Quebec City
Our trip to Quebec City was supposed to happen in August 2021. But...like so many things...Covid got in the way, and it was rescheduled.
It was another Road Scholar trip (highly recommended)...Hiking and Walking in Quebec City (and environs), and it was just wonderful.
I felt as though I had been transported to an old European city. QC is the only walled city north of Mexico. It is clean, safe, beautiful, and charming. French is the language, but most people in the city are fluent in English...and everyone we met was warm and friendly.
There is (of course) Le Château Frontenac (in the Upper Town...on the St. Lawrence River...opened in 1893...where Winston Churchhill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Candadian Prime Minister William Mackenzie King met during WWII to discuss war strategy). It’s magnificent, imposing, and serves a great lunch!
We stayed at Le Monastère des Augustines, which (originally) was the first hospital built in North America (1639) and was restored and renovated in 2015 into a lovely “luxury wellness hotel.” Beautiful, small rooms (no TV...thank goodness!)...plentiful European-style breakfasts (eaten in silence...another bonus!)...the opportunity to go to the chapel where the 7 remaining nuns (average age: 87) sing vespers each afternoon...and centrally located in the Upper Town of Old Quebec—it was a treat!
We wandered all around the City (Upper and Lower) and also hiked for several hours in the Jacques Cartier Park and also hiked at Orleans Island (and had lunch at a potato farm...potato donuts, who knew?) and also went to the spectacular Montmorency Falls.
We ate Poutine (french friend covered in gravy, vinegar, and cheese curds)—ballast, for sure, and not to be repeated! And we also had one of the best meals I’ve ever had at Chez Muffy (Lower Town...challenging to find...absolutely worth it!).
I could swan on for pages and pages...but, instead, I’ll just say that Quebec City is a marvelous place to visit. If you have been there, please add a comment and your own rave review!
