Quebec City

Bonjour!  Oh my, what a beautiful city Quebec is.  We are currently in Quebec, Quebec...I wonder if there is an Alberta, Alberta?  We arrived here after dark as usual after spending the night in Ottawa.  Now, Ottawa is a clean, beautiful, big city, but Quebec is breathtaking with it's centuries old, European architecture.  We are currently staying at the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac, the most stunning hotel I've ever seen.  It sits on the shores of the St. Lawrence river and inside the gates and walls of the Citadel that guarded the city in historical times.  Even driving through the city in the dark, we could see the high-pitched rooves and exterior stone on the majority of the homes we passed.  After entering the gates, you see horse-drawn carriages, and couples walking hand in hand down the narrow streets and sidewalks of the inner courtyards.

Now picture this, in this old town...you now see a giant Ford F-150 (probably the only one in Quebec) towing a large, white cargo trailer...just cruising the narrow streets to find the hotel.  What a sight we must of been.  We actually missed the turn into the hotel because it's not a typical road...you have to go through a narrow archway to get to the front, which is not easy for this 25 foot caravan of cargo.  We, or more correctly "I" decided to try and turn around in a mostly empty parking lot.  I thought there was an old adage stating "If you can get in, you should be able to get out".  Well, it held true, but not after a 50-point attempt at getting our truck and trailer stuck between two old walls.  I know a gentlemen looking out his apartment window must have had a good chuckle seeing that one.  After finally getting turned around, we went back up the hill (Oh, that's what first gear is for on the truck, I honestly thought the back door of our trailer would bust open by the weight of everything pushing on it...it was that steep of a climb) and found a street close to the front of the hotel (we picked the wrong archway again).  We got our luggage, and the Bellhop must have saw us coming a mile away...yokels from B.C., modern day Beverly Hillbillies with all their stuff in tow.  He was actually so kind that he let us park right in front of the hotel...it otherwise would have been a descent back down the hill where we were and a 10 minute walk back up the hill for me!!  Let's just say I gave him a good tip for finding me the best parking spot in town for any hotel guest...it was well worth it in my mind.

We're now all cuddled up in our amazingly comfortable beds, everyone asleep except for the writer.  Our plans are to get up early and explore the old town, at least as much as we can within the gates of the Citadel.  We are going to try and get an extra day here because there is so much to see.  Hopefully I can get some pictures in and skirt the $15 internet fee to get this post up!

From all of us, au revoir