We found some sunlight but we had to leave the country to do it!

May 18, 2011

In Québec, note the dog riding in the carriage!

We made the right decision to drive two hours to Québec! It was actually sunny there. The sun came out just about the time we crossed the border. Of course that was only after the Canadians decided that we must be terrorists or criminals or smugglers or some combination of those. The young woman who initially questioned us asked a lot of questions, including whether we were bringing in any weapons or ammunition or mace or stun guns or knives, all of which are illegal in Canada. We told her no and she asked if we owned any guns—why on earth she asked that I don’t know but we tend to answer what we’re asked at the border. 

When we told her no she acted VERY surprised and said something like, “You don’t?” Is it because we came from Arizona? because we’re Americans? because we have an SUV? because she has PMS?

Other than that, she gave no inkling that she suspected us of nefarious dealings until she gave us our passports and a piece of yellow paper and told us to park in the next bay and give the extra piece of paper to the man who came out.

He came out, along with another man. They made us stand outside in front of the car—they were very specific because, they said, they wanted to know where we were at all times—while they proceeded to do everything but take the car physically apart. They poked and removed and peered with a flashlight and opened doors and took stuff out of the car. They moved the seats and opened compartments we didn’t even know we had. (They didn’t, however, find Randy’s missing camera.) Then we were brought inside and told to sit and wait while they—I’m not kidding, this is a quote: “check on our criminality.” Finally, he gave us our passports and said we “were free to go.” Welcome to Canada. I think, that since we were the only people anywhere around (we saw almost no cars on the road to the border), that they needed practice on searching. Who knows? It was an interesting experience. Thank goodness it was only interesting and not scary.

Panorama of Québec including Chateau Frontenac on the right

On to Québec and the beautiful sight of SUNLIGHT! There is a beautiful bridge over the Fleuve St. Laurens and there is NO TOLL! What a concept! Especially since we had no Canadian money and hadn’t a clue whether they would accept American dollars. We had visions of a huge backup behind us because we couldn’t pay the toll.

The entrance to what was once the tallest building in Québec

This building caused Québec to change the building height regulations

One of the beautiful cathedrals

Colorful street in Québec

One of the oldest buildings in Québec, now a restaurant

Another view of Aux Anciens Canadiens

The ramparts and Chateau Frontenac

 With some difficulty we found the Tourist Information and found where to park in the old part of Québec. After maneuvering around many many more blocks than we needed to to find the parking, we managed to shoehorn our car into a very tiny space. We got the space because a minivan in front of us tried and couldn’t get into the space! We also noted that the parking garage charged by the minute so we knew we might have to get a loan to leave the garage.

On to the walking tour of old Québec. We walked a bit of the Citadel, the largest fortification in North America garrisoned by regular troops. I’m not exactly sure what that means but they seem to be very proud of that. I guess it depends on your definition of “fortification” since many of our military bases are huge and the Citadel could fit within just a few blocks.

We adjourned to the Fairmont le Château Frontenac’s Terrace Bar & Grill for lunch. Although at these prices it should have a much grander name—like perhaps “Dinner”. Great atmosphere, average food, but enjoyable none the less especially because it was so evocative for Randy. He has great memories of the trip his grandparents took him on: they stayed at Château Frontenac in Québec and in the Manor Richlieu (doesn’t seem to still exist) in Montreal, took a boat up the St. Laurence, and did a bunch of other things.

Once we were sated, off we went to continue with the rest of the walking tour of Old Québec. Lots of old houses and churches and offices, colorful roofs, horse drawn carriages, and the currently-being-refurbished Hôtel-de-Ville, or City Hall. As our guidebook says, “The style is difficult to determine, though Victorian, neo-Gothic Château, American Romanesque Revival, and Classic elements can be seen.” Indeed! Couple that with the fact that about 60% of the building is wrapped in white plastic sheeting covered with gaudy art and you have a building that is truly indescribable. 

We wandered about the city for a few hours, racking up many, many steps on my pedometer, mostly just looking at the outsides of the many pretty buildings and along the way doing some people watching in the parks. Québec is definitely a place I would like to come back to and spend more time. Having only a few hours meant that we didn’t go into any museums, or the aquarium, or historical monuments. We just looked.

Pam, with Chateau Frontenac in the background

Going back, guess what, as we approached the border, it started raining again. Our passage through customs/immigration on the American side was way better than our experience in the morning. He looked at our passports, checked in the computer, asked a couple of questions and sent us on our way.

It’s so good to be back in the US, rain or no rain! Now on to packing everything up for the trip to Boston.