Day 21 - Quebec, Canada

Bon jour!!   It is Wednesday, June 20th and I can't believe that it was in the 80's today - a bit hot to be touring around the city again but we did make a couple stops for refreshments - if you know what I mean??  Without a tour guide, Rod, Patty, Ruth, Bruce and I drove into town and walked the streets on our own.  We did see some of the same sights as yesterday but took more time to enjoy what we were seeing.  We took a tour of the Citadelle which is the largest fortification built by the British in North America in l820.   It is still an active military garrison for the Royal 22 Regiment and houses the residence of the Governor General.  Touring of his facility doesn't start until June 24 nor does the Royal Changing of the Guards - darn we just missed it by a couple days.

The guards change after a two hour shift. I can't imagine standing that long in wool uniforms especially in 80 degree temps.  There are an average of 200 or so soldiers.  They go to a base in Texas for training before they go to Afghanistan.  There are several tanks and guns around the grounds.  Because of where they are situated high and above the river, and the star-shaped layout, they had no problem in protecting the city.

As you can see, we are quite high above the St. Lawrence River (Fleuve Saint-Laurent) for my French speaking family - meaning Dawn.  Those guards have nothing over Bruce - look how tall and straight he is standing but as you all know, he couldn't stand there for very long as he has to be on the go all the time.  The guards were practicing.  There are about 20 of them.  Bruce took a sneak peek inside the Mess Hall - not to shabby from what I see.

Some neat shots that I thought I would share w/you but the best of the day is below:

Now isn't this pretty and peaceful??  Hopefully Bruce will take another great picture tomorrow.

We, of course, visited several churches.  There are so many in Quebec.  Top left is Notre-Dame.  Top right and bottom left are from a chapel next to a convent.  Sorry not sure what the name is but Mary of the Incarnation was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 22, l980.  She was widowed with a son and went on to do a lot of God's work for the rest of her life.  The two pictures on the right are from the Basilica of Notre Dame.  What looks like a pool is actually the ceiling. 

Obviously, you can tell what the picture is of the flags; however, the dog next to it is a fixture inside the Fairmont Hotel.  Wasn't fazed a bit w/all the people.  The building w/the red roof is one of the oldest buildings in the city which is now a restaurant.  We ate lunch at Cafe Paris, which was very good and had a drink at the end of the day at an outdoor cafe - our feet insisted we sit down for a while.  It was another great day.  It would have been great fun to see the city at night but we are quite a ways out of town and we are just a bit tired so we will have to save that for another time.                                                       Au revoir or Goodbye for today!!!