Day 7 (August 28, 2009) – Grand Tour of Quebec

The weatherman said it was going to be a perfect day and it was…bright sunny sky and cool. Our tour picked us up at the campground at 8:45 am, right on time. We went into the city to begin our tour of Old Quebec at the Chateau Fontinac with our driver/tour guide Phillip. Our first stop was the Hotel du Parliement, the Provincial Parliament building. A fountain with Philippe de Champlain and large trees framed our view of the magnificent building. Our second stop was near the Citadelle (old French/British Fortress) and the Plains of Abraham. This is where the battle took place in which British forces defeated the French and the end of the French colonies in North America. The French Air Force ruled the skies today with their aerobatic team (similar to the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds). They were practicing for their air show on Saturday. Our travels took us down the Grand Allee several times to marvel over the old buildings and many sidewalk cafes. We also stopped at the Jardin Jean de Arc with beautiful gardens surrounded by towering Elm trees. Yes Elm, as they are not affected as yet by the Dutch Elm disease. Our final stop was in the lower city where we walked the narrow cobblestone streets up to the Cathedral of Victory, built by the French after winning the French and Indian Wars.

We had a short stop (40 minutes) for lunch in between tours. Our second tour took us out of the city to Montmorency Falls. Katherine and I rode the Gondola to the top while the rest took the bus. At the top, there was a trail to walk out to the falls and a bridge across the river at the falls. A beautiful stop and a must see. From there we went across the bridge to Isle Royale. All development of the island was halted in the early 70’s, thus it remains an agrarian paradise with many picturesque farms. We stopped at a Choclatier. Cathy bought chocolates while the rest of us indulged and engorged ourselves with a soft ice cream cone dipped in chocolate…dark for me! The coating was as thick as good chocolate candies!

After returning to the mainland we headed east to Albert Gilles Copper Art Gallery and Boutique. Mr. Gilles was an artisan of repousse or enameled copper embossing. His daughter, who with other family members continues the family tradition, conducted the tour. Our next stop was Marie’s Café where we sampled maple butter spread on homemade bread. A loaf of rain bread accompanied us on the rest of the trip… for breakfast tomorrow. Our final stop was the Sainte Anne de Beaupre Basilica. Construction was started in 1923 and completed in 1976. The Basilica and grounds are quite simply magnificent.

We arrived back at the campground around 7:15 PM, too tired to cook. Fortunately, the campground café was still open and we relaxed with a quick tasty meal. Since the Weather was nice, another campfire was lit to end a great day.