I again fell sleep last night quite early so it was no surprise that I was awake at 3 o'clock though I did manage to get back to sleep.
I woke up to no rain which was a big positive for the day. I had my usual breakfast of cinnamon raisin bagels and a coffee. About 9 o'clock I headed up to catch the 800 bus Montmorency Falls. This was about a 15 minute walk to get to the bus stop. The bus soon arrived and I paid the $3.50 fare.
The bus was quite empty and it took about 40 minutes to get to the end of the line which was the stop for the falls.
I was pleasantly surprised to find at the bus stop was at the top of the falls and not at the bottom. This is the second time I have visited the falls. The last time was four years ago when I came with the family. That time we had a car and we parked at the bottom and this is what we walked up.:
I was so happy not to have to walk up those steps today!
The waterfalls are 83 m tall and 30 m higher than Niagara Falls. They aren't, of course, as spectacular as Niagara Falls. However they give a great view over the Saint Lawrence river towards Quebec and it's a really lovely place to visit.
I spent about 1 1/2 hours just wondering around. It was actually quite busy which I guess is indicative of the fact it was Easter Sunday. I was surprised though how many people seem to come totally ill-equipped. Some people just had fashion boots on which considering there was quite a lot of snow on the ground was quite interesting for them!
That was a suspension bridge which I went across. However, thankfully, it wasn't very swinging.
Though not in the same league as neither the Niagara Falls nor Iguazu Falls in a Argentina, I really enjoyed my visit here.
It was certainly a very different experience from last time I came. It was probably busier but the weather was much better even though last time we came it was in August. Then, I remember it was raining.
I also spent 15 minutes just sitting in the pavilion. It was nice to give my feet a rest.
As it was getting near lunchtime, I decided to walk from the top of the falls to the local town of Boischatel. There I found a typical Canadian Casse-Croute which is effectively a diner. Even though it was past the breakfast serving time, they were happy to allow me to order from that menu. I had fried egg and chips. It was really delicious and a bargain at C$6 which also included a cup of coffee.
I caught the bus back to Quebec City which took again about 40 minutes. It was about a 10 minute walk from the bus stop back to my apartment where I had an a rest for about an hour.
I then decided I would walk up to the Plains of Abraham via the ice cream shop. It was a lovely afternoon, the sun was shining and it seemed like a good idea. But one thing I had forgotten about Quebec City is that it's quite hilly. From the apartment to the ice cream shop was up a very long and very steep hill. My calf muscles were very very tired.
That was a bit of a queue at the ice cream shop but it moved quickly enough and the time allowed me to choose which ice cream I would have. I knew from previous experience to not have a big one as they are quite rich.
I chose maple ice cream with a milk chocolate dip.
I sent this photo O who was quite jealous. I think this is one of his favorite ice creams in the world.
On the way from the ice cream Shoppe to the Plains of Abraham, I saw these very groovy streetlights.
The Plains of Abraham cover the sites of major battles between the French and the British and the Americans. Nowadays, as well as many walkways, there is the Fine Arts Museum together with gardens and towers.
There was still quite a lot of snow on the ground. The with the sunshine, it was melting fairly quickly.
This tower, one of four, was built by the British to protect Quebec from an American even invasion. In fact, they were never needed.
After visiting the park, I walked a short distance to a salad bar I had seen on trip advisor. I bought a Mexican bowl to take away from my dinner.
At least the walk back to the apartment was downhill.
The salad bowl had plenty of vegetables, avocado, black beans, a spicy yogurt dressing together with fried wontons. It was delicious and I felt better for having eaten some fresh vegetables.
I was very tired again. It's a bit of a vicious circle because I end up falling to sleep early, I then wake up early, and the whole process starts again. This evening, I fell asleep last watching a YouTube at about 8:30 PM.