Quebec City is the only city in North America that still has its original city walls intact. We saw a walled city for the first time last year in Derry, Northern Ireland. The walls in Quebec City were different - no IRA slogans and no razor wire!
Our bed & breakfast was inside the city walls, so we had to drive through this gate to get to our room.
And here was our B&B, Chez Marie Claire. Mom was very happy that our room was on the first floor!
Samuel de Champlain, the founder of Quebec City, is memorialized with a statue near the Place d'Armes.
The Chateau Frontenac dominates the skyline of Quebec City. We couldn't afford to stay here, but we did eat brunch here Sunday afternoon. They had a buffet set up in a huge room with various tables with different foods. I got to try some Beef Wellington, which wasn't bad. One table had nothing but chocolate on it. Needless to say, Mom and I both indulged quite a bit.
Lower Town, the original settlement, had lots of shops. You could get down to Lower Quebec by walking down (and back up) some stairs or taking the Funicular.
We opted for the Funicular. Here's the view of Lower Quebec City from the Funicular's windows.
Quebec City had its own Notre Dame church - Notre Dame de Quebec Cathedral. Lots of Notre Dame churches can be found throughout the province.
While we were wandering around the Place d'Armes, we heard the sirens of some motorcycle police. They were escorting a black car to the front entrance of the Chateau Frontenac. My celebrity radar started pinging. I told Mom to follow me and walked in the direction the car had taken. Sure enough, the current Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, climbed out and walked inside the hotel. No security around him at all. About two hours later, he left the hotel through a shop entrance. We managed to catch that, too. And got a picture of his car as he was leaving. I have no idea why he was in Quebec City. No mention of his visit was made on the English-language news.
The National Assembly for the Province of Quebec sits right outside the city walls. The building features nooks that hold bronze statues of people important in Quebec's history - all men, of course.
In front of the Assembly is the de Tourny Fountain. The fountain was a gift to Quebec City in honor of its 400th anniversary. It was gorgeous. We stayed there for a while watching the water fall.
We took an English-language tour of the Assembly. It was interesting because the building featured decorative elements to remind the people of Quebec's European heritage - oak leaves for England, the fleur de lis for France, the thistle for Scotland and the shamrock for Ireland. The provincial motto - Je me souviens - means "I remember."
The provincial parliament meets in the Blue Room - known in French as le salon bleu - where a minority government currently rules. The room was originally painted green. The current color came about because of the advent of televised sessions, and blue looks better on television.
One day of our time in Quebec City was spent in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre and at the Canyon Sainte Anne. Those pictures are coming soon!
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