Quebec 5

We got up early today (Monday) to take the ferry across the St. Lawrence, then walk to the Citadel and witness the changing of the guard ceremony. We had another great sunrise view of the Chateau.

Since I was a little sore from the run yesterday, we elected to take the funicular to the Old City, avoiding the multitude of steps.

Once we got inside the walls, were almost alone! They had just washed the streets in preparation for the tourists that would arrive at “normal” hours.

We made it to the wall and got to walk a bit on the top. There was a lot of reconstruction taking place so several areas were closed off. We were warned that there are absolutely no hand rails or guard rails to keep you from falling off ofthe wall. They were correct! I got near the edge to view some marmots working about 30 feet below us. There were places where the drop would be far greater than that. Walking the wall would not be recommended for unattended children.

This is one of the four gateways to the city. We happened across this monument to Roosevelt and Churchill at the entrance (they held clandestine meetings here during WWII).

This is one of the building “off-limits” within the Citadel. It was a private residence.

This is the “Fields of Abraham” battleground.

A foreboding warning on the pathway…there were several runners and joggers out this morning.

We walked to the “Governor’s Promenade” overlooking the river.

We have been curious for days how they keep all of the beautiful gardens in such good shape throughout the city. We never saw anyone working on them. By arriving very early, we caught her! She was very busing trimming the hydrangeas and was happy to talk with us. While we were taking her picture, a small bus arrived and several others asked her for pictures.

Looking across the lawns, we spotted the new copper roofing being applied to the National Parks Museum of the Battle of Abraham.

This is the vehicular entrance to the fort. We folded back our mirrors while going in yesterday as there was not much room in the curves. It kept the tour buses out, though!

Today we were walking the city so we used this entrance, it wound through a small museum.

This is how the Citadel wall appears from the inside.

This bugler gave us the “10 minute warning” prior to the ceremony. It reminded me of the Georgia Redcoats pregame.

Below is the 22nd Regimental band during the ceremony. I have video of the entire event but do not know how to post.

Here is one grouping of guards marching in. The crowd gasped audibly when they performed a lunge with their bayonets.

The regimental mascot it a goat, chosen as a symbol because of their fierce protection of their family group.

We got to meet the mascot. The two guards were very nice and they joked that they all “look-alike”, which is really true when their bear fur hats are pulled down.

I can see why this hotel is one of the most photographed hotel in the world. We got this shot leaving the Citadel.

This is one of the oldest houses in Quebec, built by Francois Jacquet in 1675/1676. It is currently a restaurant, Cathy is checking the menu posted in front. The sun is up and we are getting hungry.

We went down, below the wall into an underground section that has been preserved over the years. This was an icehouse. The large pit was filled with ice during the winter and perishable food was kept here during the summer, similar to a very large refrigerator.

During the excavations of these structures, a lot of artifacts from the 17th and 18th centuries were unearthed and documented. This helped the preservationists determine what each of the rooms was used for. These were found in the scullery.

This was a stove in a kitchen.

And these were found nearby.

This was a pantry.

And these were food storage lockers.

A statue of New France’s first Bishop, Francois de Montmorency-Laval located at the top of Rue Cote de Montagne.

University Laval is a French language, public research university in Quebec City. The University was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Seminaire de Quebec (the boys school in a previous post) in 1663 by Francois de Montmorency-Laval, making it the oldest center of higher education in Canada and the first North American institution to offer higher education in French.

Across the street from the University is Montmorency Park, which is home to numerous monuments to famous Canadians.

We saw a street which reminded us of Lombard Street in San Francisco during our walking tour a couple of days ago and we were determined to explore it later. Well, today was “later” and we found it as “Cote de Montagne” on this map:

Starting down the street, we went under the wall, officially leaving the “Walled City” / “Old Town” / “Upper City” and went down to the “Lower City”. The street was pretty steep and winds similar to Lombard.

About halfway down, there was a “shortcut” of stairs leading down to the wharf area.

By walking, we could get into some places that a person in a car cannot. These were a couple of gardens in very narrow spaces, between dwellings.

We found a building under renovation and I took these from the second floor window, looking down at the courtyard below.

Once we got down to the wharf level we took in a couple of antique shops and marveled at the architecture.

We were still hungry and stopped by the Buffett de l’Antiquaire for lunch. We met a lady from New York and her daughter, who went to school in Boston, so Cathy had a good conversation during our lunch. They gave us their contact information.