Quebec City: Spring 2019 - Day 5 Vieux Quebec

[Melbatb]

Another early wake up! Though at least it looked as though the weather would be nice again.

I pottered around, had breakfast and a shower before leaving the apartment at 8:15 AM. I stopped to get a maple coffee together with a carrot and raisin muffin.

Though I didn't actually get to drink much of the coffee as one of my classmates accidentally knocked it off the table. At least it just went over the floor and not over anyone.

This morning‘s lesson was on writing a letter. As I write emails daily in French, I'm quite adept at this. I finished the exercise in about 20 minutes, while the others were still working on it an hour later. The teacher though was very good at finding me other things to do. I have actually learned quite a lot about the subjunctive.

Downstairs to the language school is a restaurant called Poutineville. I have never eaten poutine.

As they did a veggie option, I decided I would try it. Basically it was chips, gravy, cheese curds, and I added mushrooms. It reminded me a little of chips and gravy that I used to have as a teenager. It was OK but I won't be rushing back to try to it again.

Today's agenda included exploring VIeux Quebec. The first port of call was Place Royal. It is famous for the painting on the wall as you enter the square. The painting depicts Quebec through the ages. There was quite a lot of work going on around the area so it was not possible to see all of the painting.

Compared to yesterday, the whole area was very quiet. Although yesterday wasn't officially a bank holiday, it seemed that a lot of people didn't work. Certainly the traffic on the roads was busy today than it had been previously.

I wanted to go into the church, but it was closed.

One thing I noticed around a lot of the doorways was this decoration. The black and red checkered pattern seems to be a local Quebec material. The tins were maple syrup tins. I think it's to do with the new maple syrup season.

It was bitterly cold today. The wind was awful.

In order to warm up, I went into Maison Smith, a coffee shop. I had a maple latte. This time, I did manage to drink it all.

I liked the timeline of important events in history in Quebec on the toilet door.

Quebec has lots of quaint streets, though most of the shops are tourist ones. This was Petit Champlain.

To get up to the next level was a very steep climb. Feeling lazy, I decided to pay the $3.50 charge for using the funicular.

I had of the cabin to myself.

And it certainly saved my poor legs. It is expensive for what is effectively a one minute trip.

I decided to have a look in the Château Frontenac. Again, it was a lot quieter here than yesterday. Though the cold weather may have been a factor too.

There were lots of interesting boards about the history of the Château. It actually wasn't as old as I thought. I liked the gold letter box placed outside the lift.

From there I walked to the Rue Sous-le-Cap I remember coming here with the family for years ago and my overriding memory was seeing rats.

In the 18th century, it was a passageway between the Port and the old town. To be honest, I think it must have lost some of its charm. The guidebooks say that it is very picturesque but I'm not so sure.

As I was near the market, I called in to get my maple syrup supplies.

I bought some popcorn and tea for the office, together with other maple flavored items such as chocolate and seasoning. And of course the obligatory tin of maple syrup. The total cost was C$25 which I thought was quite good.

There are lots of pedestrian crossings in Quebec City. It has to be said that it can take ages for the white man to appear. But one thing I really did like was to activate to crossing you just placed your finger under the infrared light. This saved you actually having to touch anything. A great idea for a germ phobic.

I called into the supermarket on the way back and bought myself egg mayonnaise sandwiches and crisps. I really didn't fancy anything else for dinner.

I got back to the apartment at about 6 PM and then just spent the evening watching YouTube videos and generally relaxing. I did manage to see 9 PM for the first time this trip.