Quebec City

Up and at em in QC saw us gather at Terminus de Youville before strolling down to Cafe Cantook for our petit dejeuner, latte et crossaint on the sidewalk.  We then wandered over towards the Chateau Frontenac and along to boardwalk.  Karen was disinclined to ascend the stairs so the boys and I scaled the 310 steps up to the top of Cap Diament  and wandered around the Citadel.  While walking the boardwalk the high noon cannon fired right above us which was startling.  I finally discovered how the famous Van Doos regiment got their moniker (22em).  Saw the bear skin hatted sentinels at the entrance to the citadel.  We wandered along and back down to meet Karen in time to inspect the Chateau.  Lunch at SAM proved to be a great way to stay dry during a heavy downpour.  Our waiter Marc Antoine was excellent, even if he did pour wine on Karen’s arm (twice).  After lunch, the team called for a siesta so back to the Palace Royal we went.  We booked a seat on the two decker tour bus for the express tour of QC which worked out beautifully since the weather cooperated and the tour guide was very informative.  Quebec is an Iroquois word for “the river narrows”, to approximately 1 km across at this spot.  Cap Diament was named for the sparkling quartz crystals which Samuel de Champlain mistook to be a treasure trove of diamonds.  The cape proved to be of great military strategic value and the Van Doos continue to occupy the Citadel on active duty today.  After the express tour, our attempts to find a vacant table to sit at proved fruitless as the tourist season is in full swing and every pub and cafe crammed to the gunnels.  We continued on to find the restaurant we had reserved a table at and got there early, fortunately we were far enough from the tourist pressure to find a table outside at l’hotel Belley where we could have a pint and watch the local denizens play some bocce ball.  Clientele were young and boisterous, with one notable exception.  Our reservation time at Legende arrived and we stepped next door for dinner.  Decided to try the Chef’s selection which was a 7 course serving of locally inspired creations.  Karen was particularly fond of the crickets (not). This fabulous eating experience included sturgeon, lobster, tuna and venison, amongst other very creative dishes.  Unfortunately our timing was imperfect and we missed out on the pyrotechnical display over the fleuve St. Laurent.  After dinner, all that was left was to hail a cab and return to Palace Royal.