Day 22 - Flying back home

Well all good things must end. The day had finally come to fly home. We finished packing (which ended up having to be adjusted at the airport), went out and got a light breakfast, and it was time for one last cab ride - out to the Quebec Airport for the flights home.
Our first flight was a short one from Quebec to Montreal. At this point we had to collect all our checked baggage and go through US customs and then turn the bags back in. We then flew from Montreal to Denver. After another layover it was on one last plane to home. Our day started a 3 AM (Pacific time) - 6 AM in Quebec and ended in Fresno at 7:30 PM - that was a long day.
In Denver we saw a couple of notable things. We needed food (dinner) and the only place near our gate was Heidi's Brooklyn Deli. We didn't know Heidi ever got to Brooklyn but she really makes a good sandwich.The strangest thing at the Denver airport is this. They appear to be some kind of tents or teepees built to represent the Colorado Rocky Mounains.

So to recap our little trip. We were gone 22 days and traveled approximately 7420 miles. Those miles are broken down thusly:
Air to New York - 2680 miles

Driving in NY - 700 miles

Cruise - 2500 miles

Air to Fresno - 2640 miles

Day 21 - Exploring Quebec

After checking into our hotel and resting for a while it was getting on to noon. So we got directions and set out on foot to explore the Old Town. To get there we just walked up (and I mean up - as in up the hill) about 4 blocks (to an elevator) and took it up to the next level of the city, where we continued to walk about 6 more short blocks to a perpendicular street. We took that street about the same distance on level ground and as the street made a right turn we came to the St. Jean gate into Old Town. The gate is under repair so there isn't much to see of it.

It was lunch time and we had already decided where we wanted to dine. We did check out numberous restaurants on the way - $18 individual pizza, $20 - 35 pasta and meat dishes. We wanted to eat in the restaurant (actually 3 restaurants - two indoor and one one the sidewalk). Its name is 1640 after the year the building was built. We ate indoors (it was quite chilly and windy outside) in the forground part of the restaurant.

We both had an $18 steak lunch. It came with cream of chicken curry soup (outstanding). I should have taken the picture before starting the meal as it was presented quite nicely. Besides the stake, it had 4 green beans, 1 asparagusstalk, a pile of cooked onions and peppers, some purple grated pickled beets (I think), bean sprouts, and potatoes (in a cassarole that must be equivilent to au gratin potatoes.) The meat had a sauce under it and was very, very tasty.

Fortified with food we crossed the square to the Chateau Frontenac - the dominating building in Old Quebec City. It is a pricy hotel (mid $300's and up a night) but quite a place. We checked out the lobby and the stores inside the building then exited into the arrival area of the hotel to find an interesting site on the archway leading out to the street.

After being a Dan Brown fan seeing this was most interesting. This is the Maltese Cross Stone. It was made in 1647 by Charles Huault de Montmagny, a Knight of the Order of Malta, and first Governor and Lieutenant-General of New France.

This is some kind of a Catholic building (Missionnares Du Sacre-Coeur) but check out what is in the window in the upper right of the picture - a menorah!

Champlain was the explorer who was first here and recognized the importance of the hights above the river. This is the narrowest point on the St. Lawrence - less than a mile wide at this point - hense the name Quebec (Where the river narrows). Champlain in 1613 designated the promontory as Mont Du Gas. Today we know it as the Citadelle de Quebec. We didn't really get any good pictures of it as it was closed by the time we got there. This picture is taken from just below it looking back on our ship and the Chateau Frontenac. You can see the gathering clouds which drenched us a little later.

As we walked down from the Citidel hill we passed this good example of what color was left in the trees.

We left Old Town by the other main gate in the city wall - the St. Louis Gate. It was a straight shot down the first street the paralled the city wall to our hotel. About 2/3 of the way back the rain began to fall but we had umbrellas so we were safe. On the way we picked up a deli sandwich for dinner and we got to work packing for the airlines - which was easier said than done.

Day 21 - Hotel Pur

We had decided to spend an extra night in Quebec before we left on the trip. In shopping around on the internet I found a sale at the Hotel Pur (yes, that is its name.) Its name was already on my short list and saving another $70 closed the deal. The Pur is a 2 or 3 year old hotel in the New City - a 15 minute walk to the Old Town. Its decor is all black and white, ultra modern. Our first intro to this was when the elevator door opened to a totally black corridor - everything in black except the door numbers in orange.

Here is a picture of the room looking from the window towards the door. It had a nice soft king bed with a divider between it and a work table. The narrow entry has a floor to ceiling mirror and behind it is a full closet with a three drawer cabinet to store clothes.

It had a nice HD flat screen TV on a swivel mount. Under the picture window was a soft bench that I spent a lot of time on proped up on a pillow working on my computer.

The bathroom was back to the black decor - very functional. It had a walk in shower with no door (at the back end of the shower.) All in all, a very nice room and in a major city like Quebec for under $100.

