Je me souviens

One of the old town's streets
Inside the L'Oncle Antoine (underneath oldest building in the city)
Amazing mural
Inside the original Chapel of the first settlers of Quebec (Part of the Museum of French in America)
Inside the original Chapel of the first settlers of Quebec (Part of the Museum of French in America)

The funicular
Ice sculpture down the main tourist street (there was many and none had any evidence of melting)
One of the many murals adorning the 18Th century buildings. They are often historic and extremely detailed.


Part of the Latin quarter. Beautiful silver roof.
View from the cliffs of the St Lawrence.

Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac
Small boutiques

Basilica Notre Dame
Basilica Notre Dame
View from the city walls
City walls

la Cittadelle
Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac
Terrasse Dufferin (and St Lawrence beyond)
Musee du Fort

One of the gates to the walled city
Steep inclines of many of the roads
One of the cities fine churches
Monument to Canada's military
Ice house under construction for the forthcoming winter festival (missed by two days!)

Day 7: All was going well. I got up early for my super shuttle to the airport. I was there mega early so decided to get some food. I plumped for an omelette from the food court at Newark Liberty Airport. What a mistake that was. About an hour after i ate, i started to get a stomach ache and i knew things would turn bad. Needless to say this probably wont be the last time i have food trouble. I don't think i could face another omelette any time soon!

Quebec city is beautiful but cold. Today the temperature is -16 degrees Centigrade!!! There is snow everywhere. The old part of the town is a walled city. The buildings inside are very french in flavour and each has its own winter decorations around the doors and windows. There's lots of Christmas lights and trees everywhere. The old town is split into two sections. The town is split into the old lower town and the old upper town. I'm in a very nice hostel (almost hotel quality) in the old upper town. The upper town is set on a cliff which means getting around is via extremely steep icy roads!!! I think the cars are driving at less than 10 miles per hour. Everywhere is covered in sludge.

I started day 8 by having a walk around the upper town. I managed to find the Citadelle (which was extremely confusing). It is a live military base with tours (mostly in french) leaving at 1pm. I was far too cold to wait around for that so i headed to the Basilica Notre Dame. A beautifully decorated church near the Latin quarter of the town. I Marvelled at the guilt everywhere whilst defrosting. After regaining the feeling in my toes i headed to the old port in the old lower town. I eventually found a very steep road down and was presented with (so it is claimed) the narrowest street in North America. It was lined with boutiques and small restaurants. Extremely charming. I had a bit of a nose around until it got too cold. I then headed into a popular pub that is located in the cellar of the oldest building in the city (and probably Canada). I had to have a cup of English tea!. After thawing myself for the second time I headed to the Museum of the French in North America. This consisted of the first Chapel in Canada and exhibits from the attached School for Priests (started up in 1600's). It was quite an interesting museum. The exhibits often referred to the British in a negative way. The Quebecois are very proud and have been quite hard done by over the years. The Museum's third floor was full of stuffed animals (from the priest school). I was the only one up there and i found the experience quite eerie to say the least. At one point i though the Polar bear was looking at me! I ended by day by eating in a traditional Canadien restaurant for some traditional Quebecois food. Nice.

Day 8 and i seem to have exhausted most of the sites in the city. The weather has turned colder and there is a northerly wind blowing. I can maybe stand 30 minutes in the cold before having to seek refuge in a shop. I used the Funicular to get from old upper to lower town. The funicular is a sort of giant lift transporting people up and down the cliffs that separate the old and new town. Pretty good views of ice making its way down the St Lawrence. All in all i think Quebec is beautiful. There are ice sculptures, murals, and Christmas trees everywhere.

Conversation was better than expected as although French (or Quebecois - the french dialect spoken) is the only official language, people seem to speak good English. Everything is so cheap here. The exchange rate is really good. I had a three course meal, with drink for 13 pounds!

Bring on Montreal!!!