This is something that my Montreal friends
and locals have been telling me for a long time, but I only really discovered
on my weekend trip away to Quebec City. I can honestly say that it was the
first time that the weather had disturbed any of my travels so far throughout
the Canada and US.
From the instant I opened the doors outside from the bus station in Quebec, I knew that the weather was going to make my
travels just that little bit more difficult! A gust of wind blew my hood right
off, snowflakes slammed into my face and the cold chilled my cheeks raw. It was
your average snowstorm – but add some heavy bags and being lost and you’re
feeling a little more grumpy than usual because of the weather.
Nevertheless, the city itself did an
excellent job of making me forget the bad weather and I thoroughly enjoyed my
stay there. The snow really accentuated the French, village-y feel of Quebec
City, especially on the Rue du petit champlain, the oldest street in the old
city. Everything was adorned with snow-topped Christmas decorations and pretty
fairy lights, making it a really nice time of year to go for a visit.
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| The Christmas Boutique |
Some highlights of the city included ice skating
on the square in front of the Palais Montcalm, battling the snowstorm to the
Chateau Frontenac (and sneaking a view from the top), visiting some incredible
local eats including (La Brûlerie) and listening to carolers in the snow.
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| Chateau Frontenac |
I also took an easy and well-worth-it trip
to the Falls of Montmorency with the hostel (a 40 minute bus ride away). There
was certainly an incredible view and we felt that we had somehow made it into
the wilderness with the snow tumbling down at great speed as we trudged through
up to our knees in the stuff! The temperature was ok though (I think about -10
degrees that day with a bit of wind on top of that) so we weren’t too cold all
rugged up.
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| The Falls - taller than Niagara Falls! |
On my final day in Quebec I managed to pay
a trip to the Christmas markets at the Old Port, which had some great food and
wine on offer, and a beautiful ambiance with a man playing the harp. That day
was by far the worst day for weather as the wind literally blew you away! It
was the first time I’ve had to walk backwards down the street to avoid the
chill of the wind and the enormous snowflakes, and some locals were laughing at
me braving the snowstorm!
Turns out it was a great museum day, so I
headed to the Museum of Civilisation – a very unique experience. There was an
incredible exhibition on the history of video games, in which almost every
console from the 1950s to the present was set up with an iconic game of the
time for the visitors to play! I had some good fun reliving my childhood, and
laughing at the pixel quality we thought was so amazing back in the day. They
even had Dance Dance Revolution set up – needless to say I showed off my skills
and impressed all watching.
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| One of the classics |
There was also a fantastic exhibition on
Paris in 1900, reliving the glory of the World Expo, which came with a free
audio tour. They did a good job of putting you back in the spirit of the time,
and my favourite room was a balcony surrounded by a giant drawing of what Paris
looked like in 1900, detailing each building that had been created especially
for the event. The World Expos always seem like a mysterious and ancient thing
to me (even though they are apparently still run?), so I found the huge drawing fascinating.
It was a fantastic little trip, and I had a
really great experience with the hostel there (HI Quebec). I met the most
Australians I’ve ever encountered in one place so far overseas (12), and the
staff were really helpful and organized fun activities (such as the ice
skating, the Montmorency Falls, a pub crawl and visit to the light festival).
I am currently on the road in San Francisco
(very behind with this blog I know! Will try and update it in the next couple
of days). I can’t believe there’s only two weeks until I come home! Time has
simply flown and it will be hard coming back to reality I think, but I am also
looking forward to seeing Australia and all my family and friends again (and
the beach!).
Next post will be an update on New
York/Washington DC.
Erin xo
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