For The Love of Travel

September 22, 2014
by Lids
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22/9 Quebec City to North Conway, New Hampshire

What an awful start to the day…raining, got lost trying to find the right freeway to the south, lots of trucks ….3 hrs of arrrhhh.

Then the US border, with a pleasant customs official (makes a nice change), and the weather picked up.

Then WOWIE, awesome, FABULICIOUS !!! The tree colours had changed in Vermont, and then in northern New Hampshire….what a lucky gal I am!! And thanks to the Schwartz’s (from Lindblad expedition) who suggested the journey pathway.

Driving through the Crawford Notch National Forest, and seeing a sign post for the Appalachian trail, suddenly remembered Bill Bryson’s humourous book, ” A walk in the woods”, which described his walk along the Trail with his comically out-of-shape hiking partner, Stephen Katz (”he brought to mind Orson Welles after a very bad night”), who announces at the outset that he cannot go an hour without a doughnut.

No doughnuts to be had anywhere near the trail wending its way through the various mountains in the Presidential Range National Forest!! Mt. Washington being the tallest in the area @ 5385 feet. The Trail extends between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine; is approximately 3,500 km long, and is maintained by 31 trail clubs and managed by the National Park Service.

September 21, 2014
by Lids
Comments Off on 21/9 Quebec

21/9 Quebec

I’ve just come back from a Sunday drive through gorgeous little hamlets just outside of Quebec @ La Cote-de- Beaupre. I had got a bit tired in the old city milling with all the tourists, fresh air was what I needed. There were plenty of cute little houses to photo and some trees changing colour. Pumpkins are everywhere.

On the way back, Montmorency Falls were lovely to explore, not as wide as Niagara but apparently a few feet higher. The cable cars take you to the top for a small fee. There is a bridge suspended directly above the falls for a view of it looking down! You can walk down to the bottom of the falls and/or return by cable car.

Lastly a stop off at Picardie deli to get Brie with truffle and rosemary/pistachio biscuits ….then a drive through expensive Sillery and more beautiful houses close to the St Lawrence River.

Now sitting back with biscuits and cheese and a red wine and plotting my drive through New Hampshire tomorrow. I’ve been checking yankeefoliage website each day and so far the trees are just ‘turning’, not full colour, I think I’m too early….dang it!! Anyway, it’ll be a scenic drive.

September 21, 2014
by Lids
Comments Off on 20/9 Quebec City

20/9 Quebec City

One of the reasons for visiting Quebec City was the famous Château Frontenac!

It owes its name to a flamboyant French governor called Louis de Buade, Count of Frontenac, who guided the destiny of New France from 1672 to 1698. Frontenac’s coat-of-arms can be seen on the outside wall of the entry arch and many other areas within the hotel.

In the late 19th century, William Van Horne, General Manager of Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway, began building the hotel as the ideal stopover for CP travelers. Van Horne retained the services of New York architect Bruce Price. Drawing on the architectural styles of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Price immortalized the history of the two great powers that had occupied Quebec City’s highest promontory.

Countless personalities have graced Fairmont Le Château Frontenac with their presence, including King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Princess Grace of Monaco, Chiang-Kai-Shek, Charles de Gaulle, François Mitterrand, Lady Sarah Ferguson, Charles Lindberg, Alfred Hitchcock and Montgomery Clift.

Discovered a gorgeous suburb, Sillery, and got a bit silly taking photos of homes….seriously lovely but. And found a deli with salads, terrines and cheese which made me feel very at home ( in a Paris sort of way).