Cruise Day 6: Quebec City

Bonjour! What a cool city! We got off the ship and explored much of Old Quebec City by foot. It's fairly hilly, so we definitely got quite the work out. The architecture is tremendous and there are cafes and shops everywhere. We found out that much of the city burned down during wars and very few original buildings remain. However, they did rebuild many of them in the same style and with the same materials. We particularly enjoyed seeing Notre Dame de Quebec and the majestic Chateau Frontenac hotel. Much of the city sits up on a hill and was built behind a stone wall to protect the city from invasion by the British. 90% of the people in Quebec City are of French decent. 

Standing above the gate that used to keep people in/out of the city

Famous Chateau Frontenac Hotel

During our walk through the city we stumbled across "Art Alley" where local artists sell their work. We fell in love with one painting of the city at dusk in wintertime, so we haggled a little and struck a deal to get ourselves an awesome souvenir.

Oddly, we ate at an Irish Pub for lunch. The Pub was built in the 17th century and was originally a pharmacy.

After lunch we met up with our tour guide for what we thought was a bus tour, and much needed break for our feet, but it turned out to be a walking tour (our poor feet). Our tour guide Madeline took us through some of the most historical parts of town, including the Vieux Port (Old Port), Notre Dame des Victiores, along with the Convent and Seminary, which are now private schools. 

"Mike's Restaurant"

Church in front, Seminary is the white building in the back

Ship in the background

Ships hang from inside the "Sailors Church" in Old Port

We fished the tour with a wine tasting. One of the "wines" was actually maple whiskey, a Canadian favorite. The "wine tasting" was at cute little restaurant in the heart of Old Port. Coincidentally there was a festival going on while we were there so there were tons of people out and about celebrating. 

"Sailors Church" to the right

Oldest building in Quebec City is the one with the red roof.

Oldest post office in Quebec City

One of the last things our tour guide pointed out was the stacked white blocks in the middle of Old Port (see pic below). She said that was their lovely gift from France (sarcastically). When we asked what it was she said it was modern art, but what they prefer to say to people is that "when France gave the U.S. the statue of liberty, they gave us the box it came in!"  Haha, apparently most people there do not like it :)

Now it's back to the ship so we can begin to pack up. Our final stop on the cruise is  tomorrow....Montreal. 

Cruise Day 4: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island (PEI for short) far exceeded our high expectations. We docked at 9am, and we were off the boat at 9:05 very excited to see the town. 

Our bus tour began at 9:30 and for the first hour we just drove through the Island countryside, and at times, along the coast. It was breathtaking. Many of the other places we have seen up to this point were also pretty, but because the population of PEI is only about 145,000 you feel so peaceful here. Much of the coastline is made up of iron-rich soil and rocks, which gives it the reddish hue. However, there are some sandy beaches too that are lined with tall grasses. 

Those grasses are heavily protected because the roots are inter-twined and deep and help keep much of the sand from eroding or blowing away during the typical high wind days. Just how high? There is almost a constant 15-20mph wind with gusts up to 35mph.....on a normal day! Winds can routinely get up to 70mph, and when they do, traffic is limited on Confederation Bridge that connects PEI to New Brunswick. The Island takes advantage of this very windy climate by having wind farms scattered across the Island.  Wind energy supplies 24% of the electricity on PEI. This is one of the many reasons PEI is known as the Green Province. All over the island there are trash receptacles, but you have to separate everything. Obviously there is a section for recyclables such as paper and plastic, but you also have to separate your food waste to be composted.

Wind turbines

After touring much of the coastline it was off to the town of Cavendish, home of the famous writer L. M. Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables (it has been published in 30 countries, and in 17 different languages). While the character in the book is fictional, the home she wrote about was real. It was actually the home of her grandfather's cousin, whom she stayed with often. 

They left many of the rooms as they were from the early 20th century

They left many of the rooms as they were from the early 20th century

The "haunted woods"

After touring Green Gables home, the bus dropped us back off in downtown Charlottetown, where we spent the next 3 hours exploring. We ate lunch in the Victoria Row neighborhood in a cute little outdoor cafe called Fish Bones. The fish and chips and local beers hit the spot!

Then it was off to Cow's Ice Cream (voted best ice cream in Canada). The staff are famous for wearing t-shirts of famous tv shows with the names changed to have something cow in them (i.e. Big Barn Theory, Dr. Moo, the Cowdashians, etc), which  they sell in the store. The store is actually in the old town apothecary building, and they preserved all the intricate wood work for the store.

We continued walking through the town passing churches, parks, and unique little shops. One of them was called Liquid Gold, a store that sells oils and vinegars...yep that's it. They have about 30 big metal pots that contain various oils and vinaigrettes (such as balsamic cherry, PEI blueberry olive, orange ginger, tuscan lemon, etc.).

St. Dunstan's Basilica

Now it's back to the ship for dinner. On our way back out to sea we passed two very picturesque lighthouses. Not much going on tomorrow, just traveling at sea. Next stop....Quebec City!