A Revelation From Our Trip To Canada

We recently returned home from our Canadian vacation and I brought home a revelation as my souvenir.  Traveling is critical to my happiness and on this trip I realized how I am awarded this happiness. When you travel are there certain events that make or break how you rate your trip?  I need to tell a bit about our trip before I share my newfound discovery! Have you ever come home with an ah-ha moment about your travels?  Do tell!

We had some free airline miles that needed to be used or lost.  We booked a trip to Montreal and Quebec City in Canada, our neighbor to the north.  We’ve both covered the western side of Canada and were excited about seeing the eastern “French” side.  Our trip started off adversely with our first flight being cancelled due to “weather” at LGA.  We were rebooked on a different flight through Philly that would land us in Montreal about 30 minutes later than the first. Things were looking up.  After boarding and pulling away from the gate, this flight was also cancelled.  We were bummed but fortunately we were still in our hometown and were able to come home to spend the night.  Our plans were to fly into Montreal, stay the night then catch Rail Canada the next morning into Quebec City.  Needless to say, those plans were trashed.  I found a very helpful supervisor for AA who booked us on a flight the next day into Quebec City with no extra fees or penalties.  We were able to recoup our money from the “non-refundable” hotel since our flights were scrapped as well as cancel the train for a nominal fee.  We were still disappointed to miss one day of our trip but made the best of it and arrived in Quebec City as planned on a Tuesday.

In this post I’ll be focusing on Quebec City.  There will be a followup post on our stay in and around Montreal as well as posts about the food we savored along with the restaurants and cafes we visited.  Chateau Frontenac, pictured above is possibly the number 1 visited site in Quebec City.  It is immense and we’d be blind not to spot it right away.  Stunning inside and out with breathtaking views of the St. Lawerence river and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  We made the obligatory stroll through the lobby and around the outside to take it all in.

We enjoyed ambling through old town in this walled city, until a cruise ship pulled into port and the passengers debarked.  Not only did it overcrowd the streets but the cafes and shops became flooded with thousands of tourists all trying to take in a city in a few short hours before their ship departed.  The photo above shows old town with the average amount of tourists around mid-morning just before a wash of cruise ship travelers take over the narrow cobblestone streets and alley ways.

I found this display of colorful umbrellas an imaginative way to provide shade to an otherwise sun-filled street.  It was a welcome respite, as the most punishing element we were forced to endure was the heat wave that eastern Canada was experiencing while we visited.  Daily temperatures reached between 95- 98 degrees fahrenheit for all but one day of our time in QC.  I have one word, Torture!  I was glad to have packed lightweight clothes, sunscreen and a hat.

We did cool off one day when we rented bikes and rode the 8 miles (one way) to Montmorency Falls or Chutes Montmorency as they are referred to in Quebec.  This was the one day the temps stayed below 90*at a balmy 88. The ride along a flat bike path parallels the St. Lawrence river past the farmers market (a must) through areas full of wildflowers, industrial sites, parks and small towns.  The falls themselves are higher than Niagara Falls.  There is gondola, a suspension bridge, a zipline and a ton of stairs up to the top of the falls.  Being afraid of heights there was no way in hell I was going any farther than the first section of stairs to the lookout that afforded us the view below.

Montmorency Falls Chutes Montmorency 

Click on the link above to see video of the falls – you’ll feel cooler just listening to the sound of millions of gallons of water splashing to the river below. I’m always delighted to see a rainbow – aren’t you?  You’ll notice the falls give off a yellow glow from high iron content in the river bed.

Are you wondering if my revelation has to do with the airport snafu, the tourists or the weather? Let me share a bit more about our time in Quebec City and show you a few more sites we visited.  I’d read that you could see “Old Town” in one day.  I suppose if all you had was a day you could hit the highlights of old town QC and say you’d seen it.  We love to wander down side streets, alleys and basically get off the beaten path.  Of course we visited the Basilique cathedrale Notre Dame de Quebec built in 1647, because well you must.  Another church that caught our eye was Notre Dame de Saint Roch, the largest church in Quebec City.  Below are photos of both – which do you find most beautiful? I personally found the blushing ceiling and simplicity of Saint Roch most captivating.

Notre Dame de Quebec

Notre Dame de Saint Roch

Getting off the beaten path we discovered interesting rooftops, doorways, and art.  Lots and lots of art!

We used the city bus for transportation and had passed these huge concrete columns full of art daily until one day we got off the bus at the nearest stop and were entertained by the talented painters of Quebec.  We spent almost an hour contemplating and photographing the murals painted underneath the streets.

After we had dinner one evening in a favorably talked about crepe cafe we walked outside to see this gorgeous sunset behind the statue of Saint Jean Baptiste.  We meandered down the hill and walked along the wall with a view of the river and the surrounding city before grabbing an Uber and heading back to our apartment.

Saint Jean Baptiste and a gorgeous Quebec sunset!

Quebec City at sundown.

All in all we had a wonderful time in Quebec City.  As I mentioned earlier it was most pleasant when away from the hordes of cruise ship passengers.  I mean no offense to those of you who love cruises so do not take my words personally.  It’s the sheer number of people who invade a small city all at one time and for a few short hours that causes overcrowding – you are all lovely folks.  We would’ve preferred less heat but alas we cannot control the weather and it did not ruin our time in QC.

One of our most pleasant evenings was when we took a stroll about 2 blocks away from our apartment (AirBNB ) to a neighborhood restaurant and then strolled through the area past a soccer field with an exuberant game taking place, past quiet homes and apartments, through a park and along the river back to our apartment.

Stay tuned for my post on Montreal and the restaurant reviews I’ll be revealing soon.  Before I go though, I’ll tell you my revelation.  I realize beating the streets be they cobblestone or concrete for too many days wears me thin.  And I don’t mean I drop a jeans size – although that’s always a nice thought.  I realized on this trip that our time out of the city in the countryside and engaging with nature is what makes me happiest in my travels.  It’s those off the beaten path neighborhoods, parks, waterways and local stops that fulfill my need to see how the rest of the world lives.

I began to notice these thoughts last year on our European vacation which you can read about here, here and here.  Don’t misunderstand I love seeing the historic buildings, cathedrals and museums but what I really relish is meeting locals, and seeing how people actually live out and away from the bigger cities (where all of us tourists congregate).  Peering into gardens and out of the way places, seeing the local flora, fauna, wildlife, birds and bees!  Being active while we still can, hiking, kayaking, riding bikes, walking a dirt path, etc….

This revelation has simply instilled the thought that going forward we won’t spend too much time in any city without also planning for plenty of adventure outdoors.  It does give new thought to our future travels but what fun that is!  We’ve already made a spreadsheet with our top 10 places to visit and are in the stages of narrowing down where this escapade will us next year.  Where will your next travels plans take you?

Obligatory selfie!