September 4 - Quebec City, la deuxième fois autour

Back in Quebec for two more beautiful days.  The weather has been absolutely glorious!  Once again we’re at the crummy port next to the grain elevators.  There was a big (!!!) Celebrity ship at the good port right next to downtown old Quebec.

On Wednesday, the 3rd, it was the day for my long-anticipated time to go to high tea in the famous Château Frontenac.  That’s the Fairmont hotel I posted pictures of the other day with its distinctive roofline and architecture.  I didn’t think traffic would be nearly as bad as the other day when we here, but I decided to leave lots of time.  I took a cab to the Petit Champlain, the historic neighborhood in the lower town of Old Quebec.  This is an area of cobblestone streets lined with cafés, art galleries, souvenir shops, handcrafted items and lots of gelaterias.  Looming over it is the escarpment atop which is the upper old city and the Chateau.

The streets here look so much like a village in France that , in fact, some movie scenes that were supposed to be in France were filmed here.  One of the shop clerks with whom I spoke told me that parts of the movie “Catch me if you can” were filmed here. On the wall of one of the buildings, the Hôtel du Vieux-Port is the Quebec City Mural spans more than 1000 square feet and depicts important figures, landmarks, and moments in the city’s history.  Peeking out from windows or standing on balconies in the mural are Samuel de Champlain and Louis XIV, who was king at the time of the city’s founding.  There are nuns and priests who were an integral part of the settlement. And of course, there are some kids playing hockey.

These next few photos are of the mural 

I’m not sure who he was supposed to be (he looked too modern to be Champlain) but there was a man walking around dressed in what looked like colonial garb talking to a group of tourists.  It reminded me of Colonial Williamsburg.  I walked in a few shops and bought a couple of small handcrafted things.  I was taken by some of the signs outside the stores.  There were lots of flower boxes on balconies and hanging baskets on building walls.  It’s a truly charming place.  Above everything I could see some of the Château Frontenac at the top of the cliff.

The mystery reenactor

A few street scenes in lower Vieux Quebec

a little park

This was kind of a startling shop name and sign!

Hign up on the escarpment

When I was ready to go to the upper city a café called a cab for me.  There is a funicular but when I went by it had a sign saying “fermez” and I didn’t see anyone around.  I’ll write more about this interesting cab ride later but first I want to tell about high tea.

The Château Frontenac is one of Canada’s grand railway hotels built by the Canadian Pacific Railway in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was the template for those magnificent buildings.  It was opened in 1893 and is now managed by Fairmont Hotels.  It stands atop the promontory  of Quebec and its design is derived from that of medieval châteaux in the Loire Valley of France.  It has steeply pitched roofs, gables and dormers, and circular and polygonal towers and turrets.  High tea is supposed to be an event here, so of course I had to try it.

I didn't take this photo but I wanted to show the intricate architecture so I lifted it from the net

I was a little early so after looking in a few of the shops in the shopping arcade I sat in a bar and had a very nice glass of a Canadian Riesling and had a good conversation with a couple from Toronto celebrating their 35th anniversary.  At 2 PM I took the elevator to a lower level (the Château has 18 floors)  to the Place Dufferin where tea is served.  My table was by the windows overlooking a promenade high above the St. Lawrence River.  A pianist was playing lovely music in the background and the chairs and carpet were all very plush.  Evidently when I booked this some time back I booked tea with a few wine pairings to be served.  I promised a couple of people I would describe the event so here goes.

The Place Dufferin tearoom

My table and view

First came a glass of non-alcoholic Japanese sparkling tea, which honestly tasted like a very light prosecco to me.  But then I’m not an oenophile. Next came a triple tier stand with sweets on the top, traditional cucumber and tomato, cheese and basil finger sandwiches in the middle and a smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwich and goat cheese tart on the bottom. Next to that came a serving tray with a scone,  a kind of honey and maple pound cake and an absolutely divine hazelnut  cream tart. I was served a glass of French champagne made specifically for the Château.  Oh, I forgot to mention tea.  There is a menu with perhaps 20 different teas. I chose one specially made for the hotel, a black tea flavored with maple and blueberry.  It was exquisite with just the faintest hint of maple and a more prominent blueberry aroma.  After the champagne came a glass of Spanish white rioja, which was a very nice dry and crisp wine. There was way too much food and I couldn’t try everything despite purposely skipping breakfast and lunch.  The waitress asked if I would like the leftovers boxed up to take with me.  Maybe I should have, but I didn’t.  There’s so much food here on the ship it just didn’t make sense to me.

Just to prove I was here.

It was a lovely experience and if I come back here I would do it again.  It’s definitely not a cheap event, but between the view, the food and wine, and the ambiance it was as the commercial says “priceless.”

After settling up I went to the entrance of the hotel and the doorman summoned me the next taxi in line to take me back to the ship.  That driver just happened to be the same one who brought me here from the lower town.  I’ll write more about him and my conversations with him in my next post.  For now I have a few other things to do and I have to get up and stretch my legs a little.  À bientôt.