Day 36-37 - Québec City

Tuesday 24 August (mardi 24 août) 2004, approx 9pm ET

Have arrived safely in Quebec City. The place looks amazing so far, but I've got a few admin things to do so that I can go out all tomorrow and explore the place.

My final thoughts on Montréal - It'll be better when I learn French. It is truly an amazing place and I love the architecture and the green spaces there. I am definitely coming back. (This list so far includes Auckland, Vancouver, Calgary and London) In particular I want to explore Longueuil and Parc Jean-Drapeau a bit.

I spent the day after writing the last entry photographing the stuff I saw the previous day in Montréal - and went into the Marie Reine de Monde church and was stunned at the scope and intricacy of the 2nd biggest church in North America. The bus trip (we ended up on the 4pm one) was fairly uneventful but we got to see some nice Quebec scenery. The place reminds me a little of Tasmania. Some absolutely massive

Wednesday 25 August (mercredi 25 août) 2004, ET

Wow, this place just rocks. I don't know how to describe it, but it's the only walled city north of Mexico in North America, and is full of old European architecture and vibe. Obviously lots of other people like it too - UNESCO gave it accreditation as a site in the 80s. I've never been anywhere like this, and I definitely intend to come back.

The hostel here is really good too - nice modern interior in a historic building. People here speak less English than in Montréal but are very friendly and will help you no matter what. The place has a lot of tourists - mostly American and French - but has not sold out like some of the places I've been to. It's quite funny seeing the horses and carts trying to compete with the cars on the narrow steep streets.

One interesting view of this place is from the St Lawrence Seaway. The name of the city (and province) come from an Algonquian word meaning "narrows", and at this point and for 80km northeast, you still get almost 100% fresh water. We went out on the Louis Jolliet, a boat named for an 18th-century French explorer, and had a guided tour in English and French of the district, including Levis, Beauport, the shipyards (2nd largest in North America) and of course Chute Montmorency, the waterfall 12km east of Quebec which is taller than Niagara (but nowhere near as impressive - still nice though)

It's amazing too how just outside the city you're instantly back in modernity - although, in much the same spirit as Montréal, a lot of the architecture is still comfortably old.

So yeah, I am kind of in love with the place. Too bad I have to leave tomorrow.