How We Are Spending Our Kids' Inheritance: Quebec

Dan -

This morning did not begin so well for Vicki, so she slept in. I left early to find breakfast (God forbid I should pass up an opportunity for a meal) and some food for Vicki. As I sat and ate my crêpes, the snow started coming down. Those who predict weather here are no better than elsewhere, because there was no prediction of snow yesterday. So by the time this snow finished, there was another 5 cm or so to add to the 206 cm since November. Before I even finished breakfast, they were clearing streets with plows and sprinkling salt. I don't think the snow slowed anyone down but me.

It's kinda hard to take photos when it is snowing - everything gets wet - but I got a few. The first is this flag - the official flag of Quebec. Actually what you see is one quarter of the flag.

It should have four blue panels with white fleur de lys separated by white bars. They don't seem to take any better care of the flag than their neighbors to the south.

So I walked (uphill and in the snow - and I liked it!) to la pharmacie and got Vicki some things to make her better. The pharmacy was about 50 yards away from one of the four gates to Quebec. Quebec is the only walled city in North America. The city has been built right up to and around this wall.

This is one of the most famous buildings in Quebec, the Chateau Frontenac. It was built in 1893, as one of a series of "chateau" style hotels built for the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. (Thank you, Wikipedia, source of all wisdom and knowledge.) I wandered through the lobby, looking for coffee, but nothing was open at that hour of the morning.

This may be loosely based on someone I dated in elementary school.

This is a shot of part of the wall around the center of Quebec. It also points out how steep the incline was. I came up the road, faithfully seeking those items to make my lovely wife feel better. My heart, however, was asking me if I had lost my mind, and I considered this a stress test on the work done inside my chest almost 2 years ago.

I could have made great time with a sled during the snow. The streets were plenty slushy or snow covered, especially the side streets. I wonder how far I would have sailed over the wall when I couldn't stop?

This is not part of the fortifications of Quebec. It's just a wall.

Later in the day, when Vicki had napped and the medications had done some good (did I mention that I had scoured the city looking for a pharmacy?), we had another tasty meal at the same place we ate last night.

This time, I had venison ravioli and Vicki had moules frites:

Both were wonderful. I just really like to try new things. I am getting my chance here. The other new item was (maple) sugar pie for dessert - so sweet it hurts your teeth. I loved it.

After lunch, we wandered a bit. This is a panorama of the Saint-Lawrence River. Yes, that is ice and cold stuff floating by.

Having suffered the elements for more than 15 minutes, it seemed appropriate to return to our condo for a nap, reading, and another nap, not necessarily in that order. And to work on where we would have dinner, which ended up being another restaurant right behind the condo.

We got to try the restaurant's house Caribou, a local beverage intended to make people think they are warm during the Winter Carnaval. It is supposedly red wine, whiskey or rum, and maple syrup. This one was not, but it was tasty. They are typically served from ice bars set up all over during Carnaval and drunk from ice shot glasses.

Desperate for some extra calories, I ordered some kind of layered meat and potatoes pie called Le Cipaille. The picture won't load, so just imagine it in your mind.

Vicki got the smoked meat poutine.