Don’t forget to push the blue sixtyexpress so you can check out the pictures.

How is your French? Mine is Australian school level so ‘trés terrible’,luckily most people in the city speak English or at least some. The province of Quebec which includes both Quebec and  Montreal won the right to speak French after the war between the
English and the French for Canada. The Quebec area had been mainly settled by French. The French separatists in the Halifax region were sent to the small island off the coast.
The old city is walled. Three of the four gateways still exist.
Being ancient we started the day with breakfast in the ‘Buffet de Antiquaire ‘ and are having dinner in ‘Restaurant aux anciens. Canadien’.
Who knew caramel on toast was a thing…..the jam was great too.The restaurant Anciens serves traditional Canadien food and is in one of the oldest buildings in the city.

So we are doing the traditional sightseeing bit…….a walk around the waterfront, a ferry ride across the St Laurence river ( St Lawrence for the English) and a bus tour of the city. Do you realise you have now crossed this river by car, boat and train? Amazing and it still looks super wide. So lots of photos of buildings , streets , statues and gardens…..some of which are so clever in the way they create pictures.

Starting with the waterfront….there is a wide promenade that runs in front of the Fairmont hotel.  At the end of the promenade ,there is a steep hill with a fortress ( star shaped and called the Citadel). No you are not visiting it so don’t get that look. On the promenade is a beautiful statue and two amazing floral displays. Those butterflies are made from succulents

Now from here you can choose the funicular or the stairs …… going down stairs is easier than climbing them……funicular up.

 

At the bottom is the waterfront and oldest buildings. The streets are narrow and some are still cobblestones. some streets are completely closed to vehicles for parts of the day.Aren’t you glad we started early so you can get pictures early before the crowds arrive.Summer is the main tourists season and the city is alive with performing artists and tourists.

 

 

Here is the ferry……the quickest way across the river.

 

 

 

During the war , many of the buildings near the waterfront were damaged by cannon fire. They were rebuilt and murals have been added to some to show the history of the city.

Every one seems to have added flowers for the summer season though I would be reluctant to park my car under these stairs.

 

 

Time to take the funicular up to the top.

The Parliament House is in a similar style to the Frontenac  but the statues on it show the important figures in Canadian history. I think those figures come alive at night and have a good gossip about us tourists.

There are even statues of women who contributed to Quebec politics.Now gardens in government buildings are usually formal….and there are some of these but there is a massive vegetable and herb garden  in the left side of the front.This provides produce for the parliament restaurant which only uses produce from the Province.

The Citadel was a French fortress even if built in an English style. It’s defences were to the water. The English sent units of soldiers up the cliffs behind the fortress to an area known now as the Plains of Abraham. The French were defeated in 20 minutes.Both the commanding generals were killed.The battlefields are now public places.
You can hike,walk, run and  picnic in summer. In winter it becomes a cross country ski area. The dirt area in the photo becomes a frozen lake with fish. You can go ice fishing. Don’t want your fish…put it back for someone else to catch?

Now the guides have conferred and said it’s snack time…..then a rest before dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

What did you choose for dinner?
Here is the menu to remind you………………oops perhaps the English version. Tomorrow we are on the train to Montreal. It is a commuter train so a new experience.