Quebec

Hello from Quebec! 

We really enjoyed staying in old Montreal with it's beautifully preserved stone buildings and cobblestone streets.  Yesterday we boarded our ship, the Volendam, waved goodbye to Montreal, and headed north up the St. Lawrence River towards the ancient walled city of Quebec, where we arrived at about 7 AM today.  

Quebec is even more historic than Montreal.  It's really a feast for the eyes. Here are a few photos of our self guided tour this morning:

The above photos were taken on the old lower village which is just steps from our ship.  Here's a photo taken from the lower village that that shows the stern of the ship:

We climbed up the rather steep road to the upper village and enjoyed the view looking down on the St. Lawrence River and our ship:

There are still cannons aimed ar the river:

Although things are very historic here, there's also a sense of whimsey too:

My sister Sheila made a reservation for all eight of us to have Sunday brunch at the Hotel Frontenac.  The hotel is absolutely spectacular both inside and out.  

Somehow we were seated in the very center of the magnificent oak-paneled dining room:

Thats me in the king-sized chair, with Don providing embellishments in the background.  

The buffet wasn't the biggest I've ever seen (which is good) and the food was excellent. Fresh, well prepared and delicious.  Standout dishes were the cheeses (of course) crepes cooked in maple syrup and butter, leg of lamb, beef Wellington, roasted vegetables, Eggs Benedict, croquembouche, a Paris-Brest, Île Flottante.  I could go on and on.  It was really a singular experience, and so great to get to have the experience with our family.  

It was raining when we left the Hotel, so we took the funicular down to the lower village.  We made it back to the ship well in advance of our 3:30 PM departure time.  Everybody retired to their cabins to have a nice post-bruch nap. The gentle hum of the ship's engines is Sominex to me.  

As of Day 2 on the ship, it's great so far.  After dinner last night we listened to a pretty good band playing a variety of rock and pop songs (Beatles, Lionel Richie, John Mayer) and watched some of the passengers dance along.  We ordered a continental breakfast in our room this morning which was perfect. 

A bientôt!