Day 4: A Goat, French/British Tug-of-War & Canadian Spin-Masters

Heading out for another day of adventures.

Travel Tip #3: Ask. Ask. Ask. And the best tips will be unearthed.

VM:  Bon jour.  Amazing what a difference a day makes.  Yesterday (Sunday), this city was jam-packed with tourists.  Today (Monday) it was as if we had the place to ourselves. Not sure it's good for business, but it certainly made for a lovely day.

First, a shout-out to my work pal, Fatima. Prior to departing on this trip, she mentioned that her girlfriend had just visited Q. City.  I asked that if she had time, I would love to know any "must-dos" from her friend's point-of-view.  Just prior to departure, we got an email full of suggestions.

Between her suggestions, those of our Frontenac Hotel concierge, and those from our walking tour guide Michael, we had a great day. (Hence the tip of the 

day -- ask and ask again when traveling, it's how you find the best stuff).

Guard doing his thing.

First, we headed to The Citadel to watch the changing of the guards.  For those of you who have traveled to England, this is a bit of common sight.  The Brits (and the French) love their pomp and circumstance.  And us -- well, we just loved the goat.  That's probably putting it mildly for me, I became obsessed with the goat.

Turns out that the Royal 22e Regiment's mascot is a Persian goat who is supposedly descended from the Queen's private stock of goats.  According to what I've read, the goat symbolizes "the will to succeed." Me, I just think it's excessively funny that this goat, who was fairly perturbed to be on a harness being marched around, presides over the daily ceremony at Quebec City's active military installation.  

BAAAAA!

Pomp & circumstance prevail at The Citadel.

Batisse doesn't seem thrilled to be on the job.

Ever present, Batisse was ready for this day's ceremony to be DONE!

George the Bulldog on the job in Sicily, Italy during WWII.

While Batisse was definitely the highlight of the changing of the guards visit, we also enjoyed learning that at one point, during World War II, George the Bulldog also looked over the troops.  Not sure that either George or Batisse could really do much at the end of the day if crisis were really to strike, but being the animal-lovers we are, they sure made us smile.

The Citadel visit also began our day of Canadian superlatives.  Just like I'm obsessed with a goat, seems our northern cousins are obsessed with anniversaries and being the "first" or the "largest."  They are without a doubt, PR spin-masters. As an example, The Citadel is "the most important British fortification ever built in North America" and this year, its Royal 22e Regiment is celebrating 100 years of history.

YUM is not descriptive enough.

After visiting with Batisse, we sought a local cafe/bakery, Paillard, recommended by our concierge friend. As an "insider," she told us to seek an almond flaky pastry that is apparently not available until midmorning as it's baked fresh in the morning.  It did not disappoint.  In fact, it simply melted in your mouth.

Getting our doggie fix.

On our way back to our apartment, we met some of our first canine friends in Q. City -- Sally & Scruffy.  These sweet pups were on their way to Nova Scotia.  We got our doggie fix as we really haven't seen any dogs in the past few days and have only met one "chat," a neighborhood black tomcat who visited us briefly at our apartment for a quick scratch but kept going on his morning trek.

Our chat.

Midday took us to an off-the-beaten-path location suggested by Fatima's friend, the Morrin Center.  It's claim to fame -- being built 200 years ago as the city's first prison (yep, another superlative AND anniversary!).  The prison later became the area's first English college.  Hard to make that connection, but it's true.  The tour starts with checking out horrid facilities where prisoners were housed during 1700s.  EM was very alarmed to hear they also had a children's prison.  Personally, I think she was worried that a similar facility existed near our home.  Of course, HM enjoyed ribbing her about it, but mostly she enjoyed listening to our cute tour guide Ryan and charming him with her history knowledge. She really did know quite a lot (thanks Mrs. Sullivan!)

HM & JM dared to try solitary confinement, EM could not be convinced.

Once the college opened in 1868, the sole task was all about spreading English.  Thus began the other theme of the day -- the Canadian identity crisis.  You're either on the French side or the English side of things here.  And the fact is, there is no clear winner.  Personally, I think most preferred the French lifestyle -- the joie de vivre -- but also liked the industry & discipline of the Brits.  Schizophrenic no doubt.

A cute guide (and being the only ones on the tour!) made visiting the Morrin Center
experience even better.

Imagine watching the river to see who is coming with reinforcements.

After the Morrin Center, the history lesson continued as we sought a recommendation from our Frontenac friend -- the museum at Abraham Plains where they featured "The Odyssey," a multi-media experience depicting the history of Quebec City.  It is really well done and we all enjoyed it.  The synopsis -- the French thought they were safe up on the cliff and the narrow part of the St. Lawrence River, the Brits eventually pulled what I call a "Normandy" and attacked the French in the cloak of night, scaling the cliff at 1am and attacking at 5am.  It was all over by 10am.  The French later won it back for about 2 years, but ultimately, when both sides were waiting for reinforcements, the Brits are who arrived.  

So again, identity crisis.  If it had been the French who arrived to save the day, Canada could potentially be a complete French-aligned country.  Fascinating stuff.

Delicious recommendation from tour guide Michael.

After the Morrin Center, it was time for linner (lunch/dinner).  Based on the recommendation of our tour guide Michael, we sought a local eatery called Cochon Dingue (Crazy Pig).  While they had their fair share of pork dishes, we opted for traditional French steak & frites (real French fries) & were not disappointed.

JM felt the need to challenge the bartender at Cochon Dingue, ordering a Brazilian Capirinha (it was on their menu).  While he almost had to go help her make the drink, he later gave it a thumbs up!

Macaroons, a French sweet, are visually beautiful.  

EM decided to try them out and declared them delicious. 

Digging for hidden treasure.

On our way home, we make our final historic stop of the day, an archaeological excavation that shows you the foundation of where the governor's mansion once stood -- the Forts et Chateau Saint Louis.  Just below where the Hotel Frontenac stands now, the chateau housed French and English governors depending who was in charge at the time.  (Again -- identity crisis!!)  Regardless, we thought it was neat and were fascinated to see the patience archaeologists have to have to dig, find and then reassemble artifacts.  We all promptly decided we wouldn't have the patience.

You have to have the patience of Job to find these pieces
and put them all together again!

We ended our day at our local church again, Notre Dame.  Seems Notre Dame is 350 years old (another anniversary!) and is thus, the oldest of all parishes in North America, north of the Spanish colonies (Canadian spin masters at work!)  In honor of the jubilee, Pope Francis approved the creation of a Holy Door.  It is the only Holy Door in North America (the others are in France, Spain, Italy & Egypt) and speaks to the influence the Catholics have had here. Walking through the door is intended to be a spiritual experience where you leave your sins and suffering behind. Still working on that.

The Morrin Center houses the area's largest collection of English books.

Statue of James Wolfe in the Morrin Library.
He battled the French for
control of Quebec City.

EM: The city is beautiful because of all the flowers. The library was cool because of how old all the books were. They have good macaroons.  

HM:  I feel like crud [VM note: HM is harboring a bad cold that we're all bound to get.] but the city is beautiful.  I enjoyed The Citadel and prison (Ryan was really nice!)

Wonder how Quebec City's beautiful flower boxes
are maintained????

With tons of care & a big ladder!