Next Destination Quebec City

 27th September 2022

The sun is out again this morning, hopefully the rain will stay away. However, the forecast is for rain this afternoon.

A much nicer vista from Auberge Sur Mer

We have chosen to drive along the Route of the Navigators, a tourist drive that  follows the St Lawrence Seaway. It is not the quickest route to Quebec, but it is the most scenic.

It is low tide this morning exposing the rocky shore, this island in the middle of the seaway is obviously a favorite for the birds, and a future source of fertiliser

Our route takes us through a number of small and very scenic villages along the coastline, as well as some very good looking agricultural land with a few dairies and quite a lot of cropping.

We even saw a few goats

Navigation throughout our trip has been GPS on our phones, but wherever we get and opportunity, we try to get a large scale map. Our first opportunity on this leg of our trip was at the small town of Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, where we found a tourist information centre. 

Since entering Quebec Province, virtually nothing is written in English. If you are a tourist and don't read and speak French, then you are not catered for.

Fortunately the lady in the information centre spoke good English, but had run out of maps of Quebec Province. She gave us a number of other helpful isolated maps and brochures, all printed in French which should help us to Quebec and through to Montreal.

Information Centre Saint-Jean-Port-Joli

Actual time booked to stay in Quebec City is only 2 nights and there is a lot to see, so we decided to try to see the Montmorency Falls on the outskirts of Quebec to fill in time before we can check in to our hotel. The information centre advised that we could catch a ferry across the river at Levis, to avoid having to go all of the way into Quebec. It took us a while to find the ferry terminal and then we seemed to be the only car there wishing to catch it. Once we were informed it would be another 45 minutes before the next ferry we decided to give that option a miss and go through Quebec.

It was lunch time, so we called into a shopping centre along the way to get a light lunch in a food court. 

Emerging from the shopping centre we were greeted with rainfall. Whilst it was overcast when we entered we did not expect the weather to turn on us so quickly. Plans changed quickly and we set our course for our hotel in Quebec, hoping we would be able to book in early.

Whilst well located, the Hotel was not quite what we expected.

C3 Hotel art de vivre

The rooms are compact, more like what you would find in the older hotels in European cities and the decor is interesting. 

There is a common area downstairs where you can help yourself to tea, coffee and can sit down.

Breakfast is to be delivered in a paper bag outside your room, but you can then take it down to this area to eat it if you do not wish to eat in your room ?

The hotel is located across the road from the Museum of Fine Arts, so John is happy, and we are adjacent to one of the major tourist attractions, The Plains of Abraham where the major wars for control of Quebec were fought in the mid 1700's.

A quirky exhibit outside the Fine Arts Museum was and old CRT TV with a flame burning inside it.

It is fine at the moment but the risk of rain is high, so we head over to the Plains of Abraham for a quick look and point ourselves in the direction of the old town which is a walk of around 1.5 km, downhill.

There are two further annexes of the museum of fine arts on the Plains, so it is a big museum.

This is one of the Annexes

We will be back tomorrow to investigate in detail as it is already approaching closing time, and there is some urgency to get to the shelter of old town before it rains.

The Plains of Abraham is a huge park perched on the top of a steep coastal cliff, seemingly difficult to assault from the sea, but that is exactly what the British did to defeat the French in one of the battles of the seven years war. In the Battle of Quebec in 1759, the British were victorious, in one of the pivotal battles of the seven years war.

Plains of Abraham

It is an absolute haven for sqirrels

Joan of Arc Garden

The rain has started and there is some urgency to seek shelter. We are still quite a long way from the old town, so hopefully the rain will not get too heavy.

John seeking some respite under the trees

Whilst the rain was light at first it soon turned very heavy and we were pretty devoid of shelter so with only "waterproof" jackets and a couple of flimsy umbrellas we soldiered on. By the time we got to the arch of the city wall and joined all of the others seeking shelter, we were all pretty wet from the feet up.

It is only 5.30pm, sightseeing is not an option under these conditions, so we seek out a bar. Not as easy to find as you would think, but eventually we found a bistro that was happy to give us a table for an hour or so, so we could have a drink and relax.

Our watering hole for a few hours

By about 6.45 pm, the rain had abated and we headed off in the general direction of our restaurant, Bistro St Malo where we have a booking for 8 pm.

Chateau Frontenac, no doubt Quebecs most photographed building

From the viewing platform at the top of the funicular rail that takes you down to the old city, we can see the port. We are currently at the upper level of the old town with Chateau Frontenac just behind us.

There is a large Celebrity Cruise Ship in port and a smaller one "Aurora"

Walking towards our restaurant the crowds are thinning out and the streets quite bare. The ground is still very wet from the heavy rain earlier.

Parc Montmorency

Our dinner restaurant

We all enjoyed our meals, which were simple food cooked very well. Three of us had cassoulet and Carole has a seafood "stew", which was more like a bisque laden with seafood. A few deserts were also consumed.

We caught a taxi home from the restaurant, as the thought of taking on the steep climb back up to the upper town with full stomachs and the fear of further rain was too much for the team.