Quebec City

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Our long car drive adventure to visit Paula in New Brunswick had some stops along the way. Even if we were to go on the fastest route, Google has it mapped out as nearly 17 hours and you know how accurate their route times are (not!). Anyways we are not able to leave London until noonish so we have some planned stops to give us time to see things and not rush through.

We have a hotel reservation in Cornwall the first night (Monday) at the Ramada by Wyndham and have our dinner at the Kelsey's Roadhouse across the street. We eat outside on the patio as the weather is still pretty nice. It's an opportunity for Reg to have a steak, Kate has a spinach salad with shrimp. As the sun sets it cools off and the mosquitos are out in full force. They bugs compel us to finish early and head off to bed.

Tuesday our destination is Quebec City via the St Lawrence north shore. We had visited years ago; a November visit sometime in the 1980's for a conference of Kate's, we stayed in the Chateau Frontenac (pictured above) and had met up with Sam and Bruce from Winnipeg. I haven't found a blog or pictures of that visit. Google tells us that this drive from Cornwall is just a bit over 4 hours (and you know how accurate Google routes are) and there may be issues navigating through Montreal. We have reserved a place through Expedia but arrive in the city well before check in time which is late in the afternoon.

Near the Plains of Abraham we visit the Musee National des Beaux- Arts du Quebec. We see some art, have lunch and kill some time. The gallery is an impressive modern building and the exhibits were dominated by modern artworks. There was a gallery of native Inuit art but most of that was behind plexiglass. 

Of the many Quebec artists showcased, there's a huge painting, Point de rencontre - Quintette (2002), by Jean Paul Riopelle. To me this modern abstract piece is in the style of Jackson Pollock and is of the same period — his appeal is equally incomprehensible. The gallery is doing some renovations/expansion to have a whole new gallery building (sic!) devoted to this artist. Like Pollock, he's a big deal but I don't see why.

A large piece I did like was Rainbow (for Rose and Licorice), David Elliott 2008. It's a huge piece, mixed media, and looks like a collage. It is also part of the permanent collection. That one I really liked.

There's a gallery of works by the Canadian impressionist Helen McNicoll (1879-1915). Historically, and even today, women artists struggle to be recognized and taken seriously. She was an exception with a short career, dying young from diabetes. Wikipedia tells me:

"In 2024, the exhibition Helen McNicoll: An Impressionist Journey which presented more than 65 paintings by the artist, including 25 from the collection of Pierre Lassonde, was held at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ).[8] The major book/ catalogue focused on the idea of travel and its repercussions on McNicoll's work.[8]"

We had lunch at the gallery and afterwards went for the views from the Capital Observatory. It's a glassed in observation deck on the 31st floor of a building near the National Assembly (the Legislative Buildings or Parliament). The picture above is from the there. You can see some of the old city around the Chateau Frontenac. I'm often looking for high viewing points like this for the views of the city. Kate found this one for me.

Afterwards we did a bit of a drive around the Plains of Abraham before going to our rental. There's the old Citadelle of Quebec and lots of green space to explore. The gallery has been enough walking about for today though.

Les Lofts Vieux-Québec have rentals around the city, ours was on Dorchester at Charest, and we booked through Expedia. This was a modern refurb of an old city building; it might have been a warehouse in a previous life. The rooms were quite nice with keypad access. There wasn't a check-in desk — we were given an entry code by email. And parking was around the corner and down a block or so. But was a nice apartment, well appointed, with a comfy king bed and a bit of view north towards the mountain (a view of other buildings, not terribly scenic).

We were avoiding driving in the old city and, for dinner, had decided on a place, Chez Temporel, with good reviews on Google Maps. We took an Uber to the restaurant (advertised as a "Neighborhood Bistro") where we had made a reservation and I'm glad we went that way. Driving in the narrow streets of the old city would have been a challenge, and likewise for parking! The restaurant is on a narrow street, almost an alley, the driver found his way and dropped us off at a nearby corner. We had a nice table at the window. There were tables on the street but they were taken. As the evening progressed, more guests arrived and soon it was busy. The waitress was excellent and she effortlessly switched between languages.  The food was very tasty. I'd recommend the place.

After dinner we walked a short distance up the street, stopping at the de Pannier/Deli (Epicerie de la Couillard) next door where we loaded up with some treats and beer, to a busy area where we called for an Uber. While waiting for our ride we were approached by some tourists ((I recall they were Scandinavians) asking for directions. We were useless in that regard — try Google Maps!

I liked our visit to Quebec City. The weather was nice, the people were friendly, there's lots to see, it's a good city to visit. Once again the "3 minute Louvre" style of our visit doesn't do it justice. There's much to see, and we saw very little on our brief over night visit. We should come again and stay much longer.

The next day our destination is Perce Rock on the Gaspe.