Visiting Quebec
I was with a French team and, arriving at Quebec, I told them that I was feeling like being in France. They stared at me as if I was crazy, and said: No way. That’s the problem! Who comes from outside can only appreciate the general look – and there the resemblances. Who lives in place notices the details – and there the differences. But I keep my idea. It really looks something like France.
I really appreciated Canada as a more humanised America, and Quebec as the more familiar of it. I don’t know how would I react to its severe winter, instead of my Portuguese sun. But I felt that I could easily live there. And feel good.
ONHOUA CHETEK8E
Popular Theater
A well reconstructed Huron village gave us the idea of traditional life of the Indians. The performance was convincing, and the actors were real Indians, fitting very well in the characters.
Only the speaker… blond with blue eyes… maybe!
A light and nice stop.
Citadel
The military strongholds of Quebec are not only an historic reference and one more similarity with Europe, but also a remarkable sightseeing point over the river.
Well kept and maintained, concrete and lawns join in a wide and pleasant ensemble, and you may also visit the military museum.
Statue of Bishop Montmorency-Laval
Facing the post office in central Quebec, there’s an interesting statue of the first bishop in the city.
He played a very important role in colonial administration and relationship with natives.
Frescoes
Maybe because we arrived under a bright sun, the first and strongest impression about Quebec was… colors.
Either with building details, street animation or even paintings, colors where shining everywhere, contrasting with the grey base of the rocky facades.
Montmorency falls
Niagara is wide, Montmorency is high.
Not so spectacular as its neighbour, these falls, not far from town, impress by the highness, and are enclosed in a beautiful park.
The descent at its side allow nice views.
Notre Dame du Cap de La Madeleine
A few kilometers out of Quebec, we stopped by the St. Lawrence river, in a wide area dominated by a big and modern church.
It’s a famous pilgrimage destination since a long time, still keeping some of the old small churches in the surrounding gardens.
Website: Notre-Dame
Les Voutes du Cavour – Food and tradition
Les Voutes du Cavour – Food and tradition
A reasonable meal in a restaurant placed in a classified building, right in the historical quarter of Quebec.
Being in a group, the meal was previously ordered by the guide, and that doesn’t allow a serious evaluation of the service and price. But the food was tasty and with good presentation.
Address: 44 rue Saint-Louis
Chateaugway – A bad night
Chateaugway – A bad nightMaybe because we were a family of four, we went to an apartment over the entrance. It was large, nothing to say about beds and bathroom, but it had no conditioned air. It was very, very hot and impossible to sleep with the window closed. But it was also impossible with it opened, because the noise from the road. Bad memories from this city.
We were travelling in a three stars base, but one of the first hotels rated four, and… we became expecting some comfort. However, for us, everything failed in Quebec. The French people had no complaints, but… we did.
We alerted the guide and he seemed very surprised. Maybe because of it, in the following stop, we had the best apartment (I think).
St. Lawrence river. Curious…
Why are we stopping by these rustic cabins and… nothing else?
The answer came with the explanation: in winter the river freezes, and those cabins are pushed to the river.
A hole in the floor allows the renter to catch dozens of fishes from the river, without leaving the “comfort” of home.
Ingenious, indeed, but… is that sport?
Colors
Maybe because we arrived under a bright sun, the first and strongest impression about Quebec was… colours.
Either with awnings, building details, street animation or even paintings, colours were shining everywhere, contrasting with the grey base of the rocky facades.
Easy to understand why it was my favorite town in Canada.
Street performers
For us, one of the highlights of Quebec was… life.
The streets were full of people, with painters, musicians, and all kind of sellers, giving to town a color and a warm charm like no one else we’ve seen in North America.
Quebec – my favorite city in Canada
