Backtracking to Great Falls and then Heading to Quebec City

Thursday, May 24, 2018--Quebec City

The weather was so nice this morning that we decided we should head back to Grand Falls--30 minutes behind our route--to see the falls before heading forward to Quebec City.  It was a good decision.  This time of the year is a good time to see them.  Springtime is when the falls are roaring.  Other times of the year they may slow to very little flow.  The lady at the tourist office told us that 4 weeks ago about the time of the flooding further down the river in New Brunswick, the water was so high that much of the falls disappeared.  But today, the falls were magnificent--roaring and dropping many feet.  They are the most impressive falls I have seen after Iguazu and Niagara.  We walked the trail along the gorge the water flows through after the falls viewing the falls and the flow of the river from various points.  We spent almost 2 hours there.

Turning back toward Quebec, we arrived in the Quebec City area around 14:45--too early to check into our hotel.   We hadn't eaten since breakfast and saw a Costco beside the highway, so we pulled off and ate a hot dog and some of the samples they were giving away.  While there, we bought a beer to drink in the evening at the hotel.

Our hotel, the Chateau Repotel Henri IV, is a suburban motel.  It is similar to the places where we have been staying in Fredericton and Edmundston.  We checked in and rested. 

Around 18:00, we headed downtown.  We parked near the walled Old Quebec area which is so much like a European city.  We wandered the narrow streets listening to buskers playing music and singing.  We explored and/or passed the railway station, the City Hall, the Hotel Frontenac, and so many famous and beautiful places in Old Quebec.  After a couple of hours of exploring, we left the old walled city and wandered through the downtown area where the Quebec provincial government buildings are located along with the bigger hotels and offices and then returned to our car. 

Back at the hotel we drank our beer which was an unusual one:  Mons Abbey Dubbel D'Abbaye, a bottle conditioned beer infused with spices.  It was a lot like a cider and the alcohol level was 8%.  It was nothing like we expected, but it was an interesting experience to drink it.