I took a early morning Via Rail from Montreal to Quebec City on my last day in the country. The quintessentially French Canadian city had alluded me during my previous trip to Montreal, as I had neither enough time or money to do it properly.
My train arrived at 9 am, so I rewarded myself with a Egg McMuffin before starting a lap around the interior of the city walls. I rationalized that I had earned it for successfully getting myself up and onto the train, unlike when I missed a 9 am Megabus from Toronto to Montreal.
Unsure what to expect of Quebec City, apart from the iconic Chateau Frontenac, pictured above, it looked like a little village for dolls. I think tilt shift photography was made for a place like this. I didn’t stay long at the over-the-top hotel as it was swarming with a group of high schoolers on the field trip. But I appreciated it from the outside.
Without any sort of itinerary of “things to do in Quebec City,” I was free to wander. I checked out the shops on the main street. I treated myself to dinner at a sidewalk cafe. I sat in a park next to the American Consulate reading Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Who was going to tell me I should be doing otherwise? Herein lies the beauty of solo travel.
On one of the city’s stunning churches, someone had written in spray paint “Don’t Just Be Another Brick in the Wall.” That’s the sort of tragic thing you see all over the place in Europe, but I didn’t expect it in Canada. But in true Quebecoise fashion, someone had crossed it out and written in (loosely translated) French, “Just so you know, in Quebec we speak French.”
With over 3 hours left to kill before my train, I continued my path along the walls to La Citadelle, where I missed the changing of the guards. Perhaps it was a matter of avoiding spending money on attractions. Clearly I can’t tell you what to do in Quebec City. It’s best I don’t. Just bring a good book and a good map.
The day ended as any day of travel should, with ice cream. This “baby cone,” as it was called, was only $1.50 for the maple cookie flavor at Canadian Maple Delights. Then it was back on the train to pack up and say goodbye to our neighbors to the North.
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