Montreal and Quebec City

At last, a break from driving all day.

Brunch in Montreal Old Town

Got up early and drove to Montreal old town where we found a nice auberge for brunch.  It was throwing down the rain again so there weren't many people around but we did get a sense of the old town and visited a museum.  From virtually any view, Montreal looks like we could have been anywhere in France.  Only real difference was that my attempts at speaking French were met with amusement rather than disdain.  However, like in France, you get a better response from waiters if you try the lingua franca first instead of just launching into English.

From Montreal, we drove to Quebec City in time for a walk around the old town and citadel.  I recently read Francis Parkman's book "Montcalm and Wolfe" about the end of France's influence in Canada.  Basically a story about two small armies stumbling about in thousands of square miles of wilderness and occasionally skirmishing.  The English won mainly because France was bankrupt and could not afford to support the campaign, There was also a lot of luck involved for the English.  Anyway, it was good to see the cliffs of the Heights of Abraham that were scaled by Wolfe's men dragging cannon behind them.  As at Louisburg, the French fort designers had discounted the possibility of a landward attack, concentrating instead on defending the water side.  DOH!

View from the fort at Quebec City

Fountain, Quebec City

Now that's an address

Quebec City Gate

Banff Springs? No, Fairmont Quebec City

View from city gate

Notre Dame, Quebec City