Quebec City was first settled by Jacques Cartier in 1535, but was abandoned the following year. It was again founded, this time by Samuel de Champlain, and became a permanent settlement in 1608. It is one of the oldest cities in North America. With it’s intact fortress and classic old European roots, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. A walk down any of the narrow winding streets will transport one back to France of an earlier time.

We made camp about 15 minutes from the ferry docks on the south side of the St. Lawrence. We left the car behind at the dock and $6.00 purchased both of us foot passenger round trip tickets to the old city.

This was our second visit to Quebec City. For us the charm has not worn off. By day it is a bustling tourist Mecca with shops ranging from inexpensive tourist kitch to high end (and high cost) haute couture. If one remains within the old city it is easy to forget that Quebec City is home to over 500,000 residents and it is the center of government for the Province of Quebec.

The side streets abound with small boutique hotels and restaurants. “5 star” accommodations and dining are center stage. Indeed, the skyline of Quebec City is dominated by the phenomenal edifice of the Hotel Chateau Frontenac. It resembles a fortress Castle by day, but at night it is nothing short of magical. It is considered the most photographed hotel in the world. Built in 1893, it has 600 guest rooms arrayed on 18 floors. The base rate for a room is $600 per night with the “Gold Experience” floors upping the ante to $950 per night.

We concluded our visit with dinner at Restaurant Saint Amour. A true gourmet experience. Christine enjoyed a combination Beef Wellington and Filet Mignon. I savored the house specialty of Fois Gras with accompaniments and a second plate consisting of smoked octopus served upon Risotto infused with its ink. Remarkable!!

The return trip across the St. Lawrence provided a mystical panorama of the stunning skyline.

Tomorrow we head to the fjords of Parc National du Saguenay. The promise is for incredible scenery, grand hiking, and whale watching.

Peace Everyone. Pete

We are heading northeast along the north shore of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Montréal is about 2.5 hours from Ottawa, and Quebec City is about 2.5 hours beyond Montréal. Yesterday Ottawa, today Montréal… tomorrow Quebec City.

Founded in 1642 as a missionary colony, modern Montréal is a huge city situated upon an island. Nearly 2 million people live on the island with another 2 million residing in the immediate surrounding area. It is Canada’s second largest city after Toronto and the 8th largest city in North America. Montréal is supremely international with 80% of the population fluent in two languages and 20% fluent in three. It is connected to the world over, and as an example at least 18 flights each week depart Montréal for China.

It is one of the top university cities in the world with a university and college student population of over 200,000. Chief among the institutions of higher education is McGill University. McGill is ranked 1st among universities in Canada, and is perennially ranked in the top 30 in the world. Admission is competitive, but for those fortunate enough to make the cut the costs are remarkably reasonable. A student attending from the United States faces an annual cost for room, board, and tuition of less than $20,000 US, which is about 2/3 the cost of most US state universities.

Montréal hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics, known for the accomplishments of Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci and Decathlon champion Bruce Jenner. The stadium that was erected remains the most expensive ever built at 1.6 billion dollars. The 1976 Olympics are also noteworthy as the only Olympic Games where the host country did not win a gold medal.

Clearly this city deserves more than a single day, yet that is what we allocated to it. In order to take in the essence of the city we booked a “hop-on-hop-off” Grey Line Double Decker bus tour. The cost was about $50 US for each of us. A bus picked us up at camp and returned us there at the end of the day. Thus we avoided the rush hour stresses, parking stresses, and we were able to relax and take in a well executed tour of Montréal’s highlights. Nevertheless, the tour was much like viewing all of the offerings at a banquet, but being limited to a taste of just a few items. In our case those samples were the St. Joseph Oratoire Basilica and McGill University.

St. Joseph’s is the largest church in Canada, and boasts one of the largest domes in the world. It began as a small chapel where the saintly Brother André lived and worshiped.

He developed a reputation as a miraculous healer. Indeed, there are thousands of crutches hanging floor to ceiling near his crypt.

The thousands of pilgrims who sought him justified the construction of a larger and again still larger edifice. Brother André did not live to see the completion of “his” Basilica, but it has become a monument to his life and legacy.

At his request, after death his heart was removed and placed in a reliquary to protect the church.

Everything about the church is larger than life, including the remarkable carved Stations of the Cross, and towering wood carved images of Christ’s Disciples.

Today was the first day of the new school year at McGill. We visited the bookstore for a couple of wearable souvenirs and then wandered around campus.

It is amazing that such a bucolic setting exists within the heart of downtown Montréal and it is even more amazing how college students appear to be so young these day! We hold some hope that one or more of our grandchildren will consider McGill in their future.

Tomorrow Quebec City.

Peace Everyone. Pete

The hallmark of a good visit is that both host and guest have regret rather than relief that the visit has come to an end. We regret that we will be departing tomorrow, but we are confident that this will not be our last visit to this wonderful city nor the last time that we will share a piece of life with Tom and Nanci. There is more for us to see in Ottawa and someday we hope to share a piece of Kansas City with them.

Today opened without expectations and closed with sighs of contentment. Nanci and I took our bikes out and enjoyed 2 hours on Ottawa’s bicycle friendly streets and byways.

Upon our return the 4 of us decided to take in an afternoon soccer match, Canada’s world ranked women’s team vs. Brazils equally regarded women’s team.

It was an excellent match that opened with the playing of Brazil’s National Anthem followed by “Oh Canada”, the host country’s National Anthem. Spectators and players stood respectfully for both renditions.

The teams engaged in spirited play before over 16,000 fans. The match concluded with team Canada the victor in a 1-0 match.

We departed the stadium for a local bar/restaurant where there was live jazz, libations, and lively conversation that looked to future reunions for the four of us. Tom and Nanci plan to join us for a part of our England Narrowboat “adventure” planned or next April.

We leave tomorrow for Montreal, and as much as that historic city beckons to us, Ottawa will remain a highlight of this trip.

Peace Everyone. Pete

Tonight my post will be short on narrative and long on images.

We toured Ottawa’s “Mosaiculture Gatineau 2018” an outdoor garden spectacle that presents 45 larger than life sculptures formed from wire and metal underframes that support plants that are arranged to complete each art piece. The exhibit covers acres of ground and is accessed by walking a 1km long path. Over 5.5 Million plants from over 200 separate species are involved in the endeavor. Last year over a million visitors toured the exhibit, a number certain to be eclipsed this year.

Among the works was a 100 ton “tree” that presents 56 endangered species of birds in flora art.

A huge head of a woman who’s extended arms present a waterfall on her right and a calf on the left was the show’s favorite.

Other images include a Voyager,

Eskimo,

An array of various animals of the North,

A First People trapper,

And a particularly charming man planting a tree as art imitates life.

Other images are presented at the end of this post.

Another feature of Mosaiculture today were First Nation dances, one of which included audience participation (me and Nanci included).

Finally, the glory of the day was celebrated at Oree du bois Chelsea, a world class dining experience in the forests overlooking Ottawa. The leisurely dinner extended to nearly 3 hours with each minute being a savored memory!

More tomorrow, and of course…

Peace Everyone. Pete