Quebec City

A big storm was forecast to hit the east coast of the US which was, of course, right where we were headed.  Not being completely stupid, we decided to head north to Montreal and then Quebec City and try to avoid the worst of the storm.  We had a leisurely drive up along the northern boundary of New York, along the St Lawrence Seaway, visiting several small towns along the way.  We eventually crossed over into Canada not far from Montreal.  We didn't spend a lot of time in Montreal, but we drove up to Quebec and spent a very enjoyable couple of days looking around.  Founded in 1608, Quebec is one of the oldest cities in North America.  It is also the only city north of Mexico which is still surrounded by fortified walls. 

 

Here is Phil near one of the gates through the wall.

 The gate is just up the road from the Citadelle, an active military installation.

 There is plenty of history in this town.  Even though it was a rainy, gloomy day, we enjoyed exploring all the hills, walls and historical sights.

 

The mighty St Lawrence Seaway is just on the other side of the wall.  We climbed up about 650 steps to get where this photo was taken.

The city streets are narrow and winding...very picturesque and fun to browse.

There are some really steep hills, I wonder if they make the horse drawn carriges go up these streets?

 

 We walked for miles that morning...up and down, all around the town.  Phil and Chris decided to treat themselves to a nice meal in an old restaurant...it was delicious.

While near Quebec we visited a shopping mall.  It was fairly big and they even had a hockey rink, so we could witness the Canadian favourite. 

 As I mentioned, the hockey was in a mall.  Around the hockey rink was an indoor amusement park complete with rollercoaster and ferris wheel.

We departed Quebec in the hopes of finding warmer and sunnier weather.