Trips

Thurs., 9/8/22/ - Quebec City

The hotel fire alarm went off this morning. Someone burnt their toast at 8 AM. Marge was in the shower at the time so we didn't leave the building and the alarm was turned off fairly quickly.

Today was spent walking around the city on our own. This included walking up the hill to avoid the stairs; a stop at the Parc Montmorency to view the statue of Cartier and the canons that were mounted on interesting recoil slides; a walk along Rue Saint Louis to the Porte Saint Louis or gate in the citadel walls where we climbed the gate and looked over at the fountain in the Place of the National Assembly - the Parliament Building; the Quebec Citadel that is a working military installation so wandering without a tour is not allowed.

After walking around outside the walls of Citadelle, we found ourselves on a pedestrian walking path overlooking the Plains of Abraham where the Battle of Quebec took place in 1759. After stopping at an overlook where there was a great view of the St. Lawrence, we followed the boardwalk between the river and the walls of the ramparts of the Citadelle back to the plaza in front of the Frontenac. On the way back to the hotel, we picked up Subway sandwiches to eat for dinner in our rooms tonight. It will be an early and long day flying home tomorrow.

Sign commemorating the location where, on December 31, 1775, the Canadian militia and British forces defeated the American colonial forces who were trying to capture Quebec City during the American Revolution	Steep roofs
More steep roofs and interesting architecture	Steep roofs make this sign appropriate
Not the most exciting manhole cover in the collection!	Statue of Jacques Cartier
Gale inspecting the cannons with recoil slides in Parc Montmorency	Cannons with recoil slides in Parc Montmorency
	Clock tower of the Ministry of Finance
St. Louis Gate (Porte St. Louis)	St. Louis Gate (Porte St. Louis)
Fountaine de Tourny at Place de L'Assemblee-Nationale (Parliament building)	Citadelle de Quebec
Citadelle de Quebec - Coat of Arms	Grounds outside the Citadelle de Quebec
Plaque to Abraham Martin who owned the land where the Plains of Abraham battle was fought	Looking up the St. Lawrence from the Plains of Abraham overlook
City view	Place Royale - place where Samuel de Champlain founded the City of Quebec in 1608
Notre Dame des Victoires Church in Place Royale	Street scene
Sailboat on the St. Lawrence	Ferry crossing the St. Lawrence
Perhaps because of all the museums and works of art in the city, many of the signs and displays for various businesses are quite attractive or unusual. The photos below are a sample of these.
The most important sign on any trip!

Fri., 9/9/22 - Quebec, Chicago, Phoenix, Tucson

We had a taxi ride to the Quebec Airport and got there three hours before our flight time, as is customary for international flights and as American Airlines emphasized in all their e-mails about the flight. We stood (Gale grabbed a parked wheel chair and we took turns sitting) in line for more than an hour before the check-in counters opened! So much for the three hours rule. The rest of the journey was uneventful. Customs was easy, changing terminals in Chicago and going through security again was okay, and all of our flights were on time. The air was a little bumpy between Phoenix and Tucson, as it usually is, but all was okay. Our ArizonaGo driver was waiting for us at the terminal and brought us to our door.

The veggie garden has gone wild but all else looked the same as when we left. It is nice to be home again but it was an enjoyable and relaxing trip.