After a very busy summer of playing about a gazillion shows, we typically look forward to a short October getaway. This year, the plan was to road trip up to Quebec. It’s a lot closer than you think at only about seven hours from here. We would drive four hours up to Maine to visit Jeff”s folks then continue on the next day to Old Quebec. As the date came closer, the weather forecast looked more and more grim. The thing is, we’d have a great time no matter what, I know that. However, I really didn’t want a replay of the “Niagara Falls Incident”. If we are only ever going visit this place once am I okay with it being cold and rainy with no good pictures to be had? Am I? We ultimately decided to go. I bought us two very warm, waterproof coats from REI which proved to be invaluable. I also decided to upgrade our hotel stay. If we were going to be stuck inside it might as well be in a premium room, right?
Time to hit the road!
The ride was decidedly bucolic.
The foliage was still looking gorgeous.
We kept pulling over to take in the views.
Like this one…
…and this.
Come on, we gotta keep moving!
We made it to our Castle!
I found a great price on a room at the most iconic hotel in Old Quebec, the Le Château Frontenac. This is the gorgeous castle that can be seen in most photos of the city. It was a good deal, until I upgraded our room to concierge, that is.
Our room wasn’t ready yet so we headed out in search of food.
The aforementioned coats earning their keep.
Lucky for us that there’s an amazing French restaurant around every corner. We just crossed the plaza to this little boite, The 1640 Bistro.
The bar at Bistro 1640.
So cute.
Look at this meat!
We would hear this piano being played before the trip was over.
White tablecloth elegance.
It was mid afternoon, so we didn’t want to go too crazy, so we split a poutine.
Pulled pork, cheese curds and fries. Oh, Canada!
After our snack, we took a quick stroll around to get the lay of the land.
The window boxes were looking pretty nice for mid-October in Canada!
Oh look! Our hotel.
Our room was ready, but we felt beer in the lounge was in order.
Some substantial bar snacks were served. Cancel dinner.
The bar was pretty swank. The beer was cheap, cocktails were outrageously expensive.
On to the room!
Our room was nestled in the corner, so I had a brief hope that it was a suite. It wasn’t.
It was a very nice room. No complaints. Shall we have a look around?
Don’t touch the ten dollar snacks!!!
With the room upgrade we were promised a high floor which meant we would be assured a great view.
Not disappointed.
We took a bit of a nap to recover after our long drive and several beers.
Night fell.
We put on our coats and donned umbrellas to try and go walk about. Let’s just say it was absolutely gross out. My umbrella turned inside out as we were pelted with icy rain. I was ready to turn back, but we decided to forge on! We had looked up some bars that had live music to check out.
Doesn’t matter where you are in the world, there’s always an Irish bar.
They had my favorite Canadian beer on tap!
This is where the musician was. Bad photography moment.
We hung around listening to a Frenchman singing “Wild Rover” and the like. It was getting on time for dinner. The weather was too gross to wander around looking for a good spot so we decided slip right into the same place we had our afternoon snack, 1640 Bistro.
Remember those meats hanging in the glass display???
Seafood Pasta with Chardonnay Sauce. Delectable!
Because we seem to like duplication today, we stopped at the same hotel bar for a night cap.
Dear readers, the worst is now behind us. We will have a respite from the rain to visit the cutest old City in North America!
Bon Nuit!