Toads Go East - Day 12

La Fleuve

Wednesday.

Another quick blog today as tomorrow we're on the road again.

Today was an excursion into Quebec City, more specifically Old Quebec, and a treat for me as we went on the bus. We were dropped at the Place D'Armes right outside the Hotel Frontenac and the Terrace Dufferin, high above the old town and La Fleuve. We had a quick look over the terrace and went straight down to the lower town on the Funicular Railway, primarily to look for some lunch. It's been quite well preserved down there and it was a little bit like being on a film set as everything looks old, but new at the same time. We watched the ferry leave for Levis on the south bank of the river then wandered back into the maze of shops and restaurants, settling on "Spag&Tini", a sort of Quebecoise and Italian fusion restaurant. It wasn't cheap, as you might expect, and we did have the trainee waiter, but I did get to have a beer with my meal which was another non-driving luxury.

Back up on the Terrace, we ambled along the Governor's Walk, a wooden walkway nailed onto the cliff just below the Citadel's walls which gave some stunning views and offered more than a few steps to negotiate - 350 to be precise. That led us onto the Plains Of Abraham where Wolfe defeated Montcalm in 1759 and finally killed off French interests in Canada (but somehow allowed the French to keep their language and culture). 

A quick walk around the edge of the Citadel had us back into the throngs of tourists on Rue Saint Louis and then back to Place D'Armes. We were way ahead of schedule for the bus so dived into Le Chic Shack for another beer and a bowl of chips, just to use up the time, you understand. We then spent half an hour sitting in the park while the rain half-heartedly tried to come on before the bus arrived to whisk us back to the KOA. 

Highlights today included Mrs T getting a nice necklace, seeing all the olde worldy houses not covered in snow this time and spending some quality Toad time in a place we like, Lowlights were the moany tadpoles and the restaurant bills. Well, we are on holiday.  

The weather was appalling for August, very cool although it was mostly dry. Back at base we actually put the heating on in the trailer for a short while, so cold was it when we came back.

Tomorrow we head south west and back into Ontario. It's not such a long drive as Monday's but it's still in excess of 500 Km so we'd better get motoring. More tomorrow, Toad fans.