Quebec City - day 1

After the rumblings at work (which at this point are still not settled) put the kibosh to our planned trip to Croatia, we settled on doing a shorter trip closer to home. I had been to Quebec City in 1981 and I had wanted to return there for some time, and this year was the right year for it. I knew that we could have a lot of fun there. The old city is the only remaining fortified and walled city in Canada and the U.S, and the old town is well preserved and a popular tourist spot. We went once before, in October 1993 but the trip was a failure, it rained like in a post apocalyptic sci-fi movie and it was cold and dark. Not conducive to enjoying the old town! We left early that time.

This time we chose to go three nights, enough to get a good taste and see most of the major sights. There was no point in leaving home very early, because we wanted to hit Montreal after the morning rush hour had petered out. (As if it ever does there!) The other option was to leave ridiculously early and be through Montreal by 6:30 am, but that seemed total overkill, as Quebec City is only two and a half hours past Montreal.  An 8 am start it was!

In Rigeaud, just inside the Quebec boundary, we stopped to use the washrooms and drifted into the tourist information shop attached to the complex. A very friendly and helpful tourist info clerk provided us with lots of information despite the fact that this is not the area this office serves. Armed with maps and brochures we returned to the car.

We delayed obligatory the coffee stop until well after Montreal. About 15 minutes off the island we saw something smart: a service station in the center of the highway, accessible from each side. I often wonder why there are not many more like this. Merging back on from the center was no problem thanks to a solid line keeping other motorists from entering the lane for a certain distance. Build more of these people! 

We continued along highway 40 on the north shore of the St-Lawrence river. After passing Trois-Rivieres the paysage, or lack thereof, became monotonous to say the least. A solid screen of trees on each side of the road and little evidence of towns or villages nearby, it had a very isolated feeling. Zero photo opportunities were encountered. Once we approached Quebec City, traffic got busier and the usual suburban plazas lined the road. We exited to Laurier Boulevard and followed it to the old town. This street is lined with official buildings and beautifully maintained properties, small and large. Eventually we found that the Plains of Abraham were to our right and realized we were close to the old town. The road led directly through the Port Saint-Louis, one of remaining old city gates.

 Port Saint Louis entrance to Vieux Quebec.

Taken later in the same day.

We immediately noticed that the fountain in the main square in the old town was disassembled and being renovated. This has become a joke that follows us everywhere since our trip to Europe in 1997, where many major attractions we wanted to see were being restored and therefore only partially accessible.

For a long time it has been a bit of a dream to stay in the Chateau Frontenac. The place is one of the great Canadian Pacific Railway Chateau style hotels, and it dominates the skyline of old Quebec City. Among a long list of celebrity guests (photos line some of the hallways) are Roosevelt and Churchill who held the Quebec Conference here in 1943. After some searching on line for reasonable rates, we decided that staying in the Chateau this would be our treat this year.  We arrived there just about 14:30, but check-in is not until 4pm and parking for more than an hour is near impossible in the area. And.....they are doing restoration work on the outside of the Chateau!

 The Chateau Frontenac taken from the Citadel wall. The lower area to the left of the main tower is garbed in green construction screening. The solitary tower on the left of the skyline is the Price building, the oldest skyscraper in Quebec. As you can see, it is also being renovated.

So we decided to make better use of the afternoon and go on to Ste-Anne de Beaupre, 35 km east of Quebec City on the north shore of the St-Lawrence river. Ste-Anne de Beaupre is home to a particularly pretty basilica where it is said miracles happen.  Not far from the Port St-Louis and right in front of the parliament buildings of the Province of Quebec is a roundabout connecting various directions including the streets that lead to the highway east. Guess what.......they are doing restoration work on the outside of the north wing of the Parliament Buildings! We laughed. We had not planned to visit them on this trip anyways.

 The roundabout taken from the city walls. Beyond it you can see that the right part of the parliament building is draped in construction netting.

We entered highway 138 going north east, accompanied on the north side by the Laurentian foothills and on the south side by the river. Not too far outside the city we passed the Montmorency falls. The falls are 30 meters higher than Niagara falls, but obviously much narrower. A dam has been installed at the top, I presume to prevent erosion, but I find it somewhat spoils the natural beauty. We left visiting the park for another trip.

Ste-Anne de Beaupre had the feel of a tourist boom town teetering on the edge of ruin. We saw many motels, some well maintained and some garishly themed, (Aloha on the St-Lawrence?) but also some that were closed recently, or not so recently and really decaying. The immediate area of the church was well cared for and old buildings are obviously carefully maintained in the style of the time they were built.

Ste-Anne de Beaupre: Main square in front of (west of) the basilica's entrance.  

There are many pilgrimages organized to this church, and the village receives half a million tourists annually. Pillars in the entrance of the basilica are said to be covered with crutches left behind by people who were healed there. We never ended up going through  the main doors so we did not see that.

The basilica of Ste-Anne de Beaupre is built in a strongly Romanesque influenced style. The current building was completed in 1946, after the earlier church burnt down. It is set parallel to the street, facing west and the village square. To enter the grounds you have to cross a set of unused train tracks. There is a building along the tracks that looks like it was used as a station in the past, when this was likely the normal mode of transportation for pilgrims.

 The basilica of Ste-Anne de Beaupre

We entered through a side entrance and found that there is a chapel below the basilica which itself is about the size of an average church. We left it for later and went upstairs first. There was a mixture of tourists and pilgrims in the church. The inside is decorated with elaborate mosaics on the ceiling, walls and floor. The ceiling is decorated in shades of cream, brown and gold. Stained glass windows contrast crisply with this decor. Gorgeous and elaborate mosaics decorate every chapel wall and chapel ceiling. The floor is done in cream, green and red. The effect makes for an extremely pretty and inviting church, looking very traditional and very modern at the same time.

Main altar, taken  from right front of the church.

Chapel of Ste-Anne, left of the main altar.

Front of church, opposite direction.

Ceiling mosaic detail

Detail of the floor

After looking around in the main church, we wandered back down the stairs to the lower level chapel. In one of the side niches which surround this chapel we located the basilica's exact copy of Michelangelo’s Pieta. This was one of the reasons to go visit this place. The Pieta is my favourite piece of sculpture, for the amazing the way Michelangelo was able to turn marble into cloth. Although it is “just” a copy, it was much easier to reach than the original in Rome. We were separated from the sculpture by an at least 5' high fence that was placed rather close to it. This made close viewing easy, but photography much trickier. The best method turned out to be to just hold the camera up in the air, shoot, check the picture and adjust the angle. The photographer’s toy weighs well over three pounds, and it took some 15 shots to get two good angles. When he was done he complained he found it warm in the church. No kidding! You just worked out that arm!

The "ersatz" Pieta. Not so ersatz really. The debate rages on whether seeing this sculpture is now off my "bucket list" or not.

Taken through the fence. This sculpture is rather pale in colour compared to the original. 

We went out the side entrance on the other side of the building. I had read that there are various outbuildings of interest behind the basilica, but they were not accessible because they were......(wait for it)............being restored! People probably wondered why we were suddenly laughing and pointing at the buildings.

I'm sure it will look nice........when it is finished. Taken over construction barriers.

So we wandered around to the front entrance of the basilica and found a garden with a fountain and a beautiful view of the front. The front entrance doors are of elaborately sculpted metal. After some pictures we wandered back to the parking lot and bought some water and a snack in the gift shop. Lunch somehow never happened, and I was pretty hungry by now. Next to the parking lot is the museum of Ste-Anne, which we skipped. On the south walls of the museum are a series of pretty murals, depicting the founding and development of the village and the various incarnations of the church.

The front of the basilica

Detail of the doors

We drove back to the city against “rush hour” traffic and re-entered the old town. Mass confusion then ensued, as we had read that parking was only by valet, but we could not figure out where they were hiding. (It turned out the main entrance is hidden in the middle of the building, and you have to enter through a gate to get to it, but construction made us reluctant to enter the arches.) Eventually the photographer just went into the parking garage took a ticket and parked the car on a higher level with some empty spots. We dragged our stuff through this many times extended building up and down half flights of stairs to the front desk. Unfortunately check in process truly left something to be desired. There was a significant line up but only three of the six computer stations were staffed. That is totally inexcusable for the prices being charged even with the discount package we found online. I have never had to stand in line 30 minutes to check into a hotel before.

Room key and parking pass obtained, we took the elevator upstairs and walked to our room. On the way I noticed that live chickens are being kept in pens outside windows facing the courtyard. As we were on the fourth floor, this is on the roof of a lower structure. This mystery of why these chickens are there never got solved. There were certainly not enough chickens to supply eggs or meat for the restaurants in the hotel.

Once we drop our stuff in the room, we headed out to find a nice quaint place to have dinner. We settled on “Pain Beni”, unintentionally continuing the theme of the afternoon, although in name only. They served us a really good fondue made of local cheeses, with bread, fruit and cold cuts and after that some very tasty desserts. We tried a Quebec wine from the “Orpailleur” vineyard, and liked it plenty. Upon leaving the restaurant, we ran into a girl I know from my weight watchers meetings. “How amazingly random” she exclaimed. She is right. What are the odds?

We were not ready to go to bed yet, so we walked around upper town and the area near the Chateau and around the east side of the Citadel. We observed a Spanish speaking couple having a nasty fight and cringed at the obvious discord in such a nice place. It seemed like a spoiled vacation. We walked back to the city walls and climbed them. We followed them to the Citadel entrance but we began losing the light. We strolled on the boardwalk near the Chateau, as we ended up doing every night, and then headed to our room.

 The "Grande Allee at dusk

 Port Saint Louis at dusk