in this title than the last. Quebec City residents speak French. And frankly, I felt like I was dropped into a little French village. It was such a wonderful little city.  Loved just about everything about it.

What didn't I love? Well, the not being able to communicate with cab drivers for one.  But alas, that was only a couple of rides, and didn't really hurt that much. 

As I mentioned before, the MomUnit, SL SIL and I took a quick city tour on the first day. Then day two, I took a tour similar to the first one, only it went out to a waterfall in addition to seeing the city.  The advantage of seeing the city twice from a tour bus is that day two I could sit on the other side of the bus to get photos. 

 

Quebec City is broken into two distinct parts; Old Quebec and modern Quebec. The old Quebec section is separated by a wall that was built several hundreds of years ago.  In fact it's North America's only remaining fortified city. 

"Inside the wall", as they say, all the buildings are considered historic landmarks.  None of the businesses inside the wall can use modern signage and neon.  McDonald's for example, while "inside the wall", only has a small, somewhat non-descript golden arches on the wall outside the restaurant. 

Chateau Frontenac is, by far, the most famous landmark of the city. It sits high atop a hill and overlooks the St. Lawrence river.  While it's name makes it sound like it’s a castle its really a hotel. A ritzy fritzy hotel used by those dignitary types and wealthy who can afford the price.

Though now a hotel, it was once the home of the British colonial governors of Lower Canada and Quebec.  The Chateau is named after the Count of Frontenac who was governor of the colony of New France in 1672.  Churchill and Roosevelt sat in the chateau and discussed WWII strategy.

The other, and to me the most interesting, attraction in Quebec City is Ristorante il Teatro. 

OMG...some of the best Italian food I've had in a very long time.  Jack's cousin had been and recommended the restaurant. Since we had a night to spend in Quebec we decided to give it a try. Despite the crazy cab chaos of getting us there (our cabbies didn't speak English and non of us spoke French.

That table in the corner was where we sat.  The walls are decorated with plates that have been signed by famous, mostly famous French, celebrities.  We saw Celine Dion's plate, and Tom Jone's plate.

Horrible yellow glow.  I didn't change my white balance. So while the photo doesn't look good the food was spectacular. Some of the best cabonara I've had since TASIS.

The last thing I saw/did in Quebec City was a trip out to Montmorency Falls. Spectacular waterfall with a ton of water dropping over the cliff.  The falls are 272ft tall - which make them 98 ft taller than Niagara Falls. They are, as you can tell, narrower than Niagara and while impressive I'm sure it doesn't compare. Still, they are pretty impressive.  The Montmorency water is what feeds the falls as it empties into the St. Lawrence. 

It was windy, as usual, at the falls and P-Dot almost went over the rail when a big gust of wind came through.  There's a lovely boardwalk that leads you back to the falls to get a better look. High above the falls is a suspension bridge, which I chose to not go across.  Across the river I saw a long staircase leading down to an observation deck.  My first thought was, "What a view that would be." Followed by, "Oh hell all those stairs back up. No thanks." 

So if you ever find yourself in Nova Scotia, plan a trip to Quebec City. I promise you it will not disappoint.