We will have an overnight stay in Quebec which is very nice. Gives us a chance to spend 2 full days to explore the city.
We arrived at 8:00AM and are docked a short distance from the City. The ship has provided a shuttle to take us to the foot of the City and back on a schedule. Weather was cool and rain predicted. What a change from the last few days.
We signed up to take an excursion to Montmorency Falls which is a drive through the countryside and a stop at the falls. We will then go to a sugar shack to see how maple syrup is made.
When we left the city of Quebec we finally saw fall color. The multicolored trees are just beautiful.
The guide said they had cold weather the last few nights forcing the trees to turn color.
We stopped for 15 mins. to take photos of the countryside.
The weather was rainy and cool so the sky was a bit grey.
We then continued onto our visit to the Falls. We stopped at an Inn for tea and cookies before we went out to view the falls. From our viewpoint we could see a suspension bridge as well as two drops in the falls before the water hit the bottom pool. It was really cool.
Here is a site to get more info on the falls. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montmorency_Falls
The coach then drove us to a visitor center where we could view the falls from the bottom and see the area surrounding the falls.
After our short visit we then boarded the coach to go to a sugar shack. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_house
This may or not be maple tree grove where the sap is collected and then processed or a facility to convert the sap into maple syrup and maple candy. There was a demonstration on how the sap is distilled into syrup and how syrup is made into lollipops. We got to each make a lollipop to eat.
After the tour we headed back for the ship and got on board.
Monday morning we awoke to a beautiful sunny day. Today we planned to visit the historic center of Quebec on our own. Yesterday we asked Guest Services to make reservations at the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac for 3pm tea. The tea was going to be a high point in our visit as we thought it would be as grand as the one in the Fairmont Empress.
After breakfast we debarked the ship and headed for the shuttle bus which took us to a stop by the Petit Champlain district. Here we walked around and saw the quaint shops and large outdoor art exhibits. After this we went to the main square to find a place to have lunch. We found a nice cafe with tables outdoors and had lunch and coffee.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Quebec
We then located the funicular which took up to the upper town where the Fairmont Hotel was located. When we got off the funicular we found ourselves on a large boardwalk/promenade which led to a large park. We walked the promenade and enjoyed the scenic view of lower Quebec and the river. Since we had some time before our tea time we walked to the other side of the park square to see the shops and cafes.
Close to 3pm we entered the Fairmont Frontenac to find the restaurant where we would have tea.
It turns out the restaurant had a terrace overlooking the river and we were shown a table here.
Tea turned out to be less formal than the Empress. Most guests were casually dressed and the presentation of the tea sandwiches and desserts was not very good.
However they did taste delicious and the setting was very nice. Overall we enjoyed this as well as being able to walk in the lobby of this grand hotel.
We then retraced our steps taking the funicular down to the lower part of the city and walked back through the petit champlain district to the main street where the shuttle bus stop was.
We really enjoyed the visit to Quebec and would enjoy coming back to see more of the city and countryside.
We arrived at 8:00AM and are docked a short distance from the City. The ship has provided a shuttle to take us to the foot of the City and back on a schedule. Weather was cool and rain predicted. What a change from the last few days.
We signed up to take an excursion to Montmorency Falls which is a drive through the countryside and a stop at the falls. We will then go to a sugar shack to see how maple syrup is made.
When we left the city of Quebec we finally saw fall color. The multicolored trees are just beautiful.
The guide said they had cold weather the last few nights forcing the trees to turn color.
We stopped for 15 mins. to take photos of the countryside.
We then continued onto our visit to the Falls. We stopped at an Inn for tea and cookies before we went out to view the falls. From our viewpoint we could see a suspension bridge as well as two drops in the falls before the water hit the bottom pool. It was really cool.
Here is a site to get more info on the falls. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montmorency_Falls
The coach then drove us to a visitor center where we could view the falls from the bottom and see the area surrounding the falls.
After our short visit we then boarded the coach to go to a sugar shack. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_house
This may or not be maple tree grove where the sap is collected and then processed or a facility to convert the sap into maple syrup and maple candy. There was a demonstration on how the sap is distilled into syrup and how syrup is made into lollipops. We got to each make a lollipop to eat.
There was also a small museum that had exhibits of equipment used in making maple syrup and some historical photos.
Monday morning we awoke to a beautiful sunny day. Today we planned to visit the historic center of Quebec on our own. Yesterday we asked Guest Services to make reservations at the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac for 3pm tea. The tea was going to be a high point in our visit as we thought it would be as grand as the one in the Fairmont Empress.
After breakfast we debarked the ship and headed for the shuttle bus which took us to a stop by the Petit Champlain district. Here we walked around and saw the quaint shops and large outdoor art exhibits. After this we went to the main square to find a place to have lunch. We found a nice cafe with tables outdoors and had lunch and coffee.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Quebec
We then located the funicular which took up to the upper town where the Fairmont Hotel was located. When we got off the funicular we found ourselves on a large boardwalk/promenade which led to a large park. We walked the promenade and enjoyed the scenic view of lower Quebec and the river. Since we had some time before our tea time we walked to the other side of the park square to see the shops and cafes.
Close to 3pm we entered the Fairmont Frontenac to find the restaurant where we would have tea.
It turns out the restaurant had a terrace overlooking the river and we were shown a table here.
Tea turned out to be less formal than the Empress. Most guests were casually dressed and the presentation of the tea sandwiches and desserts was not very good.
However they did taste delicious and the setting was very nice. Overall we enjoyed this as well as being able to walk in the lobby of this grand hotel.
We really enjoyed the visit to Quebec and would enjoy coming back to see more of the city and countryside.
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