Friday, July 6

Well this is one French word we understand.

There is a large church in Montreal, a cathedral called Basilique Notre-Dame de Montreal. It is very beautiful on the outside and supposedly on the inside.  However, the line was long, it would have been quite expensive or all of us so we decided to punt this.  And, of course the evening light illumination show would be quite impressive for us to come back and see.  (Remember I mentioned that JB and I would love to come back to this area again?)  We left the hustle and bustle of Montreal, the largest French-speaking city on the continent for an older city with just as much bustle and where 95% of the population is Francophone, or French-speaking, Quebec City.  Quebec City was absolutely beautiful in my book.  I loved this place.  It has so much "Old World" charm to use a cliche.  If I were to go to Europe, this is what I would expect it to look like:  very old; lots of stone; houses of all shapes and sizes; people spilling out onto the streets; rows and rows of eateries; bakeries; restaurants lining the streets with seating all over the sidewalks; flowers everywhere conceivable; and historic with an old city wall and a fort.  We had a 2 and a half hour drive to plan our time there.  We started with the fort.  Fortunately we got a guided tour almost immediately and this took us through a fast-paced history of Quebec as well as Canada's military history.  From the fort there was an impressive view of the St. Lawrence River and the Plains of Abraham, the grassy plain now 360 acres large where the British defeated the French in a 30 minute battle in 1759 for control of New France, everything in Canada that the British owned. We then found a parking space and walked around some more of the Upper Town area including going inside another beautiful cathedral called Basillica of Notre Dame.(Note: See "quote of the day" below.)  We walked over to the edge of the wall and decided to go down to the Lower Town area. 

The Olympic Stadium and Tower (called Stade Olympique or "The Stapler") built for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.

 Car Games along the way

 Clutching her "babies"

 All French in Quebec City

Quebec City in the distance from the Fort, La Citadelle

Restaurants on the Sidewalks

Upper Town of Quebec City

Going back through the city gate.

There are 2 ways to get down the very very steep hill that descends to the St. Lawrence.  The old city is walled all around and is set up on top of this steep bluff designed to keep invaders out.  To descend the hill today to the lower town below the wall, the original settlement, you must take either the funicular or the "casse cous" (breakneck staircase).  We decided to take the casse cous (pronounced cah-say coo) down and the funicular back up.  This worked well since we had the baby in the backpack.  The backpack was beneficial at the fort too.  We could tell this was not a flat city by any means and we're glad we thought to bring it along.  (Side note:  If you are ever wondering whether or not to purchase one, do; add it to your baby shower wish list.  We bought ours at Galyan's in Kansas City 14 years ago and have used it with every baby since.)  The stairs were fairly easy (remember we were going down!) and the Old Town was beautiful.  At the old wall about 1/4 of the way down you could look out over the city and see the old town below.  It was the most quaint area I have seen in a long time, old stone houses now turned into shops and restaurants, people everywhere, the old settlement with an orginial church (Eglise Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, 1688, the oldest stone church in North America), flowers spilling out all over the place.  Atmosphere in every sense of the word. 

When we went back up, Scott and JB (with baby in tow) decided to take the stairs up and the rest of us ambled over to the funicular.  Sarah Kelly and Scott had been on one before with me in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but for the others, this was their first time.  They thought it was great, but too short.  What a wonderful view though, we had going up.  After this we went to Musee du Fort, a short 20 minute presentation of the history of Quebec using a diorama with working lights and sounds as well as a screen behind with pictures and overlays.  It's kind of hard to explain but it was perfect for the little ones.  JB and Sarah K stayed with the baby and wandered around a bit while the rest of us watched this.  Scott liked it since he's such a history buff and I thought it clarified a lot of questions I had on the history.  The little ones enjoyed the guns firing and the ships lighting up and the diorama of the town "coming to life" with the show.  And they all got in free as well! 

The diorama that "helped" tell Quebec City's history

Our last stop for the day before dinner and swimming (yes, the children got to swim tonight!) was to J.A. Moisan's Epicier (Grocery).  This sounds odd but I had read about this grocery founded in 1871, the oldest grocery store in America and one of the best.  It is a combination shop/museum/B & B that details the agri-history of Quebec's produce with antiques and 19th century photos.  It's also apparently filled with single French men (?)  JB thought I would enjoy running in for a bit so he dropped me at the street corner.  Little did I know this would keep me from ever going to France.  I was so intrigued by the whole store and of course I took pictures.  During the course of my 20 some minutes in there, I was approached by 3 men at different times, who, of course, all spoke French.  They were trying to "help" me I'm sure.  One helped me pick out a delicious drink from the ice box; (it was good) and another helped me with my bagels, and still another wanted to make small talk.  JB declared that he is never taking me to France lest I get swept off my feet by one of them!  I responded that he needn't worry, I've already been swept off my feet.  So maybe someday I'll get to go France after all.  I do really LOVE the way they talk though!
We will leave Quebec City in the morning very early to try and make high tide late tomorrow afternoon at the Bay of Fundy.  So we will have mostly a travel day to compare to today's mostly walking day.

Wish I caould find another one of these Raspberry Lemonades I got at the Epicier (grocery) above.

All tuckered out from Quebec City.  We are up and ready for breakfast, but she's still asleep.

Quote of the Day: While inside the beautiful church in Quebec City as we were walking up the hushed aisles to the front, admiring the beautiful architecture, Sarah Kelly whispers, "How does anybody pay attention to the sermon?"