Oh Canada!

Normally, when I travel I arrive a day before the tour begins, but not THIS time. I figured I wasn’t changing time zones, so no jet lag to overcome, and with the short flight, I would arrive in the early afternoon. What could possibly go wrong? Well, I knew I didn’t have to worry about snowstorms closing the airport, but I completely forgot about thunderstorms and possible flooding. Oh yeah, I also forgot about airline strikes.

I don’t know whether it was the strike or the weather that got my flight canceled, but I was VERY grateful that United notified me the night before I was due to depart. That gave me enough time to notify my driver, rebook my flight from home and best of all, I avoided hanging out at the airport for hours, desperately hoping that the planes would fly again sometime soon.

Actually, the delay worked out for me, because on my recent trip to Massachusetts, my friend Jean and I inadvertently picked up each other’s credit cards. Although Jean attempted to overnight my card, the post office only CHARGED her for 1 day delivery–it actually took TWO days, so I was at home when my card finally arrived.

The header of this post is the map for the main trip. I am now on the pre-trip, which originally comprised three nights in Quebec City (now 2 for me), then Montreal for 2 nights. Whether the flight attendants’ strike will be settled by the time we are due to fly to Halifax is anybody’s guess. That’s why I’m glad I’m on a tour. I don’t have to figure anything out. That’s the trip leader’s job.

There are eight of us on the pre-trip, so finding alternative modes of transportation should be a lot easier than making sure the 30 main trip participants are able to get into Halifax.

But enough about the future—let’s focus on the present.

Our welcome dinner took place in the Hotel Clarendon, where we enjoyed singing along with the accordion player.

The morning of my one full day in Quebec City was spent the touring the parliament building, which was architecturally interesting. I loved the stained glass archway.

This corridor linking the old and new buildings synthesized art, music, architecture and technology . As people walked through the corridor, music played and flashing lights changed color.

Laurie, our trip leader took our first group shot outside of the parliament building.

I had heard so much about poutine, I decided to try it for lunch at the Fairmont Hotel. What is poutine, you ask? Well, you take French fries, dump some kind of brown sauce all over them, then top with cheese curds and bacon bits. After a few forkfuls, I’d had enough, so I offered the rest to my travel buddies. They shared my side dish AND my lack of enthusiasm for this “delicacy”.

After lunch we were on our own, so I took advantage of the perfect weather to explore the city, walking atop the city walls. It took me a while to figure out how to get up there. Hint: There are steps along the city gates.

The view of the St Lawrence River was spectacular.

Instead of railings, we had signs.

Because we were here in the weekend, there were lots of street musicians and entertainers.

My assessment: Quebec City is lovely in the summer, and a great place to visit, but once is enough for me.

On to Montreal!