We enjoyed breakfast in the little kitchenette unit where we are staying then headed out to the bus stop just down the road. Today Jill is taking on the role of tour guide. Her ability to squeak out (pardonez-moi?) necessary French phrases is proving to be a priceless asset. On board the bus the driver attempts to be of help with no English being used. He tells us we need to transfer to bus vingt huit. Jill says that is 28, but I had a pretty good idea it was so. When we arrived at the mall where the transfer will happen, we are concerned about the return as well. The driver gets off the bus as his replacement gets on. He brings with him a booklet of the bus routes and timetables and low and behold he speaks English and does a wonderful job of setting us up for our day.
Getting down to the ferry terminal didn't take long and even less at the pace the driver of 28 drove. At the ferry terminal a very nice employee showed us where to purchase our tickets. Soon we were on board under sunny skies admiring the view of the St. Lawrence and Quebec City on the other side from the top deck.
Stepping off the ferry and crossing the street was like stepping into Europe. The buildings are solidly built of heavy stone with narrow cobble streets running between. One of the first shops that we entered had separate craftspeople demonstrating their work. A stone archway led to an adjacent storage room and the wall must have been 40" thick.
There are numerous galleries and arty shops with all kinds of unique items made exclusively by artisans from Quebec, but there also the usual touristy retail outlets with 'trade show' merchandise. The streets winding around the neighborhood seem like often seem like narrow alleys. It made me glad we had come over as foot passengers rather than bring the bikes. Everywhere you look the architecture is unlike anything you would see in Vancouver and the age of the city strikes you immediately. Many of the businesses had been there since the 1700's.
Above us was the part of the city with huge tiered buildings with a parliamentary feel to them. Like I said, it is above us meaning that there is a climb involved. Luckily there is a tram that carries passengers several streets up for minimal fee. We gladly took the ride on this warm day and disembarked on an old but very different part of Quebec. The buildings are much grander in style but still speak to the age of the city. Bravely we took the walk way towards what seemed to the old fort. By the time we reached about half way up the stairs to the top we began to question our decision, but we pressed on. At the top there are the battlements of the fortress complete with cannons and the Plains of Abraham. It was a very interesting walk around.
Rather than retrace our route of the stairway we circled around and down the city side of the park.
Our trek downward took us buy a number of park settings where entertainers were awing audiences with music and gymnastic talents. Horse drawn buggies were everywhere. We found a cozy little sandwich shop where we enjoyed a marvelous fresh sandwich and soup lunch. Finding our way back down to the ferry terminal was a bit of an adventure but well worth the travel. All through the day we took pictures to help us recall all that we have seen. These pics can be viewed at http://www.getdropbox.com/gallery/1520537/1/Quebec%20City?h=dd9e3b Seeing old Quebec city is really one of the highlights of the trip and we are glad to have done it.
With the terrific help of our earlier bus driver we were able to find our way back to the motel easily. the driver on the bus ride home even stopped the bus right across from the motel. A cooling dip in the pool rounded a glorious day in the sunshine.
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