Day 8: 17 May 2017, Wednesday

Today, we drove from Montréal to Quebec City for a day trip. The distance between the two cities is 255km and it took about three hours to get there. It was quite a tiring drive but thankfully, Quebec City was worth it.

Quebec City is the capital city of the Quebec province and it is one of the oldest cities in North America. The Old Town is surrounded by fortified walls and the historic district of Old Quebec was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

Upon KP’s advice, we parked our car at the basement carpark of Hôtel de Ville de Québec, conveniently located in the middle of all the main sights. We got a bit lost trying to find the carpark entrance but eventually found it after circling the area thrice.

From the moment that we stepped out on the street, it was immediately clear that Quebec City is a charming place. The buildings here in Old Town were well, old, but they were all so pretty. It was a totally different scene and vibe from Toronto, Ottawa or Montréal.

From the hotel, we walked along Rue Saint-Jean, a lively cobblestoned street full of shops and restaurants. It was past 11am and I was feeling quite hungry after the long drive. We popped into a restaurant called Paillard and had sandwiches and pastries for lunch.

After that, we continued walking along Rue Saint-Jean until we reached Porte Saint-Jean, or St. John’s Gate. It is one of the four remaining gates into the ramparts of Quebec City. Porte Saint-Jean dates back to at least 1694 but was rebuilt a few times over the years. The present incarnation was built in 1939.

Following that, we made a U-turn back to Rue Saint-Jean and Hôtel de Ville and soon encountered Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral. We went inside for a quick look but there were some restoration works going on so we didn’t get to see it in all its glory.

As you can probably tell by now, from all the French-sounding names, Quebec City was founded by the French way back in 1535, before it was taken over by the British in 1763. Many of the streets and buildings retain their French names and the locals all speak French, but thankfully for us, they speak English too.

Located near Notre-Dame Basilica is Le Château Frontenac, a luxury hotel under the Fairmont chain. The Fairmont hotel at Ottawa was grand but the one here in Quebec City was even more beautiful and impressive. Like many of the chateaus, the building has a stone and brick exterior topped with green copper roofs. Its many turrets and spires give it the appearance of a fairytale castle. It was beautiful from all angles and I could see why it earned the tag of being the “world’s most photographed hotel”.

Immediately in front of Le Château Frontenac was a wide boardwalk area called Terrase Dufferin, with commanding views of St. Lawrence River and Lower Town below. Placed along the boardwalk were several cannons, which were originally the property of the Russian government but were captured by the British during the Crimean War. It was a nice day to be out, with temperatures hovering around 20 degrees Celsius, and we saw a few people jogging around and enjoying a stroll.

From Terrase Dufferin, you can take the Funiculaire, or funicular, down to Lower Town. This is the only funicular ride in America and it originally opened in 1879. It costs CAD$3.00 per ride (inclusive of taxes), covering a total distance of 64m and climbing at an angle of 45 degrees. Taking it will save you some time and energy, especially going back up after a visit to Lower Town. However, it wasn’t difficult walking down so we skipped the funicular ride.

Going round Musée du Fort, we followed along Côte de la Montagne, a sloping and curved street with interesting shops. At the end of the row was Mary’s Popcorn Shop, a gourmet popcorn shop very much like Garrett. KP had recommended it so we went in and bought a packet of caramel and almond popcorn to try. Yummy!

Around the corner of Mary’s Popcorn Shop is Escalier Casse-Cou, or Breakneck Steps, Quebec City’s oldest stairway, built in 1635. It derived its name from its steepness. But truth be told, it wasn’t that steep, so nothing to worry about. It acts as a shortcut to Rue du Petit Champlain, the main street with many shops.

Petit Champlain is the oldest commercial district in North America, named after Samuel de Champlain, who founded Quebec City in 1608. Lining both sides of Rue du Petit Champlain are an interesting array of shops, boutiques and restaurants, including the famous Le Lapin Sauté, a French restaurant specialising in rabbit meat (‘lapin’ means ‘rabbit’).

Walking along Rue Sous le Fort, we turned to Rue Notre Dame and came across a public square called Place Royale. It wasn’t very big but it reminded me of the piazzas in Italy, with a very ancient feel. It was surrounded on all sides by old stone buildings, including the Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, a small Roman Catholic stone church.

Just further up ahead was La Fresque des Québécois, a large mural painted on the side of a 5-storey building. It pays homage to the history of Quebec City and depicts 17 of its key figures, including founder Samuel de Champlain, the Intendant of New France Jean Talon and French explorer Jacques Cartier.

At about 3pm, we left Old Town and dropped by a shopping mall nearby for a quick look before heading back to Montréal. It was another 3-hour drive back and I was quite exhausted by the end of it. Also, the smaller Toyota Corolla seemed to be a bit unstable compared to the Mitsubishi SUV we had earlier during our trip. It tended to sway to the sides and I dared not drive too fast in case I lost control. So that required more effort as well.

That night, KP whipped up another sumptuous meal for us, comprising of beautiful spinach, baked salmon, tofu with minced meat, and the highlight – prawns and chicken in chilli crab & egg flavouring.

Since his family went back to Singapore five months ago, KP hadn’t been able to cook much because he was alone in Montréal and it doesn’t make sense to cook a fancy meal just for one person. So it had been some time since KP was able to cook a proper 4-course meal and he enjoyed preparing it and having company for dinner in his apartment for once. We were glad to be the recipients of such a fantastic meal of course. Thanks, KP for having us around and cooking for us again, we really appreciated it!