September 21, 2007
Friday
Montreal newspapers announced this morning that the Loonie had achieved parity with the Greenback. Canadian economists would like to give the credit to their robust economy but admitted that their dollar’s rise probably has more to do with the actions of America’s young President than with the oil-rich petro-sands of northern Alberta.
We left Pembroke as early as we could after a hearty breakfast in the breakfast room of the EconoLodge.
We passed through Ottawa mid-morning and Montreal at noon. At 3:00 we checked into Hotel Champlain in Quebec. Our concierge, Stephen, a polyglot, recommended Pub Saint Alexandre for French onion soup, good food and good beers.
I knew that Bernard was a saint and Louis was a saint but this was our first experience with a sanctified Alexandre. Stephen’s prediction proved true. We had a lovely dinner of soup, nachos, Stella Artois and Guinness. We also scored free pilsner glasses for ordering bottles of Pilsner Urquell during Happy Hour, l’Heure Joyeux.
The streets were alive with Friday night celebration. We observed costumed performers on stilts and one wearing pogo springs. Adagio combat dancers and masked dancers performed on the sidewalks behind upturned chapeaux. The night was also a celebratory call to free the streets from automobiles. It was nice to walk the streets without interference from motor vehicles.
Saturday
After coffee and breakfast in the lobby, we hit the streets. First stop was Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the oldest Anglican church in Quebec.
Then we took the funicular to Basse-Ville on the waterfront and walked down Petit-Champlain, the oldest street in North America. This is where Samuel de Champlain built a trading post on July 3, 1608, which he named Saint-Louis, not Saint Alexandre.
We stopped at Le Cochon Dingue for cafés au lait at a sidewalk table, then toured Maison Chevalier, a museum reconstruction of a 1752 merchant house. It demonstrated the changing concepts of privacy and leisure as wealth accrued to the middle class during the 18th Century. Dwellings expanded from two rooms, one for cooking and one for sleeping, to individual rooms dedicated to games, conversation, reading and separate sleeping quarters for children and adults. Imagine the luxury of a room where a person could sit alone and read or write at a desk.
We walked up Break-Neck stairs to Chateau Frontenac, a 618-room hotel built in 1893 that
dominates the Québécois skyline. The building was unfortunately surrounded at the time of our visit by scaffolding as the hotel and the city prepare for next year’s 400th anniversary celebration. Our tour guide next day told us that construction is going on all over Quebec. Commuters never know from day to day what streets will be closed for renovation.
We went into the Chateau to the St Laurent Lounge and sat at a window and drank beers and observed Saturday afternoon sailboats dancing on the Saint Lawrence.
Our server, Sebastién, told us that Quebec goes to minus 30 degrees during the winter and the river freezes to one meter. Ice breakers keep it open for commerce. The city runs on electric heat because Quebec’s electric rates are the lowest in Canada. They operate two great hydroelectric dams in the north that supply power as far as New York.
We dined at 2:30 at Aux Anciens Canadiens, housed in the oldest surviving house of Quebec, built in 1677. Gail had salmon in puff pastry and I had Lac St Jean meat pie with pork, venison, elk and caribou. Dessert was maple syrup pie, tarte au syrop d’érable et cr me fraîche.
After lunch we walked to the Citadelle at the top of Cap Diamant, the fort that British general James Wolfe besieged and conquered in 1759, eventually resulting in the transfer of New France to England. The Citadel is currently home to the Royal 22e Regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces.
From there we returned to the Frontenac via the Governors Promenade, a boardwalk constructed on the edge of the cliff looking down on the Saint Lawrence.
Friday
Montreal newspapers announced this morning that the Loonie had achieved parity with the Greenback. Canadian economists would like to give the credit to their robust economy but admitted that their dollar’s rise probably has more to do with the actions of America’s young President than with the oil-rich petro-sands of northern Alberta.
We left Pembroke as early as we could after a hearty breakfast in the breakfast room of the EconoLodge.
We passed through Ottawa mid-morning and Montreal at noon. At 3:00 we checked into Hotel Champlain in Quebec. Our concierge, Stephen, a polyglot, recommended Pub Saint Alexandre for French onion soup, good food and good beers.
I knew that Bernard was a saint and Louis was a saint but this was our first experience with a sanctified Alexandre. Stephen’s prediction proved true. We had a lovely dinner of soup, nachos, Stella Artois and Guinness. We also scored free pilsner glasses for ordering bottles of Pilsner Urquell during Happy Hour, l’Heure Joyeux.
The streets were alive with Friday night celebration. We observed costumed performers on stilts and one wearing pogo springs. Adagio combat dancers and masked dancers performed on the sidewalks behind upturned chapeaux. The night was also a celebratory call to free the streets from automobiles. It was nice to walk the streets without interference from motor vehicles.
Saturday
After coffee and breakfast in the lobby, we hit the streets. First stop was Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the oldest Anglican church in Quebec.Then we took the funicular to Basse-Ville on the waterfront and walked down Petit-Champlain, the oldest street in North America. This is where Samuel de Champlain built a trading post on July 3, 1608, which he named Saint-Louis, not Saint Alexandre.
We stopped at Le Cochon Dingue for cafés au lait at a sidewalk table, then toured Maison Chevalier, a museum reconstruction of a 1752 merchant house. It demonstrated the changing concepts of privacy and leisure as wealth accrued to the middle class during the 18th Century. Dwellings expanded from two rooms, one for cooking and one for sleeping, to individual rooms dedicated to games, conversation, reading and separate sleeping quarters for children and adults. Imagine the luxury of a room where a person could sit alone and read or write at a desk.
We walked up Break-Neck stairs to Chateau Frontenac, a 618-room hotel built in 1893 that
dominates the Québécois skyline. The building was unfortunately surrounded at the time of our visit by scaffolding as the hotel and the city prepare for next year’s 400th anniversary celebration. Our tour guide next day told us that construction is going on all over Quebec. Commuters never know from day to day what streets will be closed for renovation.We went into the Chateau to the St Laurent Lounge and sat at a window and drank beers and observed Saturday afternoon sailboats dancing on the Saint Lawrence.
Our server, Sebastién, told us that Quebec goes to minus 30 degrees during the winter and the river freezes to one meter. Ice breakers keep it open for commerce. The city runs on electric heat because Quebec’s electric rates are the lowest in Canada. They operate two great hydroelectric dams in the north that supply power as far as New York.
We dined at 2:30 at Aux Anciens Canadiens, housed in the oldest surviving house of Quebec, built in 1677. Gail had salmon in puff pastry and I had Lac St Jean meat pie with pork, venison, elk and caribou. Dessert was maple syrup pie, tarte au syrop d’érable et cr me fraîche.
After lunch we walked to the Citadelle at the top of Cap Diamant, the fort that British general James Wolfe besieged and conquered in 1759, eventually resulting in the transfer of New France to England. The Citadel is currently home to the Royal 22e Regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces.From there we returned to the Frontenac via the Governors Promenade, a boardwalk constructed on the edge of the cliff looking down on the Saint Lawrence.
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