a warm welcome...
by richiecdisc
The best thing to do in Quebec City is just wander the old cobblestone streets and soak up the atmosphere and don't be afraid to go beyond the city walls either as it is an interesting part of town too. I had my worries about going to Quebec City. I had heard it was hard to get along without speaking French, that the local people did not take kindly to having to speak English. Of course, I had heard similar though ill founded things about Montreal, but its northern sister was supposed to really present problems for the Anglophile. We arrived late and were glad to have our hostel booked as the light dwindled. A meal was in order and we wandered the streets of the old town and all we found were touristy places with English menus, hardly the French speaking capital of North America we conversely now hoped to find. Finally, we came across a cute little diner type of place with a decided Continental flair. We watched through the large picture window as the waitresses hurried about serving what seemed a lively crowd. Oddly enough, we felt funny going in, finally having to face perhaps their not speaking English, but eventually succumbed to our curiosity. The menu was in French and it seemed at first that no one paid any attention to us. Were we so American looking to be outcasts I thought to myself before one of the cute waitresses motioned with her hands that she would be over as to show how busy she was. When she arrived, she excused her English and explained the simple menu to us though we had more or less figured out what we wanted already, as it was a crepe specialty shop. It was a fun place and the girls were certainly entertaining as they ran about trying to get everyone their meals as quickly as possible. She could not apologize enough to us for how long we had to wait, but we were happy to be getting served and so nicely too. It turned out our trepidation was without merit, everyone had no problem speaking English and were more than happy to do it in a very warm and welcoming way
An essential tool for tourists!!
by Deus_ultima
This is the POM Passeport!! It's free in every tourist information center or attraction!! Get it as soon as you see it because it's free and gives you over 500$ of rebates for popular attractions all over Quebec!!
Festival d'Ete
by Dabs
Quebec City may be famous for their biggest festival, the Carnaval de Quebec, but there is also a large music and entertainment festival in the summer, the Festival d'Ete (summer festival). We booked our plane tickets and then realized that we would be visiting during the festival which worked out fine as we were easily able to find a hotel room booking 3-4 weeks in advance.
The music schedule was pretty varied with all types of music in both English and French and some bigger name acts that I recognized, Twisted Sister and the Scorpions to name a couple. We caught the end of a couple of the acts performing on the stage on rue St. Jean and the amazing tightrope walker that performed on Saturday night as well as some of the street performers that were scattered throughout the city.
We noticed all kinds of people wearing little badges with a flashing red light, apparently you can buy these in advance at a discounted rate for admission to the stages that were fenced off but that might only be for residents of Quebec. I imagine you can also buy them once you are in Quebec City.
For those really interested in...
by Deus_ultima
For those really interested in understanding the people here, I STRONGLY suggets this book: 'Une enfance Bleu-Blanc-Rouge' It's a collection of short stories that are related to hockey, for sure, but trought it, you'll better understand who we are and why. P:S: A TOUS LES QUÉBECOIS! Ce livre saura surement tirer quelques doux souvenirs de votre enfance. :)
Carnaval de Quebec # 3 - Ice Sculpture Competition
by jamiesno
One of the main reasons I always wanted to see the Carnaval was for the famous international ice sculpture competition. I thought I read that they would be available to see at the start of the carnival. When I got there this is what I found.
Very large chunks of snow with nothing started. Then over the course of two days I saw plenty of sculptures slaving at these chunks of ice as they carved them into works of art.
I didn't get to see the final product :-(
So if you are keen on this as well, be warned they may not be ready for the first few days of the Carnaval.
Although I didn't get to see them finished it was nice to be around the atmosphere as the different teams worked hard building them. The efford and techniques used was interesting to see as well.
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Ferry crossing the frozen St. Lawrence
Looking down
The daily firing of the cannon
Musee From Outside (no photos allowed inside)
