Quebec City

We decided a change of scene would be delightful and so - a short trip to Quebec City. This was the view from our hotel window. Usually we stay in smaller hotels or B and Bs but this time we decided to stay in the historic Chateau Frontenac. The lit up building is the Assemblée nationale - the parliament of the Province of Québec.




The hotel, seen here, sits imposingly over the city. The Quebec Conference in 1943 with Churchill, Roosevelt and Mackenzie King were held here and at the Citadel which is nearby. Quebec City is utterly charming with houses in the old part of the city dating back to the 1700s



Each time I go I am entranced by the architecture and by the hardships the European settlers must have faced when they first established a settlement here. This winter has been so mild that there is no snow yet, very unusual for this time of year.



One thing I admire is the rules for signs in the Vieux Québec. Even international companies must have discrete signs so that the architecture and ambiance of the city is respected.



Quebec is a port city on the St. Lawrence River. Anyone know what all this colourful equipment is used for?

A few days of walking the hills, enjoying the architecture, fine dining and a bit of pampering is a great way to chase away the darkness of the short December days.


I have written about Quebec City before
Here http://susanvg2009.blogspot.ca/2011/03/snow-in-quebec-city.html
and here http://susanvg2009.blogspot.ca/2014/03/bury-your-dead.html

More Quebec City

Clearing the Roof, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

Winter is long and snow is a constant. Roofs have to be cleared frequently to avoid snow falling on passersby. Steep roofs are designed to let the snow slide off to avoid too heavy a load on the roof. Many roofs have little snow fences to keep the snow from falling on unsuspecting heads.



Many of the buildings in  Vieux-Québec  are stone, with tall windows. Note the snow fences.



Walking in the old part of Quebec means many hills and many stairs. Basse-Ville (lower town) is where the port is. This photo is part way down. Looking up you can see the Chateau Frontenac, a landmark hotel.



Here you can see part of lower town. Now there are many shops, many aimed at tourists.



The defences for the city were in the upper part of the city, with canons facing the river. Many are placed there along Les Ramparts.



The original city was entered through one of the stone gates. This one is lit up as the Crashed Ice championship was being held int he city. The course went right through the gate. For anyone who doesn't know what crashed ice is (and I only learned about it because this was across the street from our hotel), the course goes down the hill with sections going up. People (crazy people I should say) skate down this course. I have no clue how it is judged. I don't think it is just time as there were judges placed in several spots down the course.



I am sure they never saw this view as they hurtle down. I enjoyed it.



Here is one of the crazy skaters.



We walked a lot over the 3 days. This sculpture sits on the grounds of the National Assembly, Quebec's parliament buildings. It represents the progress of women. The three together are suffragettes: Thérèse  Forget-Casgrain, Marie Lacoste Gérin-Lajoie and Idola  Saint-Jean. Women in Quebec did not get the vote until 1940.  Marie-Claire Kirkland was the first woman elected to parliament in 1960. Even then she could not sign a lease for an apartment in the city without her husband's signature. Learn more here.

Quebec is beautiful in any weather.

Bury Your Dead

Morrin Centre, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

My spouse and I read Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny together. I enjoy her mysteries and this one was particularly fun as it takes place in Quebec City. We spent a few days there this past week so I thought it would be fun to highlight some of the places mentioned in the book.  Above is the Morrin Centre, once a prison, later a college that was affiliated with McGill University and for some time now, the home of the Literary and Historical Society, an anglophone institution in Quebec. It features prominently in the book.

This is the library in the Morrin Centre - the only English library in Quebec City. The book, aside from being a fun read, is a great way to learn more about the history of the Literary and Historical Society (the Lit and Hist) as well as the history of Quebec City.



We had breakfast here - a favourite of my spouse, who spent about six months living just up the street from this café. The characters in the book frequent this café at 8 1/2 rue Ste-Ursule.

