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| Notre Dame altar |
Weather: Sunny and warm -23 degrees.
When I got back to my hotel last night, I heard a lot of sirens and some sort of chanting. One look out the window showed protesters marching up to the Formula 1 Grand Prix party on Peel Street - where I'd just been - and police moving in to keep order. Then the noise started, shouting, screaming, sirens. The riots had started. Thank goodness I left when I did! It was all over the news this morning. It looked quite nasty.
Anyway, we had a late start this morning and met our local guide, Christina, at 9am. We did a quick city tour on our way over to Notre Dame chathedral. Wow! It was pretty spectacular. But, as you know, I'm a church kind of person. Unusually for a Catholic cathedral, this one had two balconies inside as it was built by a Protestant who loved his creation so much, that he converted to Catholosism on his death bed just so he could be buried in his creation. No wonder Celine Dion was married here as the alter is incredibly beautiful. We also went in back to the little chapel they have where most of the weddings are conducted.
Our next stop was at Mont Royal - the "mountain" that gives Montreal its name. Now, you have to call it a mountain, even though it's just a hill, as telling a Montrealian otherwise is an insult.
Our tour ended back at our hotel where we said goodbye to Christina. We then had a 20 minute break before heading off to Quebec City.
Just before entering the city, we went to the Trafalgar hidden treasure - Parc de Chauste de Chaliere. It is a waterfall that is created when water seeps through the wall of the hydroelectricty plant. There is even a suspension bridge going across the gorge. There were planey of locals hanging out and splashing their feet in the water.
When we finally arrived in Quebec, we went for a drive around the old part of the city and what a pretty city it is. So much to take photos of, so many old buldings... and soooo many hills! We then went to the hotel in the new part of the city - just up the road and walking distance from the old part.
At around 5:30PM, our Tour Director took us on an orientation walk around the old streets of Quebec City - up and down hills. We were then free to do our own thing until tomorrow morning.
Lee, Renzo and I went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. It was a challenge as only one waitress spoke understandable English, even though our Tour Director told us that everyone spoke English as well as French.
After dinner, we went on a small walk which led us to a walk along the old city's fortification walls used to defend the city from invasions. People use these walls to sun bake in the summer months and there plenty of young people doing this.
As we have a free afternoon tomorrow, there isplenty of time to take photos so I decided to go back to the hotel for a rest - those hills are a killer!! Plus I'm not feeling too well. Think I've caught the cold that's been going around the bus. Damn!!
When I got back to my hotel last night, I heard a lot of sirens and some sort of chanting. One look out the window showed protesters marching up to the Formula 1 Grand Prix party on Peel Street - where I'd just been - and police moving in to keep order. Then the noise started, shouting, screaming, sirens. The riots had started. Thank goodness I left when I did! It was all over the news this morning. It looked quite nasty.
Anyway, we had a late start this morning and met our local guide, Christina, at 9am. We did a quick city tour on our way over to Notre Dame chathedral. Wow! It was pretty spectacular. But, as you know, I'm a church kind of person. Unusually for a Catholic cathedral, this one had two balconies inside as it was built by a Protestant who loved his creation so much, that he converted to Catholosism on his death bed just so he could be buried in his creation. No wonder Celine Dion was married here as the alter is incredibly beautiful. We also went in back to the little chapel they have where most of the weddings are conducted.
Our next stop was at Mont Royal - the "mountain" that gives Montreal its name. Now, you have to call it a mountain, even though it's just a hill, as telling a Montrealian otherwise is an insult.
Our tour ended back at our hotel where we said goodbye to Christina. We then had a 20 minute break before heading off to Quebec City.
Just before entering the city, we went to the Trafalgar hidden treasure - Parc de Chauste de Chaliere. It is a waterfall that is created when water seeps through the wall of the hydroelectricty plant. There is even a suspension bridge going across the gorge. There were planey of locals hanging out and splashing their feet in the water.When we finally arrived in Quebec, we went for a drive around the old part of the city and what a pretty city it is. So much to take photos of, so many old buldings... and soooo many hills! We then went to the hotel in the new part of the city - just up the road and walking distance from the old part.
At around 5:30PM, our Tour Director took us on an orientation walk around the old streets of Quebec City - up and down hills. We were then free to do our own thing until tomorrow morning.
Lee, Renzo and I went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. It was a challenge as only one waitress spoke understandable English, even though our Tour Director told us that everyone spoke English as well as French.
After dinner, we went on a small walk which led us to a walk along the old city's fortification walls used to defend the city from invasions. People use these walls to sun bake in the summer months and there plenty of young people doing this.
As we have a free afternoon tomorrow, there isplenty of time to take photos so I decided to go back to the hotel for a rest - those hills are a killer!! Plus I'm not feeling too well. Think I've caught the cold that's been going around the bus. Damn!!
Took some cold and flu capsules and am going to bed early.
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| View of the Ollympic Stadium from Mont Royal |
