James & Charlotte's Travel Blog: Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec. Phonetic Alphabet

Wednesday 3rd May

The hostel we were staying in in Montreal was pretty shabby and seemed to house more long term workers than international backpackers, so we were pretty happy to be getting out of it. Our bus was due to leave at 9, so we had time to have some complimentary breakfast before setting off on the fairly long walk back to the bus station. There was a bit of rain in the air and despite being may, the wind still had a biting chill to it. We got to the station with plenty of time to spare and made our selves comfortable at the front of the queue for the 9:00 Orleans Express but to Quebec City. We set off on time and due to the uninspiring countryside of the province of Quebec, we spent the entire 3 hour bus ride reading. We actually arrived slightly early in the end, which is always a bonus. The walk to the hostel took us up a couple of pretty steep hills but we were thankful for the exercise after our excesses south of the border. It's amazing what a good welcome can do and we instantly felt much more comfortable in our hostel in Quebec than we had done in Montreal. With respect to those that live in Montreal, Quebec just seemed nicer. Once we settled in to our room, we headed out for a quick wander around town, which inevitably ended up with us having a coffee at Tim Horton’s. I'd been surprised at just how French Montreal had been but Charlotte, who'd been to both before, warned that Quebec had fewer English speakers. We still managed to get our coffees without too much trouble. I'd expected great things from Tom Horton’s coffee (I hadn't drunk coffee when I'd visited previously), seeing as how popular it is amongst Canadians but it wasn't anything special; slightly weak and watery if anything. After our coffee, we walked down a hill, back up the hill, down the hill, back up the hill and down the hill once more in search for an elusive supermarket. We eventually came to the conclusion that the one marked on our map no longer existed, so we ended up walking to one slightly further away. We'd missed lunch, so picked up some rolls to have when we got back to the hostel, as well as some things for dinner. Once we returned, we were in for the afternoon, as we were in desperate need of some clean clothes, having not done washing since New Orleans, which to us, seemed ages ago. So the rest of our day turned out to be a bit boring. We came up with a plan of action for the following day whilst our clothes were being washed and then spent 2 hours waiting for the fairly weak tumble driers to actually do their job and dry our clothes. After a beard trim (for only me, of course) and a shower, we were ready for dinner and wading our way through the masses of schoolchildren that happened to be staying at the hostel too. It was nothing special as ever, just some veg, beans and rice, with a tomato sauce. The real excitement, if that's the correct word, would start in earnest the following day.

