The Walled City
First view from the ferry dock
Typical cobble stone street
Le Chateau Frontenac
Colour everywhere
Maison Jean Baptiste Chevalier
Quebec City! A huge milestone for us and such a grand place. I wanted to start with photos of this lovely city.
Morning comes so early, the further east we go. 5:15 am and I am awake and the boat cabin is filled with lovely sunlight.
I update myself on some news, the weather, Instagram and my email and finally get up to make coffee and French toast. Today we are heading to Quebec City, just a kilometre across the river, to pick up a new chart plotter and to visit the lovely city.
We arrived at the Parc Nautique Levy shortly after 5:00pm on July 13. Some excitement as we dock due to a misunderstanding of what is “the first dock on the right”. Harald maneuvers us out of another very tight spot, with suspected shallow water and another stone wall.
The dock hands are very apologetic after we finally arrive at our slip with the help of a local and his jet ski. Heading to the office to register, we meet a friendly couple leaving on Wednesday to cruise the Rideau River (a 6 week circle route). They speak beautiful English and once again, we are the recipients of much welcome advice.
The marina has many amenities including new showers, laundry and a restaurant, which is only open on Wednesdays.
The tide is out so the gangway to the docks is extremely steep.
Dinner is a cold salad plate and fresh corn - delicious! As the sun sets we can see the “Aurora Borealis” light show on the side of the granary at Louise Basin on the other side of the river.
We chose to stop at Levy rather than Louise Basin for a few reasons: marina fees a bit cheaper, but also a smaller marina. Boats must go under a lift bridge and through a small lock to enter Louise Basin at Quebec City and departure is very dependent on tide levels. With a ferry crossing the river every hour, for less than $8.00 for the two of us, we knew we could enjoy a full day in the lovely old city without having to dock there. (Thanks for agreeing, Dany and Nancy! Seems we settled on our own “local knowledge”. ) Once we arrived on the Quebec City side, we discovered yet another very good reason not to be staying there…..
We head out at 9:00 to walk the 3km to the Levy ferry terminal, along the river amongst old homes, lovely gardens and many walkers and cyclists. The 10:00 ferry is an 11 minute ride that docks immediately below the Le Chateau Frontenac.
Our first order of business is to pick up the chart plotter at Neptune Marine which is just across Louise Basin. (After much frustration since Montreal, seems our 2 year old plotter may have suffered in the squall’s heavy rain. They tell us this shouldn’t happen, but the card is wet when we remove it from the plotter. Many phone calls took us to Neptune Marine where they have one in stock, so we don’t have to wait for one to be mailed from Halifax.)
Sadly, the bridge across the lock area into the basin is closed to pedestrians so we have to walk 30 minutes all the way around the basin, past the marina and finally arrive at the store to find Cyril and our new plotter. (This is the other good reason not be staying in Louise Basin - a very long walk to get anywhere!)
On the return trip we opt to start heading toward the centre of town rather than going all the way back around the marina etc. We quickly find ourselves on Rue Saint Jean, where the street has been closed to vehicle traffic and all the restaurants have spilled out onto the street. Umbrellas, cafe tables and chairs and happy diners everywhere. (Masks are still mandatory inside buildings or until you are seated and hand sanitizer is readily available.)
We settle on L’Entrecote Saint Jean where the food is delicious. Harald is pleased with the entrecôte 7oz with fries after turnip soup and my eyes widen at the size of the smoked salmon salad, after chicken liver pate. Both divine! We are actually sitting on the street, where many people, young, old, families, people on lunch breaks, tourists and shoppers pass by. People-watching at its best, with a glass of chilled French white.
Rain sprinkles as we continue to walk up the Rue Saint Jean, taking photos of the aged buildings, intriguing windows and overflowing baskets of flowers. Truly a delight.
Continuing uphill, we wander past the Chateau Frontenac and walk the entire Promenade des Gouverneurs, including the 300 stairs and the 3km walkway with a magnificent view of the river and Levy across the way. After a few rest stops we arrive at the Plains of Abraham where the British Army fought the French Army in the historic battle of 1759.
From the Plains and past the Citadel we find ourselves again in the old town. I can’t get enough of the lovely scene around me but have to stop taking photos as my phone is losing charge and we need to be able to produce the digital version of our ferry tickets for the return trip. The waitress at Sous Le Fort provides me with a cable so the phone can be charged while we enjoy some cold beverages and a plate of poutine.
I have been searching for the Chevalier Mansion on every street and as we approach the ferry terminal, I finally google and find we are standing directly across the street from Maison Jean Baptiste Chevalier. I remember from a family trip here in 1972 that is was near the funiculaire and there is the electric cableway running immediately behind the impressive stone home with the shiny red roof and shutters. Time to pull out the family history books again to find where Jean Baptiste Chevalier fits in on my maternal grandfather’s family tree.
The 6:00 ferry brings us back to Levy, very tired after walking 13km so we call a taxi to return us to the marina. We sat for a good hour in the cockpit sipping wine before heading to hot showers and eventually a bowl of cereal and bed.
Such a marvellous day, filled with the many sights and sounds, aromas and special memories of this, North America’s oldest and most European city.
