Quebec & the St. Lawrence

…. And what NOT to do with a 36’ RV in Quebec City

Montmorency Falls, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

Some of you who follow me on Facebook already know that I have been traveling since Thursday. I posted the view from my campground over Quebec City. So for all of you, here is the rest of that part of the story. (BTW, I am writing this from Malpeque Bay on Prince Edward Island – see next post for the last few days in PEI!)

Jeff and I got rolling on Saturday and thought we would see as much of Quebec City as possible before heading further East. So we set out to see the Montmorency Falls and St. Anne de Beaupré, a Catholic Shrine.

My husband at Montmorecy looking toward the St. Lawrence © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

At this time of year the Falls are spectacular and the crowds are few. There is a gondola and a set of stairs to give you several views of this amazing set of falls over the cliff on which most of Quebec City is built. It is amazing that such a spectacle is so close to the city. I found it easy to imagine what it would be like for those on ships over 250 years ago, coming up the St. Lawrence after such a long sea voyage, to see the tremendous foaming water pour over the cliff and see the docks just a short distance away…

St. Anne de Beaupré, (statue of St. Anne) Quebec City, Quebec, Canada © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

We continued down the shoreline road which goes to Mont St. Anne.  Just before that is a huge and spectacular Basilica that is the shrine of St. Anne de Beaupré. There are many sets of crutches and other devices left by those who have been healed in the presence of the Saint. The building has been burnt twice, but, this particular version has been here since 1923. I think the images here speak for themselves.

St. Anne de Beaupré, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

We made our way back to the old city and discovered that parking is not designed for us in or anywhere around the old city. We drove past the Plains of Abraham and approached the walls of the city and continued in. This is my last image of the old city because of what we quickly discovered next.

Wall of Old Quebec © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

Do NOT take a 36’ RV into old Quebec – no matter how tempting!! And even if you see large buses go in the walls! The streets are narrow, which we expected, but, the streets were crawling with people who did not look where they were walking. It was a beautiful, but, white knuckle ride that required quick navigation and it took a full 15 minutes to escape. This is a trip for cars only and even then you should park that outside the walls. We never found anywhere to park large enough for us within 20 minutes if the downtown, so walking it was out for us for this trip! One always needs a “What were we thinking????” moment every trip.

St. Lawrence River Twilight © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

At this point we decided to continue East and head for New Brunswick. We were traveling along the St. Lawrence as the sun went down and the scenery was breathtaking… The hills were purple and the sky bled gold.

After a short stop on Sunday in Fredericton to visit friends Marlene and Peter, we marathoned our way to the Confederation Bridge to PEI.

From the Crystal Beach Campground (Highly Recommended!!) © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

I wanted to catch you all up. I have just downloaded over 150 images off my digital camera here in PEI. I am not sure when I will get my next connection. When I do, I think you, my readers, are in for a treat…