We were all eagerly anticipating our arrival in Quebec City. We had been sailing for 390 nautical miles and just short of 2 days and were ready to be on land--not to mention the draw of the city itself.
It is such a unique spot. My reaction to it, when we visited back in 1997, was that it could be nowhere else in the world. In some ways, it's wonderfully Old World and European, with its cobblestones, city walls, and everyone around you speaking rapid-fire French. But then there's the deeply entrenched history of North America at its heart as well. Quebec is, in fact, one of the oldest cities in North America and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's an intoxicating combination.
We awoke to some pretty views as we sailed along Ile d'Orleans, just a half hour outside Quebec City.
There were many of us on the bow of our ship to watch the approach to the city. It's a strikingly pretty setting, with the hill crowned by the Chateau Frontenac.
There were three large cruise ships in port--the Veendam (yet again), the Silverseas Silver Whisper, and the Celebrity Summit. Two of these are really big ships, so the city was going to be hopping.
Several of us were beginning to wonder where we were going to dock. We ended up turning into an opening in the sea wall behind the Silver Whisper. We entered a small inner dock area. Rather than simply parallel parking along the dock, we proceeded to completely rotate (with very few inches to spare) and come alongside, facing back out onto the river. Two river pilots had come aboard our ship about dinner time the night before, but a special harbor pilot had boarded a couple hours before this delicate maneuver.
Because we had previously spent several days in Quebec City, we decided to forgo the cruise-offered tour and simply walk and enjoy the city on our own. Since we had arrived a couple hours earlier than anticipated, we had a full 6 hours for our explorations. Yahoo!
There is an upper village--Haute Ville--near the Chateau Frontenac and most of the historic sites. There is also a lower village--Basse Ville--close to the riverfront, at the foot of Cap-Diamant. We started out by climbing up the hill, stopping at Parc Montmorency, with its ramparts and cannons (some of which were amusingly aimed at the cruise ships below).
Then as we climbed a bit further up, we were passing the Anglican cathedral just as the nice, ordered bells for 10 o'clock chimed. We love hearing church bells, so we stopped to listen. When the bells stopped, we started to move on. But then the bells started chiming very differently--more freely and melodically. After about 10 minutes more of this joyous chiming, we decided we were going to have keep moving. Those fabulous bells rang for a full hour. We were certainly in the right place at the right time.
We stopped in at the Place d'Armes, the center of activity in the Haute Ville. Even though it was a Sunday morning, things were already busy. Tour buses were starting to arrive, and the horse-drawn carriages were doing a brisk business. We walked to the Latin Quarter, the oldest residential area of the city, and along the old fortified walls and gates of St. Jean and St. Louis. We climbed up a hill then sauntered our way back to the Place d'Armes. Things had gotten a lot crazier. There were jams of tour buses and double decker buses, and walking tour groups all over the place.
We headed out to the Terrasse Dufferin, with its sweeping views to the river and the lower town.
We made our way down the windy road toward Basse Ville. We should have visited it on our way up, because by midafternoon, it was a sea of people. You could barely look right or left, just keep moving in the flow. Not only were there all the many thousands of cruise ship tourists, but also many bus tours. And, being a beautiful 75 degree fall day, every Quebecer (or Québécois in French) was out and about too.
We moved with the crowds on rue du Petit-Champlain and visited the Place Royale with its Notre Dame.
Finally, it was time to board our ship and get ready for the last leg of our journey--225 miles to Montreal. We had some folks seeing us off. It's kind of a funny (though not bad) feeling, being someone's Sunday afternoon entertainment.
A bientot (until later) Quebec!
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