The cafe is across the street from 9 3/4 Ste-Ursule which also features prominently. Each building has a number. If there is more than one door to the building it gets differentiated by being 1/2 or 3/4...

Vieux-Québec (Old Quebec) is full of stone buildings with metal roofs and windows surrounded by wood. Many buildings date from the 1700s and 1800s. There are a few buildings still standing fromt he late 1600s. Could this be the stone home of Émile on St-Stanislas?



Quebec is known for great food. Paillard is a bakery, with lots of tables for people to sit and linger over coffee and whatever tempts you.

Le Café Buade is in a building that dates from the 1800s. There has been a restaurant here since 1919. We, like the characters in the book ate here. Cafés are a great place to linger - to chat, to read (or to discuss a criminal case as in the book).



This church, around the corner from the Lit and Hist features in the book. It is an English church - most in Quebec are French Catholic.



And yet another cafe - a great place to stop for a meal. We stayed a while and worked on a crossword. We had done a fair amount of walking up and down the hills of Vieux-Québec.

More Quebec pictures to come. And do think of reading the book!

Snowy Gate

Snowy Gate, originally uploaded by susanvg.

A weekend with every kind of weather. Snow decorated this gate while other objects were coated in ice.


It looks pretty, but the ice weighs heavy on the branches. Snow and wind compound the problem. Falling branches caused sporadic power outages - including at the restaurant where we had breakfast.

By evening the tree branches were bending low.



And Sunday morning's snow and wind whipped the branches around. Walking, driving - all challenges.
You may have to look carefully to see the buildings behind these trees.

Snow in Quebec City

Snow in Quebec City, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Mon pays c'est l'hiver - Gilles Vigneault (my country is winter)

A snowy, rainy, slushy, freezing rain day in Quebec City - but the weather did not dampen my enthusiasm for the architecture. Much of old Quebec has been preserved and their are strict rules as to what can be done to buildings. Some date as far back as the 1600s (Quebec was founded by Samuel de Champlain in 1608).


The Catholic Church wielded a lot of power over the people of Quebec for many years. Churches are prominent in all parts of the city.



Quebec is one of the snowiest cities on the planet. Many homes have steeply sloping roofs, but snow still accumulates. It is not unusual to see ladders set up for the roof cleaners. In milder weather, walk far from the houses as snow and ice can drop unexpectedly.


Gabled windows are a common architectural feature in Old Quebec.



The houses are often made of stone. Everything looks so solid.

Mural in Quebec City

Mural in Quebec City, originally uploaded by susanvg.

The shadows of scaffolding left from Quebec's winter carnival cast patterns on the mural. But the mural itself has layers of history - like shadows of the past visiting the present. While men in 19th century garb look out from a balcony, a young couple from today kiss passionately just around the corner. Sometimes I feel that way as I look at a place and see it through the eyes of my past.



In daylight, the physical shadows disappeared, but the layers of time remain. Many things happen in one place over time. Imagine the astonishment if these figures of the past could see the present.

Art Gallery

Art Gallery, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Quebec City - so full of charm. We passed this art gallery which displayed paintings in their windows. Framed by the stained glass, the paintings looked like stained glass themselves until we were up close to them.

May 3/10: Bagels in Quebec City

May 3/10: Bagels in Quebec City, originally uploaded by susanvg.

I had to make a quick trip to Quebec City (Sainte-Foy, actually - a suburb of Quebec) for work. I drove there in the morning and worked with a colleague. We took a break for lunch and went to the local bagel place. It was a surprise to me to find a place that actually makes bagels much the way they are made in Montreal - even baked in a brick oven, heated by a wood fire. We Montrealers take our bagels seriously. We have several bakeries which have their ovens going 24 hours. I featured one bakery a while ago in this blog. Although some make designer bagels with ingredients like blueberries or sundried tomatoes, most feature the standard poppy seed or sesame seed bagels. And there is nothing like carrying home a bag of bagels, still hot from the oven. It is rare that the number bought is the same as the number unpacked at home.