Quebec Pt. 3(4) - Quebec City

The circumstances around our 'warm showers' stay in Quebec are truly lucky. We had been reaching out to a number of hosts looking for a place to stay in the city and had either not received a response or there was no availability.  Sophie had finally heard back from one and asked him if she could pass his number along to us.  (She had stayed somewhere else and had left the city yesterday morning.)   

We reached out to Jeff Gagnon by text message,  He was going to be away for the weekend we would be there.....but texted a photo of where he would hide the key to his apartment, and said we could stay there and to make ourselves at home.  What?!!  

Jeff are you serious?  

What an incredible gift.  Arriving to the city, we put our bikes up the stairs and into his second floor apartment, where he had laid out fresh sheets and towels and had left a cheery welcome note.  I guess we were expecting a bit of a rough experience but this was a man's lovely home...with all of his belongings.  

We couldn't believe the luck.  After showers and a load of laundry we took an Uber into the old city to catch the last of the light.   

Quebec's old city is really fascinating. Without our bikes, we were like the many other tourists strolling around from street corner to street corner. You could spend weeks down here getting to know this city, enjoying the sounds and smells and textures.    

The Chateau Frontenac is apparently the most photographed hotel in the world. We snapped a few.  Of course it reminds us of another grand railway hotel, The Empress back in Victoria, and like in Victoria the square in front is a busy space buzzing with delighted sightseers.  There's a great vibe going on down here.  Two cruise ships are in and all the restaurants are bumpin'.

This is our first chance on the entire journey to just be tourists and we're doing our best impression of tourism by strolling up and down the streets looking for.....snacks of course.  

We wandered in and out of the old city walls to enjoy the modern downtown as well.  There's loud music spilling out onto the streets from a live concert, and the sidewalks are full of people heading out for a night.  We love it!

The Quebec parliament building is a sight to behold. A collection of statues in various action positions lines the entire front of the building from bottom to top, presumably gaining in importance to the history of the province with each floor.  There is a bit of camp to the poses of each of these characters that suggests a distinctly French sense of humour is responsible for the somewhat comical appearance.  Clearly there is a reverence for the individuals portrayed in bronze forever, but there is also a lightheartedness at play here that gives us both a chuckle.  

We tried the poutine again for dinner.  When in Rome and all that.  I must say, I'm not sure I understand the popularity of this dish.  With fresh curds and a masterful gravy perhaps, but I think we might have concluded our search for salty, soggy, fries-cheese-gravy soup for a while down here in tourismville.  

We know better.  The places in Victoria packed with cruise shippers is never where we'd go, or take someone we liked out to eat.  We know better.  

Anyway, a super fun night around the old city and the downtown, thanks very much to Jeff Gagnon. We Ubered back to the apartment feeling a nice glow from having enjoyed an evening of real tourism, feeling quite separated from the adventure at hand for a moment.   

We were not unhappy to be back on our bikes in the morning, and zipped down the same road we had gone in on last night.  We'll seek out the cafe that Sophie had recommended from her morning here before we head for the ferry across the river and on with the trip. 

The old city is even prettier in the morning and people are cheerfully packing in to the cafes and bakeries.  

We had enough time before the ferry to ride around a bit and soak it all in. 

We found a coffee shop filled with locals and had another round.  In future, if the primary language used in a city is French, don't get poutine or baked goods from a place where everyone in the room is speaking English.  

This time 'round the coffee and croissants were exceptional.  

We better head for the ferry and figure out how that works.  All the signs and instructions are in a language we're not super awesome at.  

Wasn't too hard to figure out.  We all use Arabic for numbers after all.  

The ferry ride is about 15 minutes and we have the most perfect possible day for it.  The view of the city from the water is even better and almost everyone on board is at the railing taking pictures.  The hold is chock full of bicycles, outnumbering the cars.  Riders going across for a distance ride up the river, commuters, and a whole group of young folks with yoga mats biking over for a session.  

A parting photo from the opposite bank of the river.  

I've long maintained that Victoria is Canada's prettiest downtown.  We love Victoria, but Quebec City is Canada's prettiest, and we can't wait to come back and meet Jeff Gagnon.  

READ NEXT:  Quebec Pt. 4(4) - Rural Quebec