Sunday August 13, 2017

Eggs Benedict

We start our day like yesterday with a great breakfast. More fruit, more yogurt, another croissant with assorted jams, and then eggs benedict with more fresh fruit. Then we relax, sipping our café and talking with Carmelo and Diane. We chat for well over an hour sharing stories of Italy, Sicily, and more. We exchange information and plan to call them when we are in Montreal to get together for dinner. They live in the suburbs of Montreal and we look forward to seeing them there.

Fort Levis #1

We have decided to go see the Forts of Levis today before we head over to Quebec. They are only about 2 miles from here so we drive over with a quick stop for gas first. It is 30 cents more a gallon than Costco would have been so that does not make me happy. One less beer in the budget although we will probably find a way to scrape up the money. We arrive at the fort and go into the visitor’s center. We get a stamp for our Parks Passport. We had bought this years ago in the U.S. and have stamped our visits to our National Parks. A great way to remember where and when we have been and now we are adding the Canadian Parcs to it. It is not as prevalent here as they are always excited when we ask, some even saying they have never seen the stamp itself. We are gathering quite a collection.

Protecting Quebec City

The young girl also gives us a booklet for a self-guided tour through the fort. There were a series of 3 forts built on Levis and they were designed to protect Quebec City. They forts ramparts all face away from the St Lawrence River and out to the surrounding countryside. They were meant to stop approaching land armies from reaching the river. If they were captured the British had a bead on them from the Citadelle in Quebec and would destroy them. That is why they were not fortified with large walls on the river side of the fort. Our extra history lesson complete, we drive back to our BNB, walk to the ferry and take our last ride over to the city.

Important Conference

We wander near an encampment that is part of the New France festival. All the parts are in French so we can get the gist of what they are explaining but not the actual history or how to information. We walk around and then head to the port where there is a market. It is mostly arts and crafts in the first two tents and then a farmers market with fruits and vegetables, cheeses, etc. in the last building. A cruise ship is in town and so there are plenty of cruise people buying souvenirs.

Happy Happy

We leave the market and surprise, surprise, we have to climb up hill. We climb up a new street and steps into a quiet part of town. Then we wind our way to a more main street where we have been before. It is just coincidence that it takes us to a place where Carol had spotted a chocolate cake with her name on it. We get a slice to share for lunch as we have early dinner reservations at 4:30 PM. Cake Mission complete, we wander around fairly aimlessly just soaking up the ambience and beautiful day. We walk through the Saint Louis gate and down the Grand Allee where there are many shops and restaurants with outdoor patios. They are filled with people.

CNC Quebec Beer

We stop in a bar called L’Inox that is the oldest in the city, established back in the 1600’s. It is modern inside with artistic posters of Frank Zappa, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, some French singer, and others. They brew their own beer and we try a red which is very tasty. We savor a drink together and the air conditioning for a while but then we must go as we have about a half hour walk to our restaurant.

Roast Rabbit Breast

We make it to the Lapin Saute right on time. The specialty here is Lapin, which is rabbit. Carol has had rabbit when she was growing up but I have never tried it. We order two different rabbit dishes and a French Onion Soup as a starter. The soup comes and looks good with an aged Charlevoix cheese melted on large homemade croutons. We finish it before realizing that we did not take a picture. Our meals come shortly after and we share our plates. I ordered a rabbit pot pie with a fresh chutney and salad. Carol has Rabbit Breast with two sauces, green beans and bacon, and potatoes. They are both good and no they, do not taste like chicken.

Sauvagine Cheese Dessert

For dessert, we try something different, a warm Sauvagine cheese with maple blueberry compote. I am not sure that rabbit will be something that I would crave as I found it tasty nut not out of this world good. Our meal complete, we pay and then realize that we can make the 6:00 P.M. which leaves in about 8 minutes. We are only a short 5 minute walk, not run, away and get there with 3 minutes to spare. We watch Quebec fade as we sail across the river. We have enjoyed our time here. Tonight, we just relax in our room and organize our stuff for the next leg of our journey. One more 3 course breakfast and we will be on the move again.

Expenses                                                                                                                                        Gas 54 CAD                                                                                                                                 Chocolate Cake 7 CAD                                                                                                                    2 Beers at L’Inox Brewpub 14.65 CAD                                                                                  Dinner at Lapin Saute 85.08 CAD                                                                                         BNB 125 CAD