Anniversary Cruise: Old Quebec City, a Sea Day and Charlottetown... Part II

After over 5 miles of walking about the beautiful old city of Quebec, my legs were saying that Castle walk may have been uphill both ways. It was time to gather our luggage and head out. We decided to forgo a taxi and walk to the ship, another 10-15 minute walk. Why not.

We were scheduled to board the ship at 3 pm but decided to go early and pleased that we did. Hardly anyone was there and it was a as simple as going through security and pulling our one suitcase along. Suitcases were scanned and we were pulled aside due to the bottles of wine. The young gentleman: you can only have one bottle. Me: No, the guidelines say we can have one per person. The young man smiled and then said we will keep the third one and return it at the end of the voyage.  

We checked into our room, 6th floor veranda on the Zuiderdam (Zi der dam), unpacked and went out to the deck. The rooms are small but adequate and with a veranda the light clearly makes for an extension of that space and that would afford us wonderful evening sunsets and a great place to read while enjoying the salt air while at sea.

Entertaining was watching the continuous loading of luggage and seeing folks in the condo across from us, seemingly having cocktails_ the lowest level, the second, and the roof top, sitting, standing and watching the cruise ship.  

I wish we had had more time in the city. Beautiful architecture and although a bit spendy, a lovely city.

        
                                                                       Video, aboard the ship 

    

Sunday October 1: Sea Day (Arrival 9 am. Departure 5 pm)

The St Lawrence is an amazing and expansive waterway. The breadth is nothing as we had imagined, and with the appearance of an ocean except for utter calmness. No whales or sea life to be seen. The ocean breeze, a slight hum of the ship and the peacefulness of the water gave way to utter relaxation.

St Lawrence reminded me of being in Minnesota and my first experience with Lake Superior_ a vast ocean of calmness that seemed surreal.

 Dinner time and the 9th floor features the Lido Market, a buffet style dining with two sides and 3-4 stations on each. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served here, but tonight: salads, soups, chicken, meat, pork… anything you might want. We selected a nice tenderloin for our first dinner.

Time to relax, return to our room and continued reading one of the books we brought onboard. Quickly consumed, we were thankful they had a nice library onboard and with many of the authors we enjoyed. 

Monday, Oct 2, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (9am. 5pm)

We had lost an hour time yesterday and being in international waters internet was disrupted. The ship offered service but we declined to buy it. We could do without.

We continued up the St Lawrence and our first stop was docking at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Anne of Green Gables that was touted was actually a chocolate store. I selected 6 little pieces of dark chocolate. $16 dollars for those little pieces of silver… er chocolate, but that was Canadian. The gentleman behind the counter said he didn’t know how to convert Canadian to U.S. so dh (my dear husband) helped him, still a bit short changed us… so one might say disappointingly it was a bit of a scam for tourists. And Anne of Green Gables was 25 miles away from town.

         

We walked four miles around the little town and the best part was the amazing St Dunstan’s Cathedral Basilica, a stone French Gothic church built in 1913 from the remains of the cathedral that had been damaged by fire that year. St. Dunstan's is the fourth church on the site and one of the most visible landmarks in Charlottetown with its spires being some of the highest points on the City skyline. It is the only Roman Catholic cathedral and basilica in the province and one of the most elaborate churches in the Maritimes. https://www.gov.pe.ca/hpo/app.php?nav=details&p=5952 

              

Inside St Dunstan

An Anniversary Cruise, Part I

We like the Holland America Cruise line due it's size and have sailed three times with them. Our first was in 2000 to Alaska and we loved that voyage so much we made it again in 2009 with some friends. That part of our country is a site to behold. In 2003, we cruised to the Mexican Riviera with my husband’s brothers and sister. This is our fourth. 

My husband and I celebrated a 30 year anniversary earlier this year and his idea of a special event was to take a cruise and enjoy the beautiful colors of the fall leaves in the New England area. Reported was that peak or near peak fall color would be by October 11. The Zuiderdam was selected as it would be sailing from Quebec City in Canada to New England and back to Ft Lauderdale.

Since we did the formal thing years ago, we decided to forgo any fancy kind of dining. My husband had given his tux to our son-in-law years ago and my formal attire is long gone. If needed, a simple sports coat for him and one reasonable dress would suit us perfectly and it would all fit into our individual light weight pull along luggage.  

September 29: We drove to Ft Lauderdale and took a morning flight to Montreal. Never have I seen so many people in one place. We’ve been photographed twice, passports were scanned four times and between getting off the flight in Montreal and getting to our gate for the flight to Quebec, were stopped SIX times to verify our identity. Perhaps full employment is the goal, but it appeared to be a bit overkill. Our favorite saying: We’ve done this twice: first and last.

 Finally, 7:30 pm and we arrived at Quebec City, hailed a taxi and en route to the hotel asked the driver if he knew of a wine shop. Indeed, and we purchased four bottles and were surprised as the cost was fairly comparable to the U.S., and they carried quite a variety of well-known wines. The cruise line only allowed 2 bottles to be taken onboard, one for each passenger, but this evening it would be nice to have a glass to celebrate the beginning of our adventure.

While riding to our hotel, the full Harvest moon shown high above the city. Despite the darkness, we could still see the stunning old architecture.

 A charming 19th century building in the heart of the old Port of Québec City stands Hôtel Le Saint-Paul.

At first glance, a quaint hotel, small rooms but very adequate, and atop the desk were real wine glasses, and for our early morning coffee, a Keurig and real porcelain cups. Bathrooms had been updated but I must ask: who decides on a toilet that is 12 inches high?

 After a long day and finally being there, why not get drunk? Kidding! just kidding. A glass of wine, a toast to old city Quebec, an anniversary, autumn leaves that we would soon see, discovery of places yet unseen, and relaxation to follow. With the curtains open, our view of the city lights, people walking, a few playing in the square… an absolute delightful experience so far. And in the distance the lights from a large cruise ship.

We were a bit hungry and fortunately there was a small café attached to the hotel. Let’s split a hamburger. Medium rare please. No, no… it’s against the law! You can only have it well done. We chose chicken.

  

 

Saturday, September 30:  board the ship. Departure: 5 pm 

Early morning we walked to a small Café for breakfast, Le Buffet de l'Antiquaire on Rue Saint-Paul, an experience in itself. An older couple (ha) came in behind us, so we told them to go ahead. Of course it happened to be the only two seats left downstairs, but we climbed the stairs to the loft which proved to be one of the best seats in the house, next to the railing and overlooking the entirety below. How entertaining to watch one gentleman work the grill and cook all the orders. We both ordered omelets, had their famous homemade toast (simply grilled), coffee of course and grilled potatoes came with it.

The loft tables are for two (or four), but only several inches apart was another table for two and we did not listen to the couple's conversation. Incidentally, I didn't recognize the language. 

The line of hungry patrons was forming as we walked back to the hotel, retrieved a city map and began plotting our morning trek: lower town was as quaint and beautiful as any European town I’ve visited with its narrow and zig-zag cobblestone streets and tiny shops filled with antiques and art work. Layer upon layer of interesting and stunning old architecture and charming sites lay before us.

We walked and walked. Then decided it was time to discover what the locals call The Castle, better known as Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, a grand hotel that was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway and completed in 1893. The climb to the top of the hill, the upper town, was extreme, but with a few five second stops, we made it. Disappointing was not having the time to explore more, but viewing the historic sites, other structures, hotels, the park and the stunning panoramic view of the city below and the St. Lawrence River was clearly worth the trip. Now we had yet to do the climb down. 

 

Begin the climb  

 

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Part II to follow

Fall Is In The Air