On The Sea Again, I Just Can't Wait To Get On The Sea Again: Our Day in Quebec

If it was Sunday and there was a marathon, it must have been Quebec City. From our docking position we got nice views of the city and the Fontenac Hotel.

We booked an excursion with Get Your Guide that would take us out of the city. Because of the marathon, the excursion started later than usual which was okay with us - no need to rush. It was a short walk from the pier to our meeting location where we saw the remnants of the marathon and then were greeted with quite a surprise. In the past, when we have booked excursions through Get Your Guide, they have always been small groups. When we arrived the line for the tour was incredibly long, so long that they had to bring a second bus to handle all of the people. I was filled with fear that the excursion would not live up to our expectations.

Well, it turned out that my fears were unfounded. Despite the full bus, the tour was very good and our driver/guide was excellent with a good sense of humor. After driving through the city and then over the bridge to L'ile d'Orleans, we were taken to the Chocolaterie de L'ile d'Orleans. We bought some chocolate and then took a short walk where we could look back to Quebec City and to what would be our next stop, Montmorency Falls.

At the falls, we walked along the paths to get a closer look and to get a little bit of spray. I only had enough time to walk part of the way up the steps to a good view point. We only had one hour there so we could not take advantage of the other activities available such as the cable car to the top, the zip line or the rock climbing.

Next, we were driven along a road that dates back to the 1600's to see some nice houses and the house from the Addams Family (or so the guide claimed).

That was followed by a stop at the Cuivres d'Art Albert Gilles, which is a family run business where they make copper art. The business was founded by Albert Gilles in the 1940's. He has passed away but it is still run by his wife, daughters and granddaughter. We were given a demonstration of the copper art making process.

Our final stop was at the Basilica Sainte-Anne de Beaupre. It was quite magnificent. Interestingly, some of the copper works including the doors were made my Albert Gilles.