J’aime Quebec!

“My favourite thing is to go where I have never gone.” Diane Arbus.

Port of Quebec Marina in Quebec City offers a view of a city filled to the brim with beauty and history. On one side is a grain elevator where a historic light show is projected nightly, on the other a view of old Quebec expanding uphill towards the Chateau Frontenac and the Plains of Abraham. We will be staying in Quebec City two more nights for which I am very thankful because it gives me time to play tourist in a city that I have wanted to visit for quite some time now. And I must say it is a city that impresses well on first acquaintance! Not only do we have the chance to get off the boat and stretch our legs, but walking around old Quebec and up the trendy Rue St. Jean is helping me remember all the reasons why I love travelling. Stepping onto the streets of Quebec City you truly feel like you are in a European city complete with cobblestone streets, art galleries and fancy shops, lush gardens, statues and fountains, historic stone buildings, and the allure of a language other than English.

We arrived in the afternoon on Monday after sailing under spinnaker and motoring our way from the marina at Trois Rivieres. Dad wants me to mention that our spinnaker run was memorable and awesome, especially as we passed the Richelieu Rapids. On the way we experienced the usual stresses of navigating an unfamiliar waterway, but Mom provided some comic relief by accidentally pulling the cord on her inflatable life jacket while we were raising the spinnaker. 

We timed our arrival so that currents were in our favour all the way from Trois Rivieres and so that we’d get to Quebec City shortly after low tide. Entering the Port of Quebec Marina presented a unique experience, requiring us to pass through a lock used to control the water level in an area largely impacted by tide. The marina here is quite large and filled with an assortment of power and sailboats. There is also an extensive indoor market between the marina and the city where we plan to restock our fridge with fresh veggies, fruit and bread before the next leg of the journey. They even had a crepe stand that I had to test out for a late lunch! Also, on our long meandering walk in the city we visited a chocolaterie with a museum (Choco-Musee Erico) and gave our taste buds a little treat.

Tomorrow night we plan to enjoy a nice dinner in the city. Despite what you might think about the many difficulties and inconveniences of living on a boat we have not been eating badly by any means. It’s strange but boat meals always taste more delicious than meals back home...maybe it’s because by the end of the day we are always exhausted! But anyways, it will be nice to eat something different and not have to cook it ourselves.

Hope you’ve been enjoying the posts so far!

Nicole.