We take our time leaving Montreal/Longueuil, lingering over breakfast snd coffee. The drive to Quebec City is around 2 hrs and the highway swings away from the St. Lawrence River in the direction of the borders to Vermont and Maine. The landscape is flat and heavily forested with deep underbrush. We see a hint of fall color on some trees but are about 2 weeks too early; fall color is more dependent on length of day than temperature. Apparently cold temperatures turn the leaves brown and wind blows them off, so fall color can be variable and unpredictable. Today again it is cloudy and breezy, making us wonder how often the sun comes out!
The Comfort Inn is in Levis, across the river from Quebec City. We are staying here for the convenience to Safari Condo, where we will be picking up our trailer tomorrow. The receptionist recommends taking the ferry over to the city but we realize it is a 40 min. drive to the ferry terminal, and the ferry only runs hourly after 6pm. Since it is already mid afternoon, we decide to drive in, which takes about 20 min. and park on the outskirts of the old town.
We head for the Paillard, a french bakery, for croissants but later realize that baked goods are best sampled early in the day. These are no match for Alexanders in Mountain View, or maybe they are stale from being there all day. We walk the backside of the old town and a portion of the old city wall. The architecture is charming. The old town sits high up above the riverfront and is reached via steps, 200 on the river side, about 100 from the backside.
We find the tourist section to be pretty commercialized with gift shops and restaurants, not quite the French city I was expecting. If we have time later in the week, we will tour the riverfront which has historical buildings and the Chateau Frontenac.
Today we are preoccupied with all that we need to know about this trailer, and if we have all the tools we need. We are a bit nervous about how it will all turn out. Stay tuned for tomorrow…
