July 12th & 13th
Posted on Jul 13, 2015 in From the Road, Travel Tales | 0 comments
Well, we missed out on Fort Chambly. We found it ok but we could not find the RV parking lot. The streets were extremely narrow and lined with parked cars and pedestrians weaving in and out from the sidewalks to the street. It was a very scenic area and we were disappointed but after we made the bad mistake of entering a dead end narrow parking lot and having to make a 15 point turn, we gave up on Fort Chambly. Maybe another time. It was a Sunday too and a lovely sunny day which probably contributed to the mass of people and cars.
Onward to Camping Transit in Levis, Quebec, on the other side of the river from Quebec City. Great spot, nicely grassed. The only downside is that although you drive through the countryside to get to it, it actually backs onto the highway which is noisy. We could live with that, though, compared to some of the spots we had been in.
We signed up for the Red Bus Tour through Quebec City and headed off by shuttle to catch the ferry. Nice chatting with other travelers in the shuttle.
We started at the museum. They had the Egyptian display which was fascinating. We were glad it was early in the morning and there were very few other people viewing the displays.
After that, we got on the bus for the Public Market. There were lots of fresh veggies, fruit and cheese. In a hidden corner of a store at the far end of the Market, we discovered an exotic spice shop. There was a whole wall of drawers of spices. Cabinets with jars of different kinds of peppercorns. We couldn’t get enough of the smells.
The bus tour continued on to the Plains of Abraham and past all the historic landmarks. The tour guide explained as we were going downhill on one very narrow street that the snowfall for last winter would have been up to the bottom of the flags on the light standards. It didn’t start to thaw until the end of April. Great beauty in the summer but I don’t know if I would like the winters!
At the end of the tour, we watched the street buskers and then strolled downhill through narrow alleyways, past funky shops and lots of interesting smelling restaurants. We could have spent a month there. It was truly like being in France. We will probably come back again.
It was very hot – around 35 degrees but the heat was bearable.
I am adding what Dennis said about Quebec City when he did his cross Canada trek. He reminded me by emailing me his eloquent story. He says it so much better than I. If you can’t afford to go to France, I really suggest you spend a couple of weeks in old Quebec City.
Part 7 by Dennis on his Cross Canada trek: will pick up in Quebec, it’s foggy though a trip into Quebec city has been well worth the effort of fighting traffic and losing my direction, but hey that’s half the fun, trying to get directions when you don’t speak the language. The old part of town, the fort within the walls, old Quebec, is an historic fairyland of colorful streets as only they can build them and architectures which only they can design. I think I have figured out the French/Quebec culture thing. They have a fancy for fantasy that takes form in their buildings as other aspects of their lives. Look at a building then think Cirque Du Soleil or the fantasy opening to the Olympics and you can see where it comes from. But enough for now, I will save it for part 7.
I head directly toward Quebec City which I have heard from a few sources is a place well worth seeing. The city is on the north side of the Saint Lawrence River with a bridge connecting it from the south at this narrow point in it’s course. It’s drizzling but warm as I cross the river into the city and must drive through a fare bit of it to get to the old fort area.
Seems they are ripping up streets everywhere and laying down new asphalt before winter starts to get serious but I have a pretty much straight shot to where I am going and my side of the street is untouched as I watch traffic holding going the other way and waiting for someone to bid them on. I park at a particularly intriguing section of town with interesting homes and apartments and walk the streets to photograph them, trying to keep the heavy mist off my lens. Drive a bit further to a commercial section with more interesting architecture to capture with the lens. Passing parks and museums and attractive government buildings, finally I drive past the stone walls of the old city.
What an opulent, majestic, impressive display of buildings everywhere I look. There are many huge edifices surrounding the oldest part of the city with streets taking off from this central concourse that are filled with shops and eateries close by the road as the French like to do, its all very cosmopolitan and a joy to discover.
I was told I would have to pay for parking and though there are many tourists I found lots of meters free and no one is giving out tickets in the drizzle. I can imagine a sunny day in August would find it very crowded and no place to park. This spot is an important place in the history of Quebec and the country and an archeological dig was in progress on the banks of the Saint Lawrence in the shadow of the largest hotels. I guess there is a lot to be learned from a four hundred year old latrine.
There were so many things to see and do I could have spent a week in the area instead I just experienced the surface and took photos. How great it would have been to stay in one of the hotels and foray out amongst avenues and shops and museums and dine in the restaurants. What a place to be in love and discover with your sweetheart or to go on a honeymoon, seemed to me like a city of magic and what a child would feel like on Christmas morning or a trip to Disneyland.
