Graduation in Quebec and Montreal

Our cruise ended in Quebec. We really enjoyed the journey with Royal Carribean. It was a beautiful itinerary, with charming and sweet ports and destinations. We were lucky with the weather, except for one day, and we had pleasant company and good entertainment. However, overall, we liked our cruise in March better. The ship was smaller back then, with fewer people on board and no constant background noise of music and quizzes. That suited us better. There was also enough space to sit and read in peace, which was completely missing on this trip. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful cruise on the "beautiful Adventure of the Seas", as the captain always said.

So, the final part of our big journey was the French part of Canada. Quebec is a truly beautiful town with a well-preserved old town. Narrow streets, many restaurants, and small shops. In short, it felt very European! And we prefer that over typical North American cities. On the first day, we leisurely explored the city. The weather was fantastic, warmer than usual for this region. On the second day, we took a bus to the countryside and got to see some of the beautiful surroundings. We visited the Basilica of Saint-Anne-de-Beaupré, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in North America. We also went to the copper factory where the church doors were made, and to a chocolate shop on Île d'Orléans at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. We really liked it there, so cozy and pretty. In summer, with this weather, it's probably even more enjoyable. But in winter, with below freezing temperatures and snow (if you want a guaranteed white Christmas, this is the place to go), it's surely quite different. The Montmorency Falls marked the end of our tour. They are 83 meters high, 30 meters higher than the famous Niagara Falls. Unexpected, but impressive 😂. We spent the evening in the old town of Quebec, enjoying the atmosphere.

From there, we took a long-distance bus to Montreal, our final stop. The journey took about three hours and was very comfortable. In Montreal, it wasn't as sunny and a bit cooler, but it didn't rain, and that was enough for us. In the evening, we visited Schwartz's Deli. I found it on a website called "150 things to do in Canada", and the recommendation was really good. They offer smoked meat, which was delicious. Even Jutta was convinced by the waiter, despite her initial skepticism, and she loved it. Somehow, we forgot to take a photo, for whatever reason. So here's the link to the deli's website, where you can see for yourself what it looks like:

https://schwartzsdeli.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=4

The tourist highlight in Montreal is definitely the Basilica de Notre Dame. It was the most beautiful church we saw in North America. But we also liked the Church of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours (with the oldest chapel in the city) and St. Patrick's Basilica. As I said, this part of Canada feels quite European 😂. Our last dinner on Canadian soil was typical: burgers and fries for Jutta, and poutine for me. Now, most people will wonder what poutine is. It's really crazy, actually: fries with gravy and cheese. I have no idea how they came up with that, but it's very popular in Canada, so we had to have it one last time. And the next morning, at the train station, we made a final visit to my beloved Tim Hortons. I couldn't resist and got some travel snacks 🍩🍩🍩🍩. But now we're ready to go back home!

Now we're on the train from Montreal to Baltimore via New York. It's a total of about 13 hours. It's quite far, almost 900 kilometers including border control. And tomorrow evening, our flight will take off and bring us back home.