All good things come to an end, and so did our trip to Vieux-Québec. It will feel good to be back home again and sleeping in our bed, but the break was an excellent chance to see the beautiful city and recharge our batteries.

The plan was to have an early breakfast at the hotel then get on the road. Things didn’t turn out quite that way. Between busloads of students and the Pee Wee hockey tournament, the hotel’s restaurant was full and people were lined up down the stairs and into the lobby to get a table.

Off to Cosmos, we went. We’d eaten there before, and their breakfast was good. The bonus was the lack of line up for food. Things changed quickly though after we arrived. People who were tired of waiting at the hotel joined us.

I had my phone with me, so after we finished eating, I took on the ice slide outside the restaurant. By now there was a lot of sandy snow on its surface which made it difficult to get moving. But as you can see, I did.

I even struck a pose afterwards.

We got Buddy all settled into his place in the backseat where he can look out the window, and we were off.

The stats for today weren’t worth getting excited over. I beat my daily step goal but compared to the previous days; I couldn’t consider myself an over-achiever.

At breakfast, we decided to get a picture of our room from outside the hotel. We knew we were behind the one bank of elevators and at the end of the corridor between them was a window. We left the curtains open unevenly so the window would be easier to spot from the ground.

As always, we seem to migrate directly to Dufferin Terrace. This one bench was the most exposed of all of them. Getting down was one thing. Getting back up, was something completely different. I was like my friend in Scotland said once “you’re like a buck-it yowe.” Something to do with a ewe that is unable to get up.

My little Wienerschnitzel, Buddy, is turning into quite a little ham.

We watched the folks who were brave (crazy) enough to do the toboggan run. Hubby wanted to do it. Refer to the word in brackets above. With there being three lanes and a substantial barrier between each, you have to keep your feet tucked up into the person’s in front of your lap, or be the driver and have “vos pieds” under the curved front.

This man and his dogs (Mona & Lisa) were there every day. He’s meant to be a fur trapper. As you can see, hubby is wearing a coonskin over his head. The dogs have lovely fur beds to sit or lie down on, as well as booties to keep their feet warm and the road salt off.

I envision the streets and sidewalks in my book, It Happened on Dufferin Terrace, looking like this. I know Serenity wasn’t in Vieux-Québec during the winter carnival, but still, it’s white and crisp and beautiful as it was in my book.

We worked our way back to Rue du Petit Champlain and the park where the Smurf house and other ice sculptures were located. And yes, the wee ham is at it again. This one was too slippery for him, so he needed a bit of assistance.

Remember the ice slide I mentioned in an earlier post? Well, here I am. Not video but it will do. Even with a long down-filled coat, it was still chilly on the butt.

Back uphill and we met up with the Mad Hatter again. This time with three of her friends. By the time this photo was taken, the third one had gone off to talk to someone else.

After another fun visit with the Mad Hatter and her friends, we carried on up the street to the Pub Saint Alexandre where we enjoyed a few drinks before returning to Simons where I bought three bottle lights. I already had a clear one so this time I got them in grey, yellow and rose. I wanted another spoon rest like the ones I bought there previously, but they didn’t have any.

Back to the hotel with these purchases (no sense carting things around if you don’t have to).

After a fuel stop at the hotel and having the other bottle of champagne we brought with us, we headed back inside the wall to the pub (we told the girls we’d be back). I looked up the manual for my camera and re-learned how to shoot video with it. This time it worked!

I have two clips of hubby on the slide in front of Cosmos, but a little girl is in the other one waiting for her turn. I opted not to use that one because of that.

I’ve really created a monster. Now the little Wienerschnitzel is taking selfies. I think he best stick to having others take his photo. His poor legs are too short to get the camera a decent distance away from himself.

This was our last night in Vieux-Québec so we wanted to make the most of it, despite the fact we turned into pumpkins around 9:00 (sometimes earlier) each night. But with the fresh air and all the walking, it’s no wonder we were tired.

Feb 14 (and this was a travel day)
13,167 steps
5.24 miles
22 floors

Feb 15
17,150 steps
6.82 miles
33 floors

Feb 16
20,675 steps
8.22 miles
33 floors

Feb 17
23,830 steps
9.48 miles
59 floors

Well, after a few flurries early in the morning, the day turned out to be gorgeous. With sunny days in the winter, the temperatures are colder, but we were well prepared.

After breakfast at the hotel, we were off. Our first stop was the slide outside Cosmos. Hubby took Buddy down it. Too bad I didn’t remember how to shoot video (a function I might use once a year at the most with my Canon). With my murky – no completely absent memory – all I got was this shot when he stood up at the bottom. Not what I planned on at all. However; he received accolades and high-fives from folks on the sidewalk afterwards. 😄

Despite my inept video shoot, they do look like they had fun, don’t they?

Further down the street outside the ice castle, there was a sculpture of a VIA train engine. What guy can’t resist pretending he’s driving a train?

Or a girl and her dog for that matter, even if he is a stuffed one?

