Quebec City Tour

June 26, 2016

The first motor coach (bus) tour of the caravan was hosted by Roger who was very personable. He spoke with pride of his city and province, admiring its low crime rate, the availability of affordable housing and its beauty. He had been a guide to Stephen Spielberg when Spielberg was scouting locations for the movie Catch Me If You Can. Spielberg wondered why anyone would go to Europe since all of Europe’s charms could be found in Quebec.  Spielberg had a point:  Quebec is delightful.

We started with a tour of the old city: shops, housing, flower boxes, cobblestone streets, murals. This section seemed to have been developed with tourism in mind but it did include affordable housing, and it was charming.

                     Mural in Old Quebec.

                     Old Quebec

We moved up the hill for a tour of the walled city, citadel, Parliament building and gardens.

Le Chateau Frontenac, now a hotel, an example of 19th Canadian Railway architecture

The Joan of Arc Garden was designed in 1938 by landscape architect Louis Perron as a setting for copy of a statue of Joan of Arc [original is in Riverside Park in New York City] and is within the Plains of Abraham (National Battlefields Park).  The statue was designed by Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington.

                     Joan of Arc statue

In the Joan of Arc Garden

  Parliament building

                    Sculpture set into alcove in the Parliament building

                     Detail of Parliament building

The Caravan had arranged for lunch in a restaurant next to Montmorency Falls. These falls were spanned by a larger, more solid-feeling bridge than those at Les Chutes the previous day. Still, Jane summoned enough bravery to go only half way across. Dave might have joined the zip-lining group if time had permitted.

                     Montmorency Falls

  Montmorency Falls and suspension bridge

                     It’s a long way down from the top of Montmorency Falls

  Jane on the suspension bridge over Montmorency Falls

We drove about twenty miles east of Quebec into the country along the north shore of the St. Laurence River to Ste.-Anne-de-Beaupre´, where a million visitors and pilgrims visit each year. The first chapel was built here in 1658 and the present building was built in 1923.

                      Basilica at Ste.-Anne-de-Beaupre´                      Many pilgrims report being healed at the basilica, and crutches, braces, and canes are displayed on two pillars.

                     Basilica at Ste.-Anne-de-Beaupre´

Doors to the basilica are decorated with copper embossed by Albert Gilles. We had stopped by his studio where his wife, daughters and granddaughters maintain a museum of Gilles work, demonstrate copper embossing, and carry on the tradition of making art with copper.

                    Basilica doors made by Albert Gilles

Before returning to the campground, we visited the Isle de Orleans, stopping at a produce stand (asparagus and strawberries!) and an ice cream/chocolate shop (Dave and Jane enjoyed a walk to the St. Laurence while others snacked).

While we enjoyed the information the guide provided, we felt as if we’d seen a number of sites and attractions without coming to know them. We need less time for food, no time for souvenirs, and more time to explore.