Life Is Better On Vacation: Quebec City

Showing posts with label Quebec City. Show all posts

Friday 30 June 2017

Canada Coast To Coast

British Columbia
Alberta
Saskatchewan
Manitoba
Ontario
Quebec
New Brunswick
Prince Edward Island
Nova Scotia
Newfoundland

This year Canada is celebrating its 150th year of Confederation. We are lucky enough to have seen the country from coast to coast. We have been to all ten provinces and even touched the tidal waters of Nunavut from Churchill, Manitoba. The territories are on our travel wish list. Below is a list of just one of our favourite things from each province.

1 ) British Columbia

BC has the animals, the Pacific Ocean and so much more. One of our favourite things was tea at The Empress Hotel in Victoria. Read More

2 ) Alberta

Alberta shares the Rocky Mountains with BC, but Alberta has Jasper, Banff and Lake Louise. We fell in love with the snow capped mountains. Read More.

3 ) Saskatchewan

Yes it is flat, but the fields with rolls of hay and the blue skies have a feel all their own. It also seemed to have a never ending sunset as we drove westward. Read More

4 ) Manitoba

This is the furthest north we have ever been in Canada. Our favourite thing in Manitoba is the polar bears of Churchill. Read More.

5 ) Ontario

We spend most of our time in the province of Ontario. Algonquin Park is our favourite place to really get away from it all. Read More.

6 ) Quebec

Hotel de Glace is built each winter just outside of Quebec City. We spent a night inside this palace of ice. Read More.

7 ) New Brunswick

The Hopewell Rocks are formed by the high tidal fluctuations that occur in the area. You can walk down beneath the unusual rocks and 6 hours later the water has returned and filled everything back in. Read More.

8 ) Prince Edward Island

Our brief two day visit to PEI was 48 hours of rain. We did enjoy getting to and from the island. First we drove across the marvel that is Confederation Bridge and then we saw the red soil when we left on a ferry. We will return. Read More.

9 ) Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia has Peggy's Cove and Cape Breton Island. One of our best days in the province was spent at the Halifax Public Gardens. Read More.

10 ) Newfoundland

Iceberg Alley passes right around the top of Newfoundland. We were lucky to see these gigantic 10,000 year old pieces of glacial ice as they floated in the Atlantic Ocean. Read More.

Ten provinces and ten wonderful memories.

HAPPY 150th BIRTHDAY CANADA !!

Map of Our World

Banff Gondola , Saskatchewan , Hopewell Rocks Park , Halifax Public Gardens , Witless Bay

Empress Hotel , Hotel De Glace , Confederation Bridge

Tundra Buggy Tour , Algonquin Park (Lake Opeongo)

Post # 181

Sunday 15 January 2017

The Quebec City to Levis Ferry

Location: Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Address: 10 Rue des Traversiers
Date: Feb 2010
Website: www.traversiers.com

We didn't need to get to Levis, in fact we didn't even get off on the other side. We rode the ferry that goes across the St. Lawrence River for sheer pleasure. We had been staying at the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City and from the hotel we could see the ferries pushing through the ice that had formed on the river's surface. We just had to get a closer look.

So despite the bitter wind and cold we took the funicular (incline railway) down to where the ferry departs. We rode the ferry from Quebec City to Levis and back again. The trip only takes about 20 minutes each way. At these low temperatures you could get frostbite much faster.

From the middle of the river you get great photo opportunities of Old Quebec along with Chateau Frontenac (top of this page) and the famous Citadel. That is if you were willing to leave the warmth of the ship's interior and head out onto the deck

Broken chunks of ice jutted up from the river's surface. These had been broken up by our ferry or other boats from further up river. We watched as the ice moved from our path or sometimes huge cracks formed as our boat fought its way through.

In some spots the ice was moving rapidly because the current was so strong. The ferry had to adjust for the current so it would force its way against the current and then ride with it in order to arrive at the station on the other side. The St. Lawrence River runs from the Atlantic Ocean, through the provinces of Quebec and Ontario until it finally ends its 3,000 kilometre journey at the first of the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario.

It wasn't long until the ferry scraped up against the icy wall on the Levis side of the river. While the ferry off-loaded and re-loaded we took the opportunity to warm up back inside again. Our cameras also appreciated the break. Just be aware that changes in temperature can lead to a foggy lens so be sure to give your camera some time to adjust.

We had started off on the upper deck but now we wanted to get even closer to the action. The lower level of the ferry is where vehicles are secured while they make the journey across the river. This also just happened to be the best spot to get right up close to the cracking ice and the metallic creak of the ferry as it forced its way along. Oh what a noise! In the video below you can hear for yourself. Mostly what you will hear is the wind blowing into the tiny microphone on our camcorder, but beneath that is the crunch of ice.

As the boat scraped against land once more on the Quebec City side we were glad to be back from our adventure. We headed up to the warmth of our hotel where we were happy to report that everyone, camera equipment included, had survived the trip.

Map of Our World

Quebec City to Levis Ferry

Post # 156

Saturday 30 January 2016

Carnaval de Quebec

Location: Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Address: Plaines D'Abraham
Date: Feb 2010
Website: www.carnaval.qc.ca

For many years Quebec City has hosted a carnival in the very heart of winter. It starts at the end of January and runs throughout most of February. The carnival includes parades, fireworks, games, music and more. In the mid 1950s the carnival was revitalized and a snowman wearing a red hat and sash became its official mascot. His name is Bonhomme Carnaval. We encountered Bonhommes all over Quebec City. We were even greeted by one when we arrived at the airport.

The main site of Carnaval de Quebec is located on the Plains of Abraham. Before we reached the plains, we passed Place Loto-Quebec and Bonhomme's Ice Palace. Each year a special palace is constructed out of blocks of ice. Due to the temperature at this time of year being constantly below zero there is no fear of this palace melting during the carnival.

In order to gain access to all of the Carnaval events you need to wear a small pin or effigy on your jacket. The theme in 2010 was "The Carnival Makes You Dance!" so the effigys featured Bonhomme dancing in front of a disco ball.

As we entered the main Carnaval site we walked past the International Snow Sculpture Event. All of the competitors deserve an award just for enduring the extreme cold weather for hours while working on their snowy creations.

A few of our favourites were a gymnastics sculpture, a man escaping from a bear and a screaming ice face.

The sculpture above represents how most people look when that first blast of cold Quebec City winter air hits their face. It was almost cold enough that your face might just stay that way. We did seek out a temporary reprieve from the cold by going into a few tents, like the Mr. Christie / Kraft tent that was giving out samples.

Then it was back outside where we took part in some zip lining and tobogganing until the sun started to go down. We enjoyed our time at Carnaval de Quebec but now we were ready to head back towards our hotel. We needed to find a fireplace to thaw us out and a nice hot meal to fill us up.

Map of Our World

Carnaval de Quebec

Post # 93

Monday 25 January 2016

Rue Saint Louis

Location: Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Address: 34 Rue Saint Louis
Date: Feb 2010
Website: www.auxancienscanadiens.qc.ca

Quebec City in the winter is cold. We arrived at the end of January and we were thinking it must have been somewhere in the -40 C range. We could be wrong, but it is normal for Quebec City to have low temperatures at this time of year. Temperatures lower than -20 C are not unusual. Add some wind chill to that and there you go. To give you an idea of how cold it was as soon as you went outside your eyelashes would freeze together from the moisture from your eyes. If you had a bit of a runny nose as soon as you took that first breath your nostrils would freeze solid and you would have to resort to mouth breathing. This was best done through several layers of a carefully wrapped scarf. We were ready for the weather and had on thermal long underwear, thick clothing, thick socks and minimal exposed skin. We braced ourselves as we stepped out of the doors of Chateau Frontenac and headed into the frozen city.

We were headed to Quebec's Winter Carnival and our route took us down one of the oldest streets in Quebec City. Rue Saint Louis has been around since the 1600s. It stands to reason that one of the oldest streets would have the oldest house in Quebec City. Maison Jacquet was built in about 1676 and is still standing to this day. The restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens moved into this building almost 300 years later in 1966.

As you head further west you leave the rows of shops and restaurants behind and head towards what looks like a castle. This is the Porte Saint Louis and is one of the city gates. It is part of a wall that surrounds the city and attaches to the military fort La Citadelle de Quebec. We headed under the pedestrian archway and continued our journey beyond the city walls.

If it was possible, it seemed even colder at this point. We had almost reached our destination. A bust of Gandhi braved the elements just outside of Bonhomme's Castle.

A short distance from Gandhi was a monument to François-Xavier Garneau. He was a French Canadian poet and civil servant who wrote the history book, Histoire du Canada. Just a little further past Francois and we had reached the Plains of Abraham where Carnaval was set up. A horse drawn carriage went by close to the Quebec Parliament building.

After enjoying ourselves at Carnaval it was time to make the return trip to our hotel. On the way back it was darker and some snow began to fall. We stopped and enjoyed a much needed hot meal at the restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens we had passed earlier. We enjoyed both the decor and our dinner. Some french onion soup at the beginning of the meal was the perfect thing to start the defrosting process. When we stepped outside again, the street lights seemed to glow a little brighter and the snow twinkled in the light. Despite the bitter cold we walked along Rue Saint Louis towards Chateau Frontenac feeling warm inside.