A few months ago I told my Grandma “Woman, go get your passport renewed because we’re going on an adventure!!” which she lovingly responded with a snarky “Okay, child of mine”. So before I even begin to talk about Quebec I just want to share with y’all my reasons why I chose it as well as the bond between my Grandma and I.
First off, my Grandma raised me my entire life, and the one time when I was in middle school my Dad and I convinced her and my Grandpa to go to Niagara falls for the wedding anniversary. As my Grandpa grumbled throughout the process of getting a passport my Grandma could hardly contain her excitement. When they came back they told me how magical the trip was for them and the whole time I was trying to suppress my envy, I guess even when I was in middle school I knew that I was going to travel.
Fast forward 10+ years and you get to an age where you realize you don’t always have as much time with your loved ones as you think. That’s why I wanted to take my Grandma back to Canada, I wanted to give her a new adventure so she could know that she’s still young enough, I mean she’s only 68, to do so many things and to enjoy the world and herself even though Grandpa isn’t around. I just want her to be able celebrate her life and the life they have built together.
I will say I didn’t get to explore as much I would’ve liked to in Quebec because we only had 2 days and my Grandma got tired since she failed to listen to her lovely physical therapist assistant granddaughter on how to prepare for the trip, but I still love her and adapted the trip to fit her needs. I met some awesome people in Quebec and would love to go back to visit them so when I do, I’ll update this post. Now we got all the real talk out of the way let’s pick up the pace and talk about our adventures in Canada.
Explore the Old Quebec
So as my boyfriend or any of my friends will tell you; I am very directionally challenged. I get so lost even with a map in my hand I get lost; but to me it’s fun, except when I have to be somewhere then it sucks ass but for traveling, its fun. It’s fun because it encourages me to explore more and it also lets me practice my map skills. Luckily the Air BnB we stayed at was a short walk to Old Quebec.
The wow factor for us right away was the wall that surrounded the entire city, which it should, it’s part of UNESCO world heritage sites and its the only citadel north of Mexico in North of America, RIP Jamestowne and your attempt at a wooden one. As we walked down into the upper part of the city we noticed how every shop was setting up for fall and just all the attention to detail in the shop windows. We also noticed that there were a lot of people my grandma’s age doing touristy things as well which I think made her feel more comfortable, so I recommend every take their grandparents or parents to Quebec City. We continued walking down streets, me with map in hand trying to pretend I know where I am going; she knows better because I inherited this trait from her. I mean we get lost in subdivisions that’s how bad it is, crying.
We also found this cute Christmas shop right next to the church in the upper area, my grandma and I love Christmas shops 🙂
Eventually we found the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac and ooo’d and ahh’d at its overall bougieness and imagined how nice it would be to stay there a night. To the people that can afford that, go ahead. The hotel is super nice on both inside and outside and has a super posh dining area open to the public. But we’re country AF so between the two of us we would be too scared to touch anything.
I would recommended using the hotel as a landmark because the center for tourism is right next to it, which I needed to find in order to figure out how to get to Montmorency Falls and needed to ask how to get to Quartier Petit Champlain, which was pretty much right behind it, seriously maps can’t help me.
Quartier Petit Champlain
Once we got there it was magical, this part of the lower city really made me feel like I wasn’t in North America anymore. I loved all the architecture, the cute shops, the windows again, and the umbrella display. I literally could not stop taking pictures. This area holds over 40 shops and restaurants as well as the Place-Royale and a Notre Dame Victories Church. The neighborhood is named after French Explorer Samual de Champlain who founded Quebec City in 1608, the area also brags that it is the oldest commercial district in North America. Yeah I am a history nerd it’s just so cool -fangirling-
Montmorency Falls
Luckily our Air BnB was close to the main bus line and near the corner store that sells bus tickets so it was super easy getting there. We went during the middle of the day during the week so the bus wasn’t too crowded but coming back it was packed. We took the 800 bus from Quebec city and the bus ticket round trip was around $6-8 CAD, yeah I fail I’m writing this a month after we left so I can’t remember exact price, lesson learned will take hella notes for future adventures. Montmorency is the last stop on the 800 line and it takes you to the top of the falls, there is also a convenience store at that bus stop so if you forgot anything you can grab it there.
The falls are really an alluring place, that is also home to a tragic love story and ghost story. The white lady of Montmorency falls tells a story about a couple during the French and Indian War. The white lady’s fiance was called away to fight in the war while they were making arrangements for their wedding day. Tragically, her beau died in the battle of Montmorency and she grieved over her loss for a year. A year later she wore the wedding dress that she never got to show him and threw herself into