Travels on M/V Santorini: Last days in Quebec

July 27: Today we decided to leave OLD City and explore the other side of the Wall to visit historical sites. Quebec is the only walled city north of Mexico and was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1985. We hiked 3 miles uphill to La Citadelle, surprisingly still an active military installation. On our way we made a brief stop at the City Hall and its new garden with "dancing" fountain.

La CITADELLE:

Plains of Abraham Battlefield and view of a section of (New) Quebec City

Plains of Abraham: The site where the British army under General Wolfe prevailed over the French army under General Montcalm in 1759. Wolfe's soldiers scaled the cliff face to "surprise" Montcalm even though a runner had come into camp to warn the French of the English approach but was not believed. So, if the British prevailed, why do 95% of the population of Quebec City speak French? Is this a case of winning the battle but losing the war?

Parliament Building: This is a magnificent structure in Quebec City. In addition to the Quebec Parliament, it also contains offices of the Lieutenant Governor and National Assembly. Karl remarked about the striking design similarity to his home-town municipal building Philadelphia's "City Hall" that was constructed during the same time period 1871 - 1901 and designed by a Scottish architect. In Quebec, this building was designed by a French Canadian architect Eugène Étienne Taché and constructed from 1877 to 1886.


Historical Information

After walking back through the wall into the Old City, we enjoyed lovely little spot for lunch, Le Petit Coin Latin, where Donna read about in this bistro in Louise Penny's novel "Bury Your Dead". It is a "locals" place tucked in off the main shopping district. We dined in a terrace garden at the rear of the restaurant. The food was excellent, and inexpensive by comparative venues.


Le Petit Coin Latin

When we returned to our boat after our walk we discovered all our Canadian neighbors had disappeared ... was it something we said ... or The Donald Effect?

Water clarity is amazing ... but the plant life will kill your bow/stern thrusters!

July 29, evening: Its din-din time, again, and tonight's venue was the Kaptain's choice: "Chez Muffy." He was intrigued with the name and thought it was a night-club ... Au contraire! In a city of 1200 restaurants, this was in the top 10, and their website made it even more compelling for a personal visit.

Chez Muffy is a French Canadian farmhouse-to-table restaurant. The setting is in a historic maritime warehouse. It has natural stone walls and wooden beams, reminiscent of our very own kitchen in New Britain. We started the evening with two of their signature cocktails on the terrace with a view of the St. Lawrence River; then went inside for outstanding dinner preparations of Lamb, and Guinea Hen -- you know how Donna luvs anything Italian, 😜.

July 30: Our last day. So we went for another exploratory walk around the Lock area and the Port, followed by last minute shopping at the Port's farmers market.