Quebec City

Quebec City

Quebec City has 500,000 residents within city limits. So we're arriving in our first "big city" with KIFONS and, to be on the safe side, decided to book a hotel. A big thank-you to Alain Laflèche, who not only found us a hotel during this rather busy summer season but also welcomed us warmly into his home (more on that later).

We check in late in the afternoon. KIFONS has found a spot in the hotel parking lot. Let's go! We head straight downtown to soak up the flavors of a lively city.
Bingo! The Festival d'été de Québec is in full swing, so we enjoy the great vibe... in the city!
There are lots of music stages and they're easy to get to. The lineup is varied and features superstars: our very own Johnny Hallyday, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, and many more!
At $65 for a 10-day pass to all the shows, the people of Quebec are seriously spoiled!
The glorious sunshine that wakes us up won't leave us for the 9 days we spend here.
We stroll along the wooden boardwalk called "Dufferin Terrace," which overlooks the St. Lawrence for 2,200 feet.
It's warm, the city is beautiful, we're happy.
Alain has us over for drinks to tell us all about his city.
The drinks, meant to be just a beer, end with 3 empty bottles of white wine (excellent, thanks again!) on the table.
A great evening with him and his wife Annie.
We leave his gorgeous house on all fours.
Straight to bed in the RV at 10 p.m., despite the Festival passes they had lent us.

Cirque du Soleil

In 2008, Quebec City Hall decided to fight the global economic crisis (and the resulting drop in tourists from the States and Europe) by putting on free nighttime shows.
Since the crisis has dragged on, the shows are still available every day. So we watch a Cirque du Soleil performance (it was actually born right here) outdoors, under the highway, in the middle of the night.
It's magical. The kids love it!
The taxi driver who brought us here offered to wait for us until the end of the show.
Sure enough, he's there, and we ride back to our hotel that night with "La Cage aux Oiseaux," an old French classic by Pierre Perret, sung live in the taxi.

Quebec City, continued, and Montmorency Falls

Our days are packed. We walk a lot in the old town (up hill, down hill). Alex, Juju and Alice keep up with no problem. It sure is nice to have little ones who don't complain on long walks.
We have lunch on the grass in the Governors' Garden, overlooking the St. Lawrence, right next to the Château Frontenac. The concierge, Madame Louise, met Maggy in the street and became friends with Alice.
So we take the time to say hi to her during her shifts and enjoy the hotel's lovely terrace for fresh juice and an espresso worthy of the name!
We take advantage of all the family activities the city offers alongside the Festival: lots of booths, once again free, set up at the Old Port.
Face painting, circus skills workshops, music activities, bike games: what they offer the kids is SMART!
Quite a change from "Lille Plage" (the fake beach) put on by our favorite Mayor back home!

We use a nice afternoon to go see Montmorency Falls, higher than Niagara Falls (by maybe 3 feet!), but much narrower!
It's impressive, especially from the top. Léa, Alain and Annie's daughter, is with us. Alex, Juju and Alice adore her.
The next evening we take advantage by parking KIFONS in front of Alain's house so Léa can watch the kids. As for us, it's a romantic evening in a great restaurant! Heaven!

Thank you, Lucie and Noël!

Quebec City is also our chance to see Noël again, the boss of the Pourvoirie du Lac Moreau, along with his partner Lucie, for a wonderful evening at their pretty house on Île d'Orléans.
On the menu: moose barbecue for everyone. Total luxury, washed down with good French and Italian wines.
An evening we'll remember for a long time. We all enjoy the heated pool.
The kids fall asleep on the couch watching a fitting cartoon: Yogi Bear (Yogi lives in Yellowstone, in the States, one of our upcoming destinations).
The cowardly parents (who park their kids in front of the TV) finish their evening with French Champagne, straight out of KIFONS's secret wine stash!
The next day, Noël spends his whole day taking care of us: the dentist for Juju, the Old Port market and its local products (thanks, Noël, for the cheeses you gave us), an in-depth tour of Quebec City's Lower Town and a delicious lunch, a drive around Île d'Orléans, and ice cream to die for!
Noël, you treated us like royalty. We hope you'll be happy in our Paris apartment in October! Now it's your turn to enjoy the city of love!

Quebec City, part 3 and the end!

After 3 nights in a hotel, we realize we miss KIFONS and honestly prefer sleeping in our little home on wheels.
On top of that, we find THE PLACE TO BE for an RV in Quebec City. For $14 a day, we have a very quiet spot with a "sea" view of the St. Lawrence and the Plains of Abraham as our backyard.
The playground is 150 feet away. So is the public pool (which means free, in Quebec City)!
We're in one of the most sought-after neighborhoods in town.
The place is super safe. We chat with the Museum guards at 11 p.m. The police make rounds every 2 hours. Just perfect!

This is the life!

Next we visit the harbor basin where the Québec–Saint-Malo transatlantic race starts. The boats are there. So are the crews.
Once again, everything is set up to welcome families. It's really nice.
We wrap up our stay in Quebec City with a visit to the Musée de la civilisation. On the program: a magnificent temporary exhibit on Samurai.
We take the opportunity to take part in recording a cartoon.
We'll let you check out the costumes they had for us. We had a real blast.