Quebec City and the road to Bangor, Maine

Day 14-15: Quebec City and the surrounding area

A public park with an asphalt hockey rink in Quebec province.
Who's surprised?

View of the St. Lawrence River
(Behind our Motel)

Agrarian life on the St. Lawrence

The church of a small town on the St. Lawrence

Creek pouring into the St. Lawrence.

More little creek.

Damn, can this place be anymore quaint?

Apparently it can!
Do you know this is a music venue for live bands?!
I want to watch a show here.

A beach on the St. Lawrence River.
Not quite Pismo.

 Many of the pictures below were taken in Old Quebec City.

Quebec was originally a fortified outpost.

You can still see the walls in many of these pictures.

Chateau Frontenac in old town Quebec City
(Note the wall in front)
Believe it or not, that building is a hotel that was originally built in the late 1800s.

This was stuck to a spotlight on the ferry we took across the St. Lawrence to Quebec.

Better view of the old town skyline.

The Chateau.

Governmental building.

One of the streets in old town.

Stairs and Rob.

Looking into the heart of lower old town
(In the skyline shot, these are the buildings by the river.)

Even old-world charm has to get trashed up a little.

The Chateau from close up.

View of the St. Lawrence from the wall.

Underneath the main terrace we found a door that led to some of the original construction in the fortress.

Apparently we walked in through the exit.
We were supposed to pay.
The guides were awesome and just let us walk through.

Original floor and brickwork.
Some of this dates back three hundred years.

The old and the new blended together.

More brickwork/stonework.

That's great and all, but where's the bathroom?

Found it!

And this would be a kitchen.

And this would be the door, clearly marked exit (on the inside) through which we walked.
I love me Quebec tour guides.

Tell you a bit about the Chateau.

Where to start with this monstrosity!?
On the upside, the gelato here was excellent.

Main residential street in old town.

If you're wondering why the streets are empty,
we got in EARLY.

I just like this building.
I'm sure the residents didn't like me photographing their homes.

No, this is NOT Disneyland, this is one of the fortified gates leading into the citadel.

Apparently when people fall they always go headfirst
and with the intention of catching their entire body weight with one arm.

Atop one of the walls.

From the wall out across greater Quebec.

More of the same: from atop the wall.

One of the guardhouses.

Guard house from atop the wall.

Canons.
Not Pictured (seriously this time): they are pointed at a bank and a shopping center.

One of the many parks inside old town.

Church now converted to Canadian studies.

Artwork on the wall outside the Canadian studies building.

Another church.

Here it is!
Oldest Basilica in North America.
Originally built in 1647.
Has been rebuilt twice (was destroyed by fire both times)

And the name of the Basilica is...

Totally cheated here and I'm sure I'm going to hell.
I took this picture while service was in session (big no no).
Then I ran out the door.

These shots were taken in another church adjoining an art/history museum we visited.

Ceiling, stained glass, and pipe organ.

Add caption

This picture is amazing.
These are French Catholic School boys finishing a snow cathedral.

Outside the seminary.

Looking down from the wall onto a section of the lower part of old town.

Now it's getting a bit busier.

One of the many pubs in old town Quebec.

Please do not feet the fish tin cans or alcohol. 

What the hell does this sign even mean?
Spotted it on the ferry coming back from Quebec City.

The Saint Lawrence.

The Saint Lawrence again.

And again.
By the way, it was 80 degrees with a great breeze.
Just a beautiful day.

Heading out from Quebec. 

And heading into Maine.
The sign is in kilometers.
This is about 60 miles.

You tell me.
Why do people in Quebec need a sign with trees on in it in front of trees?
Particularly when there are trees EVERYWHERE?!

Farmland in Quebec Province.

In 300m, the road narrows.
If you want to stab yourself in the eye over it,
pull over to the right.

Amazing equestrians at work.

USA.

Erica: When they ask why you were in Canada should I say because we were trying to go to Cuba?
Rob: Only if you want to walk the rest of this trip.

Maine!
It has trees.

Lots of trees.

And rivers!
And trees.

And more fucking trees.

We stopped for the night in Bangor, Maine.