Quebec City
Back at our hotel we enjoyed the hot tub, overlooking the city, before bed. Being in Quebec felt similar to what I would picture Europe is like. We drove just six hours from home, and we were immersed in a different culture! Everyone spoke French, and all the streets in Old Quebec were made of cobblestone. Just being in a city is a different culture for Hunter and I (we enjoy it for a few days before we start to miss the mountains and the woods). Up on the roof of our hotel, we could see Quebec all lit up, and I felt pretty lucky to be able to experience a new country - even if it was just our next door neighbor!
The following day we did some more sightseeing… but first we had a slight problem to deal with. The previous day, when we noticed there might be issues with the car we called my dad and described the situation. He recommended we bring it to the closest Toyota dealership, which was right in the city. While we did this, he was online, researching the issue we had described to him. So, we set off to drop off the car, and then we ran from the dealership to the Aquarium du Québec. Running past the houses, we couldn’t believe how high the snow banks were! All the houses had a roof over their walkways because it snows so much that shoveling would take way too long! We had a blast at the aquarium. Although we did feel sad for all of the animals. From there, we took a taxi back to Old Town and headed to check out the parliament building. We took a tour which was very informative; it was interesting to learn more about another country’s government. I feel like my education was very US-centric.
We took a long walk around the Plains of Abraham and visited La Citadelle while we waited for the dealership to call us to come get the car. Throughout the trip, we encountered a lot of stone walls, archways, etc. All of which I wanted to photograph, and all of which Hunter wanted to climb. So we did both.
When we finally received the phone call about the car, they told us that we needed some part that would cost $2000! I called my dad and he told me his research had revealed that people who had similar problems in their prius were leaking brake fluid. So the dealership sent a car to pick us up, we opened the hood of the prius, and checked the brake fluid level. Sure enough, it was almost empty. We bought some from the dealership and refilled. The problem was gone! The only caveat was that the brake fluid was still leaking, so we would have to keep refilling the entire drive home. We were relieved to have a solution, and headed back to our hotel much less stressed.
Our final day in Quebec may have been the most beautiful. We started our morning at the Cochon Dingue restaurant, where we had delicious crepes! Then we visited Montmorency Falls, which is probably the biggest waterfall I had ever seen at the time. It was spectacular! We walked on the bridge over the top of the falls, and then drove around to the bottom. The river was frozen so you could walk right up to the base of the falls. As soon as we got close we could feel the mist, and soon we were both soaking wet. The power of the waterfall had created a dome at its base, and we hiked up on top of it. It felt like it was down pouring, but what a cool experience! The sun was out and it was a beautiful day. We continued our waterfall tour, making one last stop before we headed home. Chaudière Falls was completely frozen. I had never seen a frozen waterfall, and I was in awe. It was the perfect last stop on a wonderful first trip abroad!
Montmorency Falls
Chaudière Falls