There is so much snow on Dufferin Terrace that most of the benches are buried under it. Said snow crunched under our feet as we walked.

My favourite street in all of Vieux-Québec, Rue Sous-le-Cap, is once again open from one end to the other. This narrow street at the base of the cliff was closed for some time because of a rock slide.

It might be open, but it wasn’t all that easy to traverse with only tire tracks to walk in and slip and slide as one struggled for traction.

At the other end, the cars had been buried under blown snow (either by wind or mechanical means). I wonder if the one who left the bumper imprint was cleaned off entirely when it departed?

We don’t usually walk with canes, but when you’re on ice and snow, it’s nice to have a little extra support. Ice-picks affixed to the tip work well. Although we walked up the hill a few times, we took advantage of the funiculaire to ride to the top on this occasion.

By riding up the hill, we arrived in time to watch this performance. A freighter going upriver and the ferries leaving the ports of Québec and Lévis at the same time. It’s quite the water ballet.

The plan was to visit Simons after this display of navigational coordination. Who did we run into on our way there? The Mad Hatter! One can’t visit Carnaval and not take the time to speak with someone this famous (or should I say infamous). There were other people in costume in the area but they were otherwise occupied talking with other folks.

We did get to Simons and this time wasn’t out of necessity, but luxury. I love the quality of their wool socks so I stocked up.

It was later in the afternoon so we decided to have a few drinks and an early supper before returning to our room. Between the time we left the store and got to the Pub Saint Alexandre, a young man (not dressed for the weather) asked hubby if he could take a picture with him. We both think the lad thought “homeless” the way hubby carried the Simons bag on his cane over his shoulder.

The girls working behind the bar loved Buddy. I mean what’s not to love? Look at that face.

He’s welcome there anytime because he was so well behaved.

A few drinks and fish supper later, we headed back to our hotel after a stop at the Mary’s Popcorn outlet up the street. The small bag of chocolate popcorn we bought previously tasted like more.

A beautiful moon made the walk back to our accommodations even more romantic.

The adage “red sky at night, sailor’s delight, red sky in morning, sailor’s warning” summed up Friday, the 15th perfectly. Look at the beautiful sunrise in the first two pictures. Gorgeous, isn’t it?

How about now? This picture is of the same view as when we arrived, but the snow was so heavy, practically the entire vista vanished. The tower on the Parliament Building is barely visible!

After breakfast, we girded our loins and headed off to the Metro supermarket on Avenue Cartier for more French’s Sweet Onion Mustard, which is no longer available in Ontario. 😒

Some of the restaurants along Grande-Allée had ice sculptures in their patio areas, but the best ones were in Lower Town. These are just a few.

Created from ice, and it’s a slide! Okay, there’s some bare plywood showing. Remember this picture.

Back to the sculptures.

When we reached this spot, we were asked to take a photo of a group of people with Bonhomme. The young lady taking the picture wanted to be included, so handed me her phone and I snapped some pictures for her. In return, she captured this one of us. If you look closely, you can see Buddy’s nose sticking out of the ‘book’ bag between Bonhomme and me.

And still more sculptures.

So much snow already on the ground, and now with today’s dumping, folks were removing the snow and icicles from their roofs and eaves. This wet stuff was perfect snowman making snow, and with too much weight, a roof could collapse.

After riding the funiculaire to the top of the cliff, we trundled off to Pub Saint Alexandre for a well-deserved drink and a chance to dry out. While there, we bought official Carnaval tuques. Our stuff was so wet; I didn’t think it would be dry by morning and wandering about in the cold in damp clothing does not bode well for one’s health.

This arch was outside Cosmos where we had supper. Just out of the picture on the left is another ice slide.

Tomorrow is Saturday, and they say it will be a fine day. We’ll see if they’re right.

It’s going to be a year of adventures for us, but for now, I’m concentrating on our recent trip to Quebec City, Vieux-Québec in particular.

What better time to arrive in this beautiful old city than Valentine’s Day?

On this trip, we stayed in a different hotel than on previous occasions. Our usual hostelry had no rooms available for the duration of our stay. However, its sister hotel around the corner fit the bill quite nicely.

I love older hotels or bed and breakfasts because of their character, but they lack some amenities – like elevators.

Hôtel Le Concorde not only provided us with a stunning room on the topmost floor (26th) with a fantastic view down the Grande Allée but underground valet parking, too.

I said the view was fantastic.

After settling in and enjoying one of the bottles of champagne we brought with us, we set out. I had to get my Simons fix, although this time it was a necessity rather than a luxury. It seems in the course of packing and rearranging; I left my tuque and scarf behind. Winter and not having those, especially when a snowstorm was in the forecast for the next day, not a good idea.

Suitably attired, we wandered down to the Lower Town where we stopped at Sapristi‘s Petit Champlain location, which we discovered on our trip in November, for our supper, followed by The Fudgerie to stock up on our chocolate, and finally the last stop before returning to our room was Mary’s Popcorn.

Suitably fortified with sweets and snacks for the rest of our time in Vieux-Québec, we headed back to our hotel.