Quebec City 2010 - Thursday

Rafting Trip Day!

The trip to Expeditions Nouvelle Vague took about an hour. It is in the Laurentians to the north of the city on the Jacques Cartier River.

Compared to our Kananaskis rafting trip, we thought this one was better. There was a lot more action, a longer trip, more rapids, body surfing, a small waterfall and a 25 foot optional cliff jump. Considering that the water was low this season, we did just fine, although we were getting stuck on lots of rocks in one section that is notorious for just that. Our guide, Christian, did his best to direct us in English, and this extra stress was on top of the fact that he was being tested for his rafting guide license and his examiner was riding our raft with us!

We practiced swatting enormous HORSE FLIES which attacked us at various point along the trip. Then, later during dinner we were harassed by lots of other flies who were liking the idea of sharing our steaks.

The day was topped off with a deliciously barbecued steak. The day was still very hot, and the bride was showing signs of exhaustion near the end of the raft trip. A bottle of Gatorade and the steak pulled her back together pretty quickly.

By the time we all got back to the hotel, we were whipped. Later that evening the bride, daughter 1 and I went out to see the first night of the music festival, Festival D'ete de Quebec. Tons of people! We picked up two passes for $108, which will get you into any of the big venues for the entire two week festival. The plan was that daughter 1 and the son will go see Iron Maiden tomorrow night.

Quebec City 2010 - Wednesday

I was awake at the usual early hour, and got myself out to find some breakfast. Two blocks away is the Grand Allee - a beautiful, modern street with wide cobblestone sidewalks and outdoor cafes all down both sides. Tons of choices for food and shopping. I found a nice restaurant for some dejeunner and a newspaper.

Quebec City 2010 - Tuesday

Some tense moments at the airport as we managed to arrive at our departure gate with only minutes to spare. The son forgot that he had a pocket knife in his things and ended up getting it confiscated. We arrived in Quebec around 11 am, the weather being ridiculously hot, and continuing the heat wave that had wrapped up southern Ontario for the previous 3 days. We were glad to climb into our Altima, only to find that the push-button starter needed a look in the owner's manual to learn how to work it!

Found our way to our hotel in Upper Town beside Parliament Hill, the Delta. The entire front driveway was fenced off and there was NOWHERE to park to unload our bags. I moved down to a spot near the taxi stand to get us unloaded. Weird hotel setup: the check-in desk in on the THIRD FLOOR, so you have to take a separate elevator trip to get there. Escalators were being repaired, so we got in the habit of walking up or down those two flights.

Checked into our room - pretty nice. We had been under the impression that we had reserved 2 rooms, but NOT TRUE, so all 5 of us got set up with an extra cot for the son. We enjoyed a nice meal in the hotel Bistro, then walked around to find the pool.

After a nap, I headed out with the son, daughter 2 and the cell phone to go for a walk into the Old Town behind the wall. In a few minutes we ended up at the Chateau Frontenac Terrace overlooking the St. Lawrence. I love this place. A few minutes later we were joined by the bride and daughter 1. We spent the next couple of hours wandering and exploring, trying to avoid overheating ourselves, dipping into numerous shops, especially the air-conditioned ones! About 400 steps take you to the Lower City, where the vast array of shops and cafes continues. You could spend an entire summer just wandering from one cafe to another, sipping beer or tea, and enjoying people-watching.