Day 20 - Quebec City

The rest of the day we spent on a bus tour of Old and New Quebec so we could be oriented to the city. Some of these pictures come from the tour and the rest from our own explorations after the tour and before dinner. Quebec City (at least the old part) is a small town enclosed by a large city wall that sits atop cliffs that drop down to the St. Lawrence River. There is a small river plain about 3 or 4 streets wide. Beyond the city walls up on the plateau you find what is called New Quebec. Below is the oldest school in North America.

This is the oldest building in Quebec City. Since we ate at a building built in 1640 the next day this building has to be older than that.

Old City Quebec is the location of the first basilica in Quebec - the Basilica du Notre Dame. It is pretty but Saint Ann's is the better of the two.

Here is the organ at the rear of the sanctuary.

What would a church be like without stained glass windows.

The highlight of the basilicia is the alter with all the gold leaf. That was quite impressive.

We were about two weeks early for Halloween but Quebec was ready for it with some very interesting decorations.

This is the statue of Champlain - who was the first explorer here.

In front of the Palais Montcalm is an artificial ice skating rink.

Here are some more Halloween decorations. They also like to insert a stick into a pumpkin and then jab the stick into the groud so you have pumpkins on the ends of sticks.

Leaving the old city proper you see a typical Quebec street. Notice the cobblestones and how narrow the street is. At the back of this street is the Funiculaire - the lift to get you up the cliff to the Old City.

The funiculiare cost $2 each to ride but the option is hiring a cab or climbing a LOT of steps. The lift is a very good option.

Day 20 - Albert Gilles Botique

We actually had one more stop - the Albert Gilles Botique. Mr. Gilles was the gentleman who created the beautiful doors on the basilica. He has since died but his daughters continue his craft in this botique.

This is one of his daughters demonstrating how the design is pressed into the copper sheet. It takes hours to create even minor sized objects. If you press too hard, you can tear the copper, and then all you can do is throw it away and start over.

This is an example of pannels like the doors on the basilica.

Before he died, Mr. Giles created a Christorama where he depicted in frames of copper the events in Christ's life - this is the one showing the crufixion.

So this is the end of a most interesting tour. And the day was less than half done.

Day 20 - Basilica of Sainte-Ann-de-Beaupre

Our next stop was the breath-taking Basilica of Sainte-Ann-de-Beaupre about 20 km east of Quebec City. It has been credited by the Catholic Church with many miracles of curing the sick and disabled. An original church on this site began in 1658 and the original basilica was built in 1876. That basilica burned down in 1922 and the present building was begun in 1926 and took ten years to finish - though they still have more detail work to do.
Statue of Saint Ann atop the basilica. St. Ann is the patron saint of Quebec.

When we arrived they were having Mass in the main chapel so we first went into the basement of the basilica where they have a whole second chapel - this one to the Virgin Mary. This is a shot of the alter area. All the art in this building - whether in the main santuary or in this one below is all done in mosaics. It is quite beautiful.

All around this santuary are scenes about Christ and done in mosaic as are all the designs in the building.

After mass was over we were allowed in the main santuary. This is the alter area.

The ceiling surrounded with stained glass windows is quite impressive.

This is a closeup of one of the sets of stained glass windows.

Every pew has a different animal carved on the end of it. The detail work in this building is unreal.

As I mentioned Saint Ann is credited with many miracles of healing. This piller and one you can't see are decorated with cruches and cains left by those who were healed of their ailments here.

The doors on the basilica were simply outstanding. The creator of these doors was Albert Gilles and his shop was our next stop.

On the hillside across the street from the basilica was a series of life-sized statues depicting the Stations of the Cross. This is one of them.

On our way back to the bus I was able to catch a picture of our guide (with beautiful red hair) and our bus driver. The guide was most informative and why we choose to pay for these tours as we can learn so much from the guides.

Day 20 - Montmorency Falls

Our first tour for the day had two main stops - the first was Montmorency Falls (or as the French call it - Chute Montmorency). As you can see this is the first and only day we needed our heavy jackets. It showered a little and even that left by noon. It was a bit chilly - about 48 - 54 degrees.

From this angle the falls don't look very significant. They are actually 275 feet high and 150 feet wide. This makes them 98 feet higher than Niagra Falls, though they are short when compared with our Yosemite Falls in California.

The falls are situated in a park with this chateau as its headquarters. It was actually Manoir Montmorency, the home from 1791 to 1794 of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. The significance of the fall historically goes back to the French and Indian War when the French General Montcalm stopped the British and General Wolfe here at the Montmorency River. This spot is some 15 km east from the center of the old city of Quebec. Things remained at a stailmate until Wolfe took to the St. Lawrance and sailed above Quebec, climbed the cliffs and emerged to the west of Quebec. Montcalm chose to meet the English out on the Plains of Abraham where they were defeated and Quebec was lost to the French.

From the suspension bridge above the falls they do look more significant.

Also from the bridge you can see the stairway path leading down to the river from the far side. Lots of people like to start on the right side of the picture, cross the bridge, hike to the stairs, go down the stiars, cross the river at its mouth and ride a tram up to the right side of the picture and ending up where they started.

After our next stop we were able to stop and see the falls from below.

Here is some typical fall color from inside our bus looking through the window.