Thursday, August 9
Often referred to as the "crown jewel of French Canada", Quebec City impresses with its classic European architecture, imposing bastions, romantic promenades and picturesque plazas.
Founded: One of the oldest European settlements in North America and founded by Samuel de Champlain in 1608.
Region: Located at the northeastern tip of North America
Population: 765,706 (est. 2011)
Climate: Summers are sunny and warm with average temperatures of 77F. Winters can be bitterly cold, windy and snowy with average temperatures between 8F and 23F.
Language: French
Currency: Canadian dollar (CAD)
Today we had a 4 hour private tour booked to see some of the sights out of town. Our guide was there to meet us at the port at the scheduled time.
Our first stop was to the Basilica of Saint-Anne-de-Beaupre, founded in 1650 and is well known as a "land of miracles" for more than 350 years. I would have to say that this is one of the most amazing churches I have been in. The mosaics inside are just beautiful and are everywhere including the ceilings. Downstairs under the church there is another chapel which is just as beautiful. It was interesting to see all the medical leftovers such as crutches and all types of medical equipment that have been left in the church after receiving a miracle. I could have spent a lot longer there than the time we had allotted.
We then proceeded to the magnificent park of the Canyon Saint-Anne. The Canyon's imposing waterfall is spanned by three suspension bridges - one that is almost 60m above the river. Our guide sent us on a walk that loops around the canyon crossing two of the bridges. It had been threatening rain all day but nothing had eventuated so we set off without any wet weather gear.... well most of us as I had my trusty yellow poncho in my shoulder bag that had been in there since Sydney.
At the halfway point, just as we were about to cross the second bridge for the return loop there was thunder and lightening and the heavens opened. Thankfully we. We're near the rock climbers shelter and all 6 of us could huddle there. Our guide earnt her tip when after about half an hour she came looking for us with a golf buggy! Rescued! Mind you the rock climbers' guides went into panic mode and had to go and secure some of the novice climbers until the conditions eased.
Safely back in the van we changed our itinerary and instead of stopping at the Montmorency Falls we viewed and took photos from the car and drove on, over the bridge to Ile d'Orleans.... known as the "Gardens of Quebec" and provides Quebec City with fresh produce. There are some very old cottages and some very grand well kept houses in a rural setting that have fabulous views across the St Lawrence river to the hustle and bustle of QC. We stopped to taste some of the local ware.... yes the famous choc top soft serve ice creams and the maple syrup and nut ice cream for me (less messy!!!).
Our time was up so our guide kept reminding us so we headed back the old town of Quebec City via "Chemin du Roy" (King's Road) the most ancient road suitable for vehicles in New France, for some free time to explore the old cobbled streets.
After following a walking route (available at the tourist office) around the icons we took advantage of the funicular down to the old part of the town before walking back to the ship via the free fast wifi in the cruise terminal. It was so nice to be able to FaceTime the grandkids...
Back on board 10 minutes before our ten o'clock curfew we headed straight to the bow to watch the fireworks display which was part of a 5 day competition between fireworks manufacturers. After an amazing display we headed for the comfort of our shoe box stateroom and didn't even make an appearance for our 11pm Sailaway.
Two sea days now to start our packing before our last port, Halifax. One sea day then before NY where we will disembark for good.
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