SATURDAY:
Another really nice day was in progress when I managed to sit up and finally get into the vertical position to begin my day…….and after the morning rituals, and the French Roast coffee made, I had a steaming cup while I listened to some New Brunswick FM English speaking radio station. We are not that far from the New Brunswick/Quebec border, so it came through very clearly, as well as many, many French speaking stations.
The 1st Lady was up and going not much later….and then about 9:30AM, we headed for Quebec City for the day……a day to complete the things we wanted to do before leaving on Monday morning. This time we knew our way to the Ferry and the inexpensive parking there…..$5.00 for the day and night!! GREAT price, “eh?” (That is the reply sooooooo many Canadians give when they want to hear something repeated again or ask you to reply to them) We parked quickly and at a site that was a very easy back-in and an extremely easy out…..YEAH!!!!
Then it was off across the street purchase out “retour” tickets for the ferry over to Quebec City and back later today……again, a good price for the retour trip: $4.80!!!! We managed to catch the ferry that was still there….and just as we boarded, the engines began to start the large, large boat and away we went across the St. Lawrence River/Seaway. Many cargo ships plying back and forth today, as well as tons of graceful sailboats of all sizes and all kind of humongous price tags!
Arriving on the other side, we disembarked and walked through the winding narrow, little streets to the Funiculaire…..and lucky again, we bought our tickets and we were immediately whisked away up the side of the cliff/bluff to the top level of Old Quebec. Emerging from the “car”, we stepped out to TONS of people on the streets, sidewalks, green areas, EVERYWHERE!!!!! WOW…….it was as if every hotel and cruise ship had unloaded all of their people/guests and pushed them out the doorways onto the streets….at the same time!!!! Thousands and thousands of Quebec citizens and tourists were everywhere, chattering in French and many, many other languages…..The world was on the streets of Quebec!!!!!!!!
We managed to weave our way through all of the world’s people for about a mile walk and struggled up a steep hill to the Citadel…..the fortress that has withstood many onslaughts from the British and from the Americans over the past 400 years…..and as we made our way into the open areas between the very, very tall stone walls, we found the office and purchased our tickets for an English language tour of this well-preserved place.
We had to wait about 15 minutes before the tour began, but after that we joined many other English speaking people from Canada, the states, and other parts of the world and for the next 90 minutes we were enthralled with the history and stories that our guide told us……a wonderful guide and an even better tour!!! A lot of history from the Quebecian/Canadian viewpoint that I certainly didn’t learn in American History class about 50 years ago!!!!! In fact, I barely remember anything about the wars that we fought to attempt to take over this part of North America…..hmmmmm, sure wonder why!
Then….at the end of the tour, we descended the high hill and back into the streets which were by now almost wall to wall people…..and we were HUNGRY by that time. Well…….just try to get a seat outside at a table on the walkways with these crowds!!!! However, we did get one at a not toooo expensive café….IF….if we would share our table for four with two other strangers. We both agreed quickly as that is usually a great way to learn more about the area, as well as the people we are seated with. We ordered….I ordered a club sandwich(which was VERY dry and not tooo good) and the 1st Lady ordered a quiche and salad….and she said hers was very good.
Just after we received our meals from the kitchen, two young people were seated with us….and, they turned out to be attorneys from New York City…….who are about to married soon. Soooo, it also turned out in our conversation that his best friend lived in Cape Girardeau, MO…..about 45 miles from our home town. We also spent a lot of time discussing traveling and where they had been(Argentina just a couple of months ago) and our recent trips. They plan to make another journey soon and were quite interested in our trip to Egypt and Jordan……..as well as the trip I made over to Greece a few years ago.
We finished and departed and then visited St. Andrew’s Church….the first Presbyterian Church to be established in Canada. Then we fought the crowds and wandered into some of the boutiques and shops….and gradually managed to get to the steps to lead down to the lower level of the city…..and after getting through all of these crowds, we decided to call it a day…..caught the ferry, and then drove the 20 miles back out to the campground.
And…..THIS damn campground was absolutely jammed with “guests” who pay to use the facilities……they have over 600 camp sites and there must be 1000 extra cars parked in any way possible …just to get parked. We may NOT be able to get out of here in the morning without me driving the truck over to the office to get some assistance in getting some vehicles moved…….they do not understand me very well….and I don’t think I can make it very clear that I MUST have them move their trucks and cars so I can get TheHowserHouse out of here and on the road again. Hmmmmm,…..this worries me tonight………
Tomorrow, IF we can get a campsite we will go 120 miles up the road to Rivere du Loop….a small place up on the St Lawrence where there are boat trips out to watch the Beluga whales frolicking in the deep, cold water. Lots of “IF’s” here…..we have to get a campsite for two nights there….and we HAVE to get tickets for the 9:30AM trip on Monday morning…….AND…..SHIT!!!! I have no cell phone service here to make those reservations, if possible. Hmmmm, will I sleep tonight with all of these little problems running through my mind????? Hmmmmm……….. However, mes amis, as always I can very truthfully say that……
LIFE IS REALLY INCREDIBLY GREAT!!!!!!……And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!
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