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Je Me Souviens…..Quebec City
The first thing
I noticed when crossing the border from the United States
into the Canadian province of Quebec was the saying
on the license plates of all Canadian cars. “Je Me Souviens”.
Two years of
college French left me clueless as to the meaning.
The phrase kept appearing everywhere and one
of the first things I did was to ask what it meant.
The translation, I was told, means “I remember” and
it apparently comes from a poem about the fact that
Quebec has been French, English and Canadian. It was
the poet’s way of saying I will always remember who
I am and where I came from. This explanation was offered
by Pierre, the driver of a horse drawn buggy through
the streets of Quebec, for tourists like my husband,
who thinks buggy travel is exciting. Well, it is an appropriate saying for a tourist who has experienced
Quebec City because it is a remarkable city and one
that I will always remember.
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Quebec
City sits on a bluff over looking the St. Lawrence seaway. The name Quebec means place where the river
narrows. The French came in 1608 and built the walled
city you see today. The British came along in the mid
1700’s and defeated the French to take control of Quebec.
Despite 200 years of British rule, 95% of the people
of Quebec speak French as their first language and 100%
of the people I met also spoke English. The British
built the massive Citadel fortress, which sits on the
highest bluff overlooking the city. To this day it is
an active military fort, housing the only French speaking
military unit in North America, the Canadian Royal 22e
Regiment. Their motto?
Je Me Souviens. The other construction that dominates the skyline
is the fabulous Chateau Frontenac Hotel.
Chateau Frontenac
This
is the famous building with the green copper roofs you
see in many Canadian travel posters.
It was also where we stayed for our 3 days in
Quebec City. If you are going to Quebec City it is definitely
the best location for exploring. Our room was lovely, as was the hotel. Old Quebec is divided into upper town on the
bluffs and lower town on the water. Both are filled
with wonderful old buildings, churches, restaurants
and shops that felt very much like being in Europe and
like the French Quarter in New Orleans.
There were several nice differences however. One, is
that Quebec City is much cleaner than the French Quarter
and two, it’s MUCH cooler. How nice to walk around all
day without sweating!
The cooler weather allows many restaurants to
put tables outside with their colorful umbrellas and
waiters scurrying about, it felt and looked very European.
Throw in the French speaking waiters and voilá, you’re
in the Paris of North America.
We ate at
two restaurants that were memorable. The first was an
outdoor café, Relais Place d’Armes that offered a delicious
Canadian Pie known as Tourtieres. It is a lot like a meat pie, piled with an inch or two of spicy
ground meat, covered with mushrooms on a pastry crust….trés
bien.
The second was more elegant and is located
about two blocks from the Frontenac. Le Continental sits in an old home built in 1845 and is staffed
by black tie waiters who were as efficient as they were
fun. The setting was very romantic and the menu pure
French. We had
the Duck L’Orange that was flambeed at our table and
was magnifigue.
We spent half a day at Ile d’Orleans
and Parc de la Chute Montmorency. Both of these sites
are only a few miles from Quebec City. Ile d’Orleans is an island in the St. Lawrence with a circumference
of 40 miles that is easy to drive. It is full of scenic
farms, such as the one pictured here, and historic villages
with lovely old churches.
Just across from the bridge that
takes you to Ile d’Orleans is Parc de la Chute Montmorency,
a beautiful waterfall, with a suspension bridge over
the top of the falls. You can walk up to the top of
the falls or take a cable car.
After 3 days in Quebec City, with
it’s old world charm, beautiful architecture, warm and
friendly people, I know that I will always remember
Quebec City as one of the loveliest cities I have ever
visited…..Je Me Souviens……..Quebec.
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