Quebec Day 2: Montmerency Falls

Quebec City Day 2:  Off to a great start with a run with Eli.  We found this lovely park just a few blocks from our place.

Turning right along the St. Charles river, there's also this public pool--one of several we discovered.

The old port, then stairs up and down into the heart of the lower town.

Stellar mural!

More stairs as we ran on top of the city walls instead of through the gates.

Love this boy!  Thanks for running with me.

For the days' main adventure, we headed to Montmerency Falls Park, just a few minutes drive outside of Quebec.

These falls are actually 30 feet taller than Niagara.

The view is best from the far side.  Charles and Susie, you look younger every year!

As for your grandkids, they keep growing!

Making our way down the 487 step staircase.

Talia and Eli, you too are adorable!  I'm so glad that our kids generally like each other.

Also, I'm SUPER impressed that Christy climbed up and down all those stairs with her recovering knee.  Way to go Ziggy!

Grandma Susie wanted to zipline, and Eli was more than happy to accompany her!

Gearing up!  Eli had to wear some extra weight to make sure he got all the way across.

In case you don't make it, we love you too!

Hey, zoom in on those two tiny dots in the middle of the river.

Incoming!  What a fun experience.

Smiles everywhere.

Back for some relaxation at the AirBnB.  As you can see, while well-located, the place had its concerns.  Half of the rooms were in this "annex" accessed by a super-rickety, somewhat rotting staircase.

Now for some play time at the splash pad we discovered earlier that morning.

Ruby's queen of the mountain!

Violet looks like she's enjoying herself too.

In the evening, a few of us went to get ice cream at this place called Glacier Aberdeen.  We were so surprised to discover this HUGE line of people all waiting for their cones.  We took it as a good sign that it would be tasty.

Cute section of town too.

No matter where you are in the world, ice cream is delicious!  Depending on my fancy, one spoonful can transport me to places exotic or back to the familiarity of home.

Quebec City Day 1: The Old Town

Happy Saturday night y'all!   Perfect time to put your feet up and unwind with a movie, preferably while cuddling close to your best friend.  Jason and I would love this, but he's busy baking a cheesecake and laying bathroom tile.  As for me, I'm trying hard to get caught up on the blog.  It kind of feels like a hopeless cause.  Life just keeps moving faster!  This past week Brooklyn got her wisdom teeth out, the rest of the kids went back to school, I headed back to nursing school, Talia had her first cross-country meet, and Jason had an important work trip to St. George.  Next week will certainly be just as eventful, especially as we send Brooklyn off to college on Tuesday and Jason has knee surgery Thursday.  So much craziness!

In the meantime, here are some pictures from our Wheeler Family Reunion in Quebec City.  Christy had talked for years about wanting to gather in Quebec, particularly since Charles has some rich family heritage in the area.  She thoughtfully planned the trip to coincide with a visit to Lake George so that we wouldn't have to travel to the East coast twice.  I have the best family!

On our first morning I went for a run to the Plains of Abraham.  Don't let the name deceive you!  You have to run up a wicked steep hill to get there!

The Battle of Quebec was fought on the Plains of Abraham in 1759 as part of the Seven Years' War. Lasting only an hour, it was the culmination of a three month siege in which the British defeated the French. In the end, the generals on both sides were mortally wounded. 

Nowadays the Plains of Abraham is a beautiful park that houses the National Fine Arts Museum.

Starting back down the behemoth hill to our AirBnB.

Later that morning we all headed out for a walking tour of the Old Town.  I liked it so much that I went back for a run or walk there almost every day after.  In some ways the Old Town felt a little bit like this strange recurring dream that I have where I am back in Salzburg, Austria, wandering the Altstadt.  This time I am grown and with my family, searching for this most beautiful spot that I have to share.  We wander up and down quaint passageways and cobblestone streets, find gorgeous vistas, but never rediscover the specific place I'm thinking of.  Guess there's a good lesson there about mindful joy in the present instead of always looking for something better.  That, and taking a family trip to Salzburg.  Already I feel wistful knowing that we won't make it before Brooklyn heads off to college.

Back to Quebec, our AirBnB may not have been perfect, but its location was great for walking into the Old Town.  To get there, you would take these fun stairs or an elevator located in a pastry shop.  Tough choice!

You come out on top by this cool parking garage/prairie.

Old Quebec has lots of graffiti.  Much of it is far more philosophical than the tagging I'm accustomed to.  Fais moi la poésie: am I making poetry for you, or am I making you the poem? 

Jason lagged behind for much of this walking tour.  When I got back home and saw his beautiful photo roll, I knew why.

The day was hot enough that we almost let the kids play in this water feature.  In the end, we cooled off with ice cream instead.

Christy came up with this cool scavenger hunt for the kids to find as we walked.  Here's Ruby working on a couple of her clues.

I love how the city walls create such a sense of arrival!  Here we are at Saint Jean gate.

First stop, popcorn!

The buskers are always fun.  Doesn't everybody juggle flaming torches while riding a unicycle?

From up high, you can see how Old Quebec is located at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and St. Charles rivers.  

The focal point of the Old Town is the Château Frontenac (now the world's most photographed hotel.) Here it as as seen from the Terrasse Dufferin.

An important military defense point, Quebec City has been under siege multiple times, including the Battle of Quebec between the American revolutionaries and British defenders in December 1775.  (Spoiler alert: the British won.  If you want to invade Canada, attacking in winter is probably not the best idea.)  Anyway, Old Quebec is filled with cannons that remind you of the city's history.

Hang on tight, Mr. Eli!

Jason asked me why the town has a giant statue of Batman.

Quebec City Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site that has an Upper and Lower town.  Here's the hill descending into the Lower Town, followed by the stairs that take you into the charming Rue Petit-Champlain.

Adorable as it was, Petit-Champlain was too hot and crowded for my taste that day.  It was fun to come back in the early morning when the street was empty.

For lunch we ate at La Galette Libanaise.  Tasty, although some strange rules.  Twice we got "redirected" for sitting in the wrong chairs.  Truth to be told, this wasn't our only experience like this.  While, it's easy to fall in love with the history and architectural charm of Quebec, the people take some getting used to.  I felt like I was constantly breaking these cultural norms, but couldn't play by the rules because I didn't know what they were.

And now for the coolest thing ever: a beautiful old church transformed into a public library.  As Ben pointed out, while it's sad to see houses of worship be abandoned, the next best thing is transformation into a temple of learning.

Back at home, dinner was on us.

A great first day of adventure with more to come!