Last weekend, we took a train to Quebec City for a weekend getaway. It’s about a 3.5 hour trip on Via Rail, so we both brought our computers and got some work done on the way. We left on Saturday just after lunchtime, and arrived in time to drop off our bags and stroll through the hilly Old Town before dinner.
Dinner on Saturday was at Le Cafe St-Malo, which we chose because of the rave reviews online about the french onion soup. The soup was good, but the warm goat cheese salad was really the highlight for me. Braden tried the cassoulet with duck and rabbit meat, which he did not enjoy. We stopped for some caramel corn before taking the funicular back up the hill, so no one starved.
On Sunday, we enjoyed brunch at the revolving restaurant on top of our hotel (it’s the fourth tallest building in Quebec City). We only made it about 3/4 of the way around before we got antsy and decided to head out for the day. We took an Uber to Montmorency Falls – which is gorgeous, but very developed and touristy. My foot was feeling great all day Saturday, and I ended up with over 16,000 steps. But I was nervous about overdoing it, so we opted out of climbing all the way down to the base of the waterfall – honestly I thought I might get stuck down there!
After catching a bus back to town, we had lunch at Chic Shack, and explored more of the city. I have been to Quebec City before during the winter, but it’s a completely different place during the summer. It really struck me how clean everything is. Zero trash on the street, not even any gum stuck on the sidewalks. Literally the only “debris” I saw in the street was some flower petals. With the strands of lights strung across the narrow lanes, hanging flower baskets on every building, horse-drawn carriages, and crowds of tourists, it had a Disney World vibe – and I mean that in a good way!
Sunday evening, we got caught in the rain (and a temperature drop of about 20°) while checking out the Plains of Abraham, a historical site where the fate of Canada was decided. After dinner, we caught a concert in the park with les Bouches Bées, a female folk/bluegrass group that does French renditions of English country songs – they did covers/translations of Shania Twain’s “I’m Outta Here,” and Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” which I’ve had stuck in my head ever since. Loved stumbling upon that!
To top off the weekend, a gorgeous double rainbow appeared just before sunset. And, with wifi on the train, we were back “in the office” at 8:15 on Monday morning – I didn’t even need to use any vacation time!
Pretty sweet gig we have over here.