Thursday 4th May

We were awakened by the screaming and stomping schoolchildren, who seemed to be completely unable to do anything quietly. There were also hordes running around the breakfast room like it was a playground, so it was starting to seem like we just couldn't get away from them. By the time we'd finished our breakfast, things had quietened down a tad and we were pleased to see at least one group checking out. We didn't waste time in getting out and we on the streets just after 9. Unfortunately, we spent our first couple of hours walking to a shop that didn't have the thing we were after, so we were a bit irritated by that. On top of that, we had an hour bus ride to what was to be our first worthwhile stop of the day, so we didn't get properly underway until about 1 o'clock. Our stop was the end of the line about 6 miles out of Quebec City at the Parc De La Montmorency Chute. In English that Montmorency Falls Park. It was a waterfall that Charlotte informed me was higher that the world famous Niagara Falls down in Ontario but just wasn't as productive. The falls were only a couple of minutes walk from where the bus dropped us off, which was handy and before we knew it, we were walking across a swing bridge right above the cascading water. Charlotte has a phobia of swing bridges and high places and I must admit, to look down at the gushing water made my stomach turn a bit. We walked across, probably ending up in a dozen people's photos along the way, and walked round to where there was a set of stairs leading down one of the side of the cliffs that the waterfall had undoubtedly washed away over millions of years. We only went so far down, as there was a considerable amount of water going over the falls that was creating a significant amount of spray, so we didn’t want to get soaked. We stopped to take some photos and enjoy the scene, before heading back up the stairs in search for some food. It just so happened that there was a huge supermarket just outside the park we were in, so we took a little detour in order to pick up a couple of chocolate bars for a boost of energy. Unfortunately for Charlotte, in order to get back to the bus stop, we had to cross the dreaded swing bridge. She ploughed on over and left me to take some photos of the fantastic view out across the St.Lawrence River. We found another set of steps that gave us another angle on the falls and that also led to a platform where you could get a cable car across the face of the falls. It wasn't something we fancied doing, so we headed back to the bus stop and picked up one immediately. It was a 50 minute ride back to our stop, where we hopped off and headed back to the hostel for a late lunch. We allowed ourselves a quick rest after our toasted sandwich and we're back out at 4. Quebec City is the only city in North America north of Mexico, that still has its original city walls and they were where we were heading for a late afternoon stroll. We'd been under them a couple of times but this time, we headed up the stairs at one of the many gates, past the local tramps who said something to us in French that we ignored and started walking along the ramparts. We went the wrong way at first but eventually found our way. It was a really nice walk in a really nice old town. We passed the old citadel of the city before reaching what is called Dufferin terrace, which is a boardwalk that wraps itself around the outside of the walls and offers fantastic views of the St.Lawrence River and the suburbs on the south banks. We followed the terrace round until it widened and presented us with one of Quebec City’s most popular tourist attractions, the Chateaux Frontenac, which is a huge hotel overlooking the river and is reputedly the most photographed hotel in the world. That was another to tick of our list as we'd also been to what is allegedly the most photographed train station in the world in Dunedin, New Zealand. We'd be looking for the most photographed library next! With a day still to go in Quebec, we didn't stop for too long and instead just focused on walking the walls and admiring the numerous cannons that still lines them. Eventually, we reached a familiar spot, the hill we'd been up and down twice whilst looking for a supermarket. We veered off up to the main road and had a look in a couple of shops along the way, before returning to the hostel to rest our legs. As much as we wanted to stay out because it was a lively evening, we didn't want to leave ourselves with nothing to do the following day, even if it was supposed be raining. So we relaxed in the room before heading down to the kitchen to face the screaming children. As they were swarming the kitchen, we sat outside and played a game of Mapominoes to pass the time before their bedtime and then moved in to cook once they'd gone. Dinner was a bit of a disappointment and we put it down to the tin of 6 beans mix we'd picked up from the shop. We still filled ourselves up though but it was the first time we'd thrown any food away whilst on the road, which was a shame.

Friday 5th May

The weather forecast for the day was miserable, so we didn't bother rushing out of bed. We had a leisurely breakfast before wrapping up against the rain and heading out. This should be a quick paragraph, as we didn't do anything specific. We spent our day meandering through the narrow streets of Old Quebec City, stopping in the occasional shop to have a look around. It was never pouring whilst we were out but there was always some rain in the air which meant the waterproofs were a necessity. Before lunch, we ended up by the city walls again, had another look at the Chateaux Frontenac and then surrendered to the temptation of a Tim Horton’s hot chocolate. It seemed everyone else in town had done the same, as the shop was incredibly busy. Before we sat down for lunch, we made a quick stop at a supermarket to pick up food for the following day. Lunch was what some Canadians would consider a national dish, whereas others wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Poutine is chips smothered in brown sauce (that's gravy to you and I), along with some rubbery cheese curds. We picked some up from a nearby place that specialised in them and took a seat at one of their tables. It's an interesting dish, but it filled a hole. After lunch, we continued our walk and ended up outside the city walls and below the citadel, where we encountered some narrow, pedestrianised streets that contained yet more shops. We weren't after anything, particularly after grabbing our pin badge for the stop, so we just flirted in and out of the occasional one to dodge the rain and eventually picked Charlotte up an ice cream. After the stop, we made it down to one of the lower walls that was protected by the old moat, that was probably once the river but now has a main road beyond it before reaching the river. It was starting to rain harder by this time, so we decided to call it a day and head back to the hostel. We made a couple more detours on the way back but nothing of any worth. We were happy with what we'd done in Quebec and both agreed that it was one of the few places that we would live to come back to, preferably when it was caked in snow and we had to slide down the pavements for the ice. Back in the room it was warm and cosy and we both eventually fell asleep for a brief time. Dinner was yet another simple concoction of pasta veg and sauce that was significantly more edible than our attempt the night before. On our way to bed, Charlotte picked up a couple of takeaway brekkie bags for us, as we'd be leaving before the breakfast started at 7:30.