FRODO SEVEN : A Ten Hour Drive to Quebec City

Monday morning we got up at dawn to pack the van and make the drive to Quebec City. Though it was out of our way, we drove to the falls for one last peek and it was absolutely worth the trouble. Filled to the brim with tourists the day before, the walkway was empty and quiet and we had an opportunity to appreciate God's majesty once more and say goodbye. I have always liked to take my leave of places in at least a small ceremonial way and I may have passed that on to our babes. And Chris. I did not have to twist his arm to take the 45 minute detour.
On the road, it was much like driving in the US except the speed limit is in kilometers and there are no billboards to interrupt the beauty of the landscape. It was a little under ten hours to Quebec City and we spent much of that time listening to a dramatic rendering of the Narnia tales. We got through The Magician's Nephew, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and a good bit of The Horse and His Boy which is Grace's favorite. Perhaps the most exciting part of the trip was when Mia drove. She has to log about nine hours this trip to stay on track to get her license in October and she got two hours between Niagara and Quebec City. My little baby--all grown up and driving in a foreign country!
We arrived in Quebec City on schedule at 5:30. We checked into the Auberge Saint Louis which is more hostel than hotel. Because of the size of our group, we need two rooms when staying at hotels. I had prioritized location over luxury which turned out to be a great choice. We were right in the heart of the city. Unfortunately, in the short term, we had a problem parking because the car top carrier did not clear the entrance of the parking garage. Chris and Madeleine went off to find another solution but 90 minutes later, ended up removing the car top carrier to fit the van in the garage. Lesson learned--take off the car top carrier immediately. It was easy to do.
That first night, we walked around and ended up eating at a pub with a view of the old part of the city. There was an accordion player, the food was typical pub fare but we were hungry so you know how that goes. After dinner, we walked around old town Quebec. It is incredibly quaint. In one section, there are all different colors of umbrellas hanging upside down. In another section, it was colored balls. We got ice cream (a theme of our vacation so far) and went back to the rooms and to sleep.
The next day, we got up early to eat breakfast at a very well reviewed crepe restaurant. It is rumored that at some points in the day, there are lines to get in. At 8:15, there was no line! A good thing as we have found that getting a table for 7 can be tricky. The meal was one of the best we have had. Most of us got fruit crepes with chocolate, whipped cream and even ice cream (at breakfast!). Chris and Madeleine ordered more lunch/dinnerish crepes and those were delicious also. We really enjoyed everything about the meal.
Things we saw/ did during the day:
*explored an ursuline convent
*toured Notre Dame and attended daily Mass in French
*went to the city wall to take photos and see the view
*played at a couple of beautiful fountains
*went to a museum about the history of the French Canadian people
*climbed around on canons overlooking the St. Lawrence River

We ate dinner in another restaurant recommended by the guidebook. Conveniently, it was a block from our hotel. It served typical Canadian food and was housed in the second oldest building in the city. We had so much fun at dinner. Again, the setting was beautiful, the company even better. The meal was three courses which meant we took our time and lingered. Because we had eaten out of the cooler for lunch, we were all hungry which made everything taste even better. Sophie and Ella even tried pea soup!
After dinner, we walked around and then tried to find a carriage ride. Madeleine and Mia made the great sacrifice of not going in the carriage (because we were over the maximum number of riders) and went shopping instead. The carriage ended up being a lot of fun and our driver Peter was so friendly, cheerful and informative, he really added to it.
Our last event of the night was a street show. There were continually performers in the square at the end of street and we had stopped for parts of several of them before. This one was by far the best. He was extremely funny in addition to being very good at juggling and unicycling. All of the shows that we saw involved audience participation. His first participant was a baby, probably about 9 months old. I did not believe that the baby was randomly chosen at first because, well, who hands their baby over to a street performer? Apparently, it was authentic. He took good care of the baby, got tons of laughs and handed baby back safe and sound when the first part of the show ended. We stayed for the whole thing of course and then went back to the hostel and to bed.