Quebec - a single construction site

Tshaj tawm: 01.09.2023

The weather report keeps what it said yesterday. The sun shines from the blue, cloudless sky. After outsmarting the jet lag by sleeping for a long time, we start our city tour of Quebec City in the late morning.

Facts

Ville de Québec (also: Quebec City) is the capital of the largely French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec. The city on the St. Lawrence River was founded in 1608. The oldest districts include the fortified town center from the colonial era as well as the stone buildings and narrow streets around Place Royale. The majestic hotel Château Frontenac is also located in the old town

and the impressive citadel.

In the cobbled streets of the Petit Champlain district

Petit Champlain

Bistros and boutiques crowd together.

Quebec City has approximately 550,000 residents, as well as North America's oldest newspaper, oldest hospital, Canada's first Anglican cathedral and first museum. It is also the only city in North America that is surrounded by city walls. Architecturally, Quebec is considered the most European city in North America.

Shahaatz has booked a steamboat excursion for this afternoon. Unfortunately, there was also an audio tour of the city in his shopping cart - in English, which he bought at the same time. Well then let's go to the first sight.

The whole of Quebec City is one big construction site (un seul chantier). There is digging everywhere.

The tour wasn't very good, no anecdotes just blunt, succinct facts.

Actually, everything in the old town is quite close together, but in total you can cover a few kilometers. With so many sights, we completely forgot to have breakfast. At 2:30 p.m. it's time for a coffee and a croissant for me and a coffee and a chocolate croissant for Schahaatz.

All that's missing is the beret on our head and the baguette under our arm and we can pass as real French 😂😂😂.

Oh, now it's time to go to the ship. We actually should have walked through the city, but it's much nicer by the water - and much longer. So keep goose-stepping, time is slowly running out. Oh a barrier for a concert - oh rehearsals for tonight - oh Helene Fischer of the French.

Time is running short and Shahaatz has to take photos.

We continue - past a cruise ship in the harbor (now we know why the city was so full) and to the check-in for our steamer tour.

The ship sets off for Montmorency Falls at 4 p.m. sharp.

Facts

Located just 15 minutes from Quebec City, the falls are 83 meters high, 30 meters higher than the world-famous Niagara Falls!

The guide David had us on the trip

all sorts of historical things are told about Quebec's role in the past, especially in World War II and in trade. Most of it - because David had to moderate everything in French and English and did it pretty quickly - sounded like Welsh with an English accent: “wauhouauoohuwauhuhwauou”.

After docking in the harbor, there is the last sight to see. The citadel. But first we have to go back to the hotel for a moment. No, not what you think. Shahaatz has forgotten his camera and without it the sunset is only half as beautiful.

Yesterday we saved ourselves the stairs from the lower village to the top (thanks to the inclined elevator), today we save the 10 CAD$.

And the climbing of stairs never ends. To get to the citadel, you continue uphill - by stairs, of course.

We walk around the entire citadel (No. 20 on the map at the bottom left) and the sun slowly sets.

For the last evening, Shahaatz picked out a Japanese restaurant for us. However, when we get there at 8:15 p.m., it's already closed (closes at 7 p.m., weird time).

Such a bummer, but apparently you can't have everything sunset and sushi.

Since there are restaurants on every corner, a replacement was quickly found: the Le d'Orsay Restaurant. True to the motto: It's full there, it has to be good. Here we eat the local specialty poutine for the first time.