Thursday 22 September 2011

The Road to Touchdown Atlantic: Quebec City Edition

The first site-seeing day of the great adventure to Moncton was in the provincial capital of Quebec. I am a huge history nerd, so taking in the sites of Quebec City was something I have wanted to do for a while. I traveled there when I was younger, but it never really sunk in how impressive the city is.

The first stop of the day was the National Assembly. What an impressive building with some great statues of prominent Quebeckers surrounding it. I am, and always will be, more interested and awed by the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, but the National Assembly is spectacular. It has that awe factor that is lacking from the only other provincial legislature I have seen: Queen's Park in Toronto. Kevin Glenn seemed pretty impressed too.
While looking around the National Assembly, I was sporting one of my Tiger-Cat t-shirts, and as I made my way to the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine statue, an elderly lady was sitting down, enjoying the nice day. She spotted me and gave me a "Yea Hamilton!" To which I replied with my classic, "Yeah!" and a thumbs up. Finding a Hamilton fan in Quebec City: check!

After that it was off to the Plains of Abraham. One of my favourite historical tales is the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. I'm not a big war historian, but that battle between the French and the English captures my imagination like you wouldn't believe. While walking around the area Kevin Glenn spotted a cannon, and I think the metaphor of cannons and arm strength was too much for the Tiger-Cats' pivot to pass up.
Next was a lunch stop at a nice little restaurant called Le Pain Béni. Very delicious food, and I would recommend it to anyone who was planning a trip to Quebec City. The restaurant is across the street from the Chateau Frontenac. The food was reasonably priced. While we were eating, Kevin Glenn wandered off, and found himself a friend. I never knew that he enjoyed accordion music so much.
After lunch, we took a walk around the Château Frontenac. It is a beautiful building. I would say it's one of the most impressive buildings in the city, and it is, but that would be doing a disservice to the other great buildings there are in Quebec City. Still, to see the Chateau is a must for any visitor to Quebec City. Kevin Glenn was sufficiently impressed as well.
Concluding the trip was a walk around old Quebec and to Le Marché du Vieux-Port. Old Quebec was one of the few things I remembered from my previous trip, and it stayed relatively the same. It is a wonderful little walking district, and the history is there for everyone to behold. Sadly, Kevin Glenn was rather tuckered out, so he slept while the rest of us enjoyed our walk and crème glacée.

That ended the day in Quebec City as the rain started to pour and all of us, Kevin Glenn included, had seen what we set out to see. It was a fun stop on the road to Moncton, one I am glad was made. Tomorrow is a travel day, as we leave very early from Quebec City and head to Grand Manan, New Brunswick, where on Saturday, weather permitting, we will go whale watching. Kevin Glenn will be with us as we hopefully see some whales.

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