For The Love of Travel

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.

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).

Arrived at the hotel I’d booked and found myself in a less than savoury part of downtown. Decided to drive around and see if another hotel would take me in….eventually the Travelodge did. Happy girl now.

Went for a walk in the old part of the city (Vieux Montreal) and immediately felt a bit of a Parisienne vibe….gorgeous galleries with expensive art works! Restaurants!! Expensive dress shops that don’t stock a size over 8!! And 19thC building facades with expensive modern apartment development behind. Took a peek.

Enjoyed the lovely Galerie Blanche, with clay and bronze sculptures from Rose-Aimee Belanger…my favourites were titled…’Chocolate Ecstasy’ and ‘Last Cigarette’…the expressions in her work are marvellous. Here’s a link to explain her work……
http://www.mayberryfineart.com/artist/rose-aimee_belangerA

And there was a sculpting/painting duo from Montreal that made me pay attention…..at the LeLux Gallery on Rue St Paul….gorgeous African clay queens in a row, painted in vibrant orange! Love, love, love!

Dinner @ Le Boulingueur Restaurant, yummy cod with leek and mushrooms; creme brûlée with orange…….YUMMMMM!