One of the advantages of our hotel in Quebec City was breakfast at Le Pain Béni was included and delicious! We started our first full day in the city with the best seat in the house, right by the window. The rain had poured all night long but it didn’t feel so bad curled up under the slanted roof and cozy under our Hudson Bay blanket. Still, with the promise of more rain it seemed a good day to go to a museum!

Early mornings and rainy days have their advantages, including sometimes feeling like you have the entire city to yourself.

It’s too bad Les Museée de la Civilisation didn’t have many spots that allowed pictures. We had a wonderful time exploring the People of Québec…Then and Now exhibit. I was especially fascinated by the variety of contemporary takes on Québec history and I just loved the stations that brought voices of the past to life with creative recordings. They had that perfect blend of being informative, humorous and just a little bit corny. That feels like home to me, hehe.

I wish I could also recreate for you a bit of the Haiti: In Extremis show that we experienced. It is still sitting in my heart and mind. It was one of those art experiences that asks you to expand into an entirely different perspective. It was intense, magical, frightening, spiritual… It was a different world.

When we left the museum, we were delighted to see signs of sunshine! It seemed like a perfect time to head into Lower Town and have a bite to eat.

We found this wonderful little restaurant with a beautiful outdoor patio. We tucked in for salads and a lovely glass of wine in the sunshine – and of course, some creme brulee!

Lower Town is a beautiful part of the city and we had a great time exploring. We’re not big shoppers but we did find some treasures, including a store that specializes in using reclaimed wool. We couldn’t resist the quality of the material, the local spin and the brilliant idea and so came home with socks and a toque!

We strolled so long we managed to find a quiet moment in front of the Fresque des Québécois! Earlier in the day there were dozens of people taking their picture in front of this mural, most coming up with creative ways to interact with the historical figures inside the painting!

We continued to walk throughout the beautiful city until it was clear it was time to sit down for another meal. We had to take advantage of this gorgeous break in the weather and found a patio right near our hotel.

There’s nothing quite like ending your day with a view of the moon and a chateau.

 

Rather spontaneously, Justin and I decided to take an extended weekend away to celebrate our dating anniversary by heading to Quebec City.  In one fell swoop we booked our flights and hotel and before we knew it, we were on our way. I barely had time to remember that I’m afraid of flying! Good thing too because our connecting flight was tiny (only 19 rows) and if I’d thought about it too hard, I might have chickened out!

I’m so glad I didn’t because start to finish this trip was a delight, from our taxi driver who told us to expect four seasons of weather in one day (true!) to arriving in the old city centre and seeing this little boo.

Then there was our hotel – beautiful! We were upgraded to this lovely room and though we were worried it was going to rain throughout the trip, this suddenly made cozying up and listening to the rain seem like not such a bad option! It was a perfect combination of old world charm and modern luxuries. We were able to walk everywhere we wanted to go and the staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. We took a few moments to settle in and then immediately grabbed our cameras and headed out the door!

Steps away was this amazing artist’s row. Within moments we were learning about the popularity of copper etching in Quebec City and seeing all sorts of representations of parts of the city we would come to know and love.

Next we found our way down to La Promenade des Gouverneurs, a wonderful, wide walkway that gives you beautiful views of the city and the powerful St. Lawrence River. We walked the entire length of it and found ourselves on the Plains of Abraham.

This is the location of a pivotal moment in Canadian history. In 1759 the British defeated the French and took control of Quebec, changing the path of this land forever. While we were contemplating this place and our history, school groups were doing re-enactments – one group representing the English and one, the French. There was enthusiastic marching, yelling and charging! As with so many things during our visit, this felt so like home, so my culture, so my history, so a part of the fibre of our lives, from it being wonderfully corny to it being incredibly politically complex.

No matter how far we walked, the beautiful Chateau Frontenac was our landmark. No wonder it is the most photographed hotel in the world! We even managed to do a little exploration in the hotel, including discovering these amazing tiny circular hideaways for drinks overlooking the river!

As rain started to make an appearance, we decided to walk back to our hotel and passed by the incredibly impressive government building. It was full of statues of historical figures from Samuel de Champlain and the very beginnings of Quebec to more recent politicians like Maurice Duplessis and Robert Bourassa.

We’d only been in Quebec an afternoon and already we’d walked miles and miles and fallen in love with the beauty, the history, the character of the place

Despite the grey and the rain, we knew we had picked just the right place for us to visit.

We ended our day at the D’Orsay, enjoying steak frites and locally brewed beer. Perfect. And that was only day 1!