Today was an eventful day. After getting ready we headed out towards the Gare du Palais which looked fancy on the map. Turns out the Gare du Palais is the train station. Yes it's beautiful, but I felt rather silly heading there thinking it was a sight only to realize it was the train station that I arrived in on. We headed inside to have breakfast at a cute little cafe because it was pretty cold today. Colder than any other day I've had on the east coast this trip.
After breakfast we headed to the Marché, an indoor market. Lots of flowers and plants with a delicious looking cheese stand, lots of maple syrup, a few jewelry vendors, among other things.
We then went towards the St. Lawrence River and the antique shop part of town. Luckily we didn't go into any antique shops, for my luggage's sake. We then stumbled across the Église Notre-Dame des Victoires, a cute little church that is apparently the oldest stone church in North America. I haven't been to Switzerland yet, but that entire square felt very Swiss. After that we walked back into the walls of Old Quebec and up to the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac, a luxurious hotel. After admiring where the fancy people stay we walked over to the Citadelle, an active military base. Since it's the active station of the Royal 22e Régiment of the Canadian Forces you have to be led around by a guide. It was about an hour tour and very interesting. There were military men outside practicing for the changing of the guards which happens daily in the summer, starting in June. A part of that ceremony involves a goat. Batisse the goat. Word on the street is that Queen Elizabeth II gave the first Batisse the goat to the 22me Régiment as a gift. So of course I asked how many goats there have been since then. They are on Batisse #11, and all of them have been descendants of the original Batisse. Interesting mascot for the military, I think.
After that we walked towards the Parliament, snapped a few photos, and then strolled down the Grande Allée which is the big nightlife/club street. Being late afternoon it was pretty desolate when we were there but I could envision what it is like when it's hoppin'.
Oh, how could I forget - mid Citadelle tour it started raining. Megan and Carol bought a poncho at the gift shop. I had my handy raincoat. It was pretty cold and windy but we were still able to enjoy Québec the rest of the day. What a cute little city. So tiny it's incredible.
After a few hours of chilling in the hostel we walked to the nearest grocery store and bought some wine and snacks for dinner since we had a big lunch. Then at around 10pm we walked outside to experience the theatre fun. I can honestly say that I don't think I've seen anything as cool and unique theatre wise. Ever. I don't think my words or the 100+ photos that Carol took will do it justice. Luckily it's all right near our hostel. It starts in a park a few blocks away with about 10 installations such as - a bunch of coworkers miserable in a boardroom, a married couple bored with each other and not talking at dinner, a lonely old woman shopkeeper, a pregnant woman with fears of being a mother, a man drowning his sorrows at an empty bar (literally drowning his sorrows because he was sitting in the pond in the park on a bar stool) etc. There were more but you get the idea. Each of these displays had speakers around them playing their thoughts. While it was all in French you could easily tell what they were thinking and saying. The body language and expressions were so clear and universal. So amazing. The tulips from the park were used as part of the sets, and they looked so cool with all of the lighting.
Then you walk through several streets of other displays - one of my favorites was called 'balconies'. On the side of a parking garage people were sitting on wrought-iron suspended platforms. They all had microphones that they were speaking into. What I took from that one is how there can be many of us sitting on an apartment building balcony, in our own little worlds, and oblivious to the people and world around us doing the same thing. How we can be self-involved and in our own bubbles.
Next was a display called 'lures' where there were huge lures with a hanging pig, an ice-cream stick, a motorcycle, a golf-ball, etc. From these there were people hanging or sitting on the lures talking and singing. So strange.
That's probably enough description. Trust me it was cool. And luckily it had stopped raining by that point.
Tomorrow morning we need to check out by 10am. We're hopeful that Carol's car is still where we left it (seeing that a car is stolen every 3 minutes in Canada, as I learned in Ottawa). Once we leave this cute little city we're heading north to the Montmorency Falls that are about 12km north of here. The falls, at 275 feet high and 150 feet wide, are the highest in the province of Québec and 98 feet higher than Niagara Falls. We're all pretty excited about that.
After the falls we're driving to Greenville, Maine to hang out with my grandparents and several other fabulous family members.
Will be back to blogging once Carol, Megan, and I head to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Ta ta for now!
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