On Sunday we set off further into Canada's Northeast to Quebec. We headed out of Montreal on Hwy 40 but about halfway at Trous Rivieres decided to take the more scenic route on the 138 along the Saint Lawrence River. Beautiful! The colors continued to be more and more impressive. Once we arrived we unhooked our Saturn Vue and headed to the Historic District of Old Quebec. It was a little cold outside so we started with an afternoon/evening driving tour. This city has a lot of history. The first French explorer, Jacques Cartier, arrived in this area in 1535. The word Quebec is derived from Kebec, the Algonquin word for "where the river narrows." It is one of the oldest cities is North America actually founded in 1608. A representative proudly said that it is the oldest city with continuous trade in the continent. (Note: theses French have nothing on the Hopi Indians though - see May 4 in our Blog).
We stayed the first night a WM. Cindi cooked us another fabulous meal while the kids and I played at a Burger King in, what the kids' said was one of the best play areas they had ever been to. I guess Quebecians need good indoor playgrounds as it gets very cold for a good portion of 12 months. The next day we ventured out to another Passport America RV park called Camping Bernieres. When we pulled in there, they said they were closed for the season but as we were trying to turn around inside the park we ran into the owner who said, "you can stay anyway." So we stayed for the next 2 nights. That first day we just hung out at the empty park. There weather was warm enough for the kids to play on the playground which included a climbing wall. We also held an intense football game. Tanner and Sterling challenged Peyton, Cindi and I. We lost 42 to 49. What a great time though. "Fun to be had by all!"
The next day we headed back into old Quebec. We parked, illegally - no ticket, then walked all around the old streets. We decided to take the incline straight down the cliff, then ate at a nice little restaurant with great kid's meals. The kids enjoy the fact that everyone speaks a different language, French. As part of their home school Tanner and Sterling are learning Espanol (thanks to RosettaStone). After lunch we toured the old Catholic Chuch Notre-Dame-des-Victoires then walked back up the hill. We took pictures with the old French cannons pointing out toward the St. Lawrence where British ships tried to invade. Cindi has memories here on her trip with her folks and grandparents years ago so we took some pictures. We then headed to Quebec's most famous landmark, Hotel Chateau Frontenac. We sneaked into the old elevators and went to the top. The hotel was old and a bit spooky. The kids said the hallways reminded them of The Tower of Terror at Disneyland. I think they'd prefer staying in the Hyatt Place.
Pictures to follow...
"au revoir pour maintenant"
