Quebec City

[daytime dave]

Last weekend, I went to Quebec City with Mary. Her mother and other relatives have traced their ancestry to Ile D'Orleans, an island in the St. Lawrence River off of Quebec City. It was a great chance to catch up on my French language skills. They haven't been tested since college. French being the primary language in the Province of Quebec, I tried to hold my own. Thankfully, English is spoken everywhere we went. It was a very interesting trip. The first snafu was the GPS on the F150 taking us through Montreal instead of around it. That was an hour and a half nightmare. We arrived at the Hotel Frontenac just in time for the formal dinner in a private room. What a gourmet meal! The next day was a trip to the island and much to our surprise, the proverbial ancestral home. It is still used as a home and has been around since the 1650's. Saturday evening was on your own dinner and we hit a Bistro with a few of her siblings. The poutine was outstanding. Sunday was a quick shopping trip to Old Quebec city and then the long ride home. It went faster as we went around Montreal.

The best part of the trip by far, was the bus driver Jaak. He was from the island and had researched the ancestor extensively prior to our day trip. He didn't have to, but he did. He even went to the cemetery the day before and saved us from searching in vain for her grave, which was not there or not marked. A great guy and fun to talk to.

[PT7]

DD, sounds like a wonderful trip, and glad you guys got to take it. Thanks for the travelogue and photos. They are great!

Would you explain the umbrellas? That is a neat photo, especially in the bright sunlight!

[daytime dave]

Sure, apparently, nothing stirs in the Old city part until around 0900 hrs. We were there at 0715 hrs and it was like a ghost town. We had it nearly to ourselves. There was one cafe open and it had outdoor seating. After coffee and a croissant, we met an older man who was going to photograph the umbrellas. He lived in the city and was out photographing in the morning light. He was dressed all in black and a black semi bowler hat. A thick white mustache and curly white hair flowing out from under the hat. A real character. He said the umbrellas were a tourist attraction. It got people into that alley/street. From looking at it, he's right, you may not have gone that way otherwise. Just a cool little aside in the Old city.

[The Wiz]

Thanks for sharing. The umbrellas where way cool!

[RanchRoper]

Played hockey as a kid and went to a huge tournament there when I was 12. Played in the Colosseum in front of 20,000 people. Quebec Winter Carnival. Didn't score any goals but did get a 5 minute major for fighting. Booed by 20,000 was cool.

Nice pics!

[Bugs]

Beautiful architecture. Love the pics.