Quebec Is For Lovers

In case you didn't get the title of this post, Quebec is for lovers. The old city has that je-ne-sais-quoi look and feel about it. Nobody's in a hurry. No McDonalds-style fast food restaurants. No Tim Horton's gotta-eat-and-go shops. No noisy gotta-guzzle-the-beer-and-hit-the-road bars. Simply relaxation, enjoyment, take-it-easy kind of lifestyle.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here....................

We were out of the door and down the road by 9:45 thinking we were going to make some really good time. Then we hit the construction on Hwy #417 at Carling Ave. Down to one lane with traffic coming down the eastbound on-ramp at Maitland to really foul things up. We got through that without incident and exited at Rochester to have some brunch at Stoneface Dolly's on Preston and Beech. As we drove up Beech to the corner of Preston, we could see the crowds hanging on the sidewalk waiting to get in. So much for that idea. Instead, we went down Preston, along Gladstone, down Bronson, and then Slater to get a quick coffee and a breakfast sandwich at Tim Horton's.

Then back in the car, over the McDonald Cartier bridge and along Autoroute 50 to Lachute. I won't carry on with the rest of this boring tale, except to say that we arrived in quick order at 5:00 pm safe and sound Au Petit Hotel right in the heart of Le Vieux Quebec.

This time, however, Sharon was able to climb up the stairs without any assistance as the last time we were here, she was on crutches with a broken ankle and in deep agony (which was last new Year's when Douglas and Jenny joined us from Fredericton for New Year's 2011). Quite a difference, eh!?

From there, we took a leisurely stroll down Grand Allee checking the shops as we walked along towards the Chateau Frontenac. At the edge of the ledge, it was a slippery slope of a trip on the funicular down to le vieux vieux partie de vieux Quebec with its shops, sights and tourists.

As we cruised the narrow alleyways with shops on each side (no cars on these streets), I could feel the tension leave my shoulders, now realizing that we were actually on holidays.

Little did we realize that it was pushing close to 7:00 pm and it was almost 6 hours since we had stopped for something to eat. Well, not actually. We had exited one of the roads in the middle of nowhere around 4:00. We had seen one of those little blue roadside signs advertising those boutique fromageries that dot the Quebec countryside. This one was a little maison that had a number of those tongue-nipping cheeses that even old, old cheddar cheese doesn't even come close to. So we selected two cheeses, got back in the car and munched them almost all the way into Quebec.

Anyhoo...... I love the name of some of these Quebec restaurants - in this case - Le Cauchon Dingue - loosely translated as "The Stupid Pig.