Page 3 New England Quebec 2001

Visit to Quebec and New England
Summer 2001

Province of Quebec - Page 3

The first night in Canada we found accomodation about 20 miles west of Quebec City. It was a small motel and we were happy to learn that they charged much less than on our previous Motel 6. We payed 60 Can$ included breakfast. In the evening it was raining and the motel was out in the country so we drove to the nearest Chinese restaurant and had a nice buffet meal for about 10 Can$. Next morning we drove on the highway (138) along the St. Lawrence River until we catched the motorway into Quebec City. The weather was still reasonable when we arrived so we left the car in a parking

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Motel close to Neuville

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The boardwalk in front of
Chateau Frontenac

house close to the centre. In the parking complex we also found a cash machine which easily provided us with Can$ on our credit cards. From here we walked along and around the Citadelle high above the beautiful St. Lawrence River which is so broad here that you can hardly see the other side. To the west of the Citadelle is the Battlefields where soldiers in old uniforms were acting for a film. It was really amazing to hear all people speaking french here. Quite a relaxing atmosphere. After passing the Citadelle we entered the broad wooden boardwalk which leads to the Chateau Frontenac; a

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Place de l´Hotel de Ville

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Basilique-Cathedrale Notre Dame de Quebec

very imposing building which is a superior world-famous hotel. We went into the lobby where there were several exclusive shops. We walked further on to the heart of the old city and ended up on Place de l´Hotel de Ville. It was like a mineature of Paris here. The language, small outdoor cafees and restaurants and a street with painters selling their artwork. We strolled around and ended up in a small restaurant where we had lunch, or actually "menu del dia" which brought good memories back to Spanish traditions. A very delicious meal for only about 7 Can$. Unfortunately when we came out again the rain had started and it turned out that it persisted for the rest of the day. So what should we do? We had a look in the Notre-Dame Basilique, quite smaller than its sister church in Paris, but with nice rich interior decorations. Now it was really pouring down so we decided to do something indoor. We went into a cinema where they were just going to start a 3-D film with a lot of holographic features and sound effects on the History of Quebec. It was a nice break but for the small children quite a scaring experience. After the film we realized it was the optimal time to buy rain coats. We bought some nice ponchos which we learned was a real good investment for the coming days.

View from our motel balcony on a rainy day St.-Simeon	Now we were ready to drive further east. Close to Quebec City there was still a dense population with many small towns in the hill sides along the mighty St. Lawrence River. The landscapes were much nicer here than to the west of the city. It also seemed to us that houses were more well kept at least than in the US. Perhaps the French influence. Further east we met wilderness and the hills became more steep and with bare rocks. We had no idea where we wanted to stop for the night, but when we arrived at St.-Simeon we had no doubt any longer. This small village was placed so beautiful on top of a hill with magnificent views to the St. Lawrence and to the mountains inland. There were quite a few motels so we picked the one with the nicest views from its balcony. It was certainly out of season, only a couple of guests more. And we got a really nice room for 50 Can$. That price we liked for our budget. Just below our room was a small harbour with a ferry for the other side of the river. Our night mare was the rain. We did not have much opportunities to come outside the car and enjoy this nice place.
View towards the east when the rain had stopped St.-Simeon
One restaurant was open so we had a nice meal in the evening and breakfast the next morning. We relaxed at the television and read the many brochures we had got earlier in a visitor center in Quebec City. The next morning we turned inland away from the St. Lawrence. We drove south of the Saguenay Fjord mostly in mountainous forests but there were also some farms and villages. Just before Riviere-Eternite we turned into the Parc du Saguenay. We payed a small fee at the entrance center and drove down to Baie Eternite. Of course the Canadian rain had resumed again by now. So we left the car and walked under umbrellas wearing our ponchos. Not very comfortable. Except for a school class on an interpretational trip there were no other visitors. The Fjord looked nice, but not quite as impressive as the Norwegian fjords we know so well. In pouring rain we now drove to La Baie where we had a quick stop at the peculear millenium art monument: La Pyramide des Ha!Ha!. From the beginning it was our intention to make a round trip around the Lac Saint-Jean but over a hamburger in La Baie we decided to follow the predictions on TV that the weather would be better in Maine, USA.

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Baie Eternite
Saguenay Fjord

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Dressed for the rain
Saguenay Fjord

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LaPyramide des Ha!Ha!
La Baie, Saguenay Fjord

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Enjoying the Lac Jaques-Carties
Laurentides Provincial Parc

We drove south along highway 175 through the wilderness area of Laurentides Provincial Reserve. Over a distance of about 130 miles there were no houses, only deep forests probably with an abundancy of wild-life. Midway was a small settlement with a rest area. Inside the facility was a food court with small restaurants. Here we relaxed with a cop of coffee. There were also many beautiful lakes along the road. We made stop at the Lac Jaques-Carties.

Mid afternoon we had returned to Quebec City. We crossed the St. Lawrence river via interstate I-73 on a nice steel bridge. About 30 miles south of Quebec city we left the interstate heading for a waterfall we had noticed in one of our brochures. At the end we could not find the location so in a small village we had to ask for direction. To our surprice no one spoke English here so we had to try our best school French. Finally we found the spot which was quite nice and even had an old covered bridge. A restaurant underwent refurbishing. But no people were around here. We

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Covered bridge and waterfall

went for a nice walk along the river; and have I forgotten to tell : IT WAS NOT RAINING. Afterwards we drove to the city of St-Gorges. Although they had several motels these were quite filled up when we arrived but in the center we had luck and got a nice room for 70 Can$. In the evening we went to a shopping mall and spent our last Can$. We had some nice CD´s. One was with French Canadian Country Music, which Michael thought we played too much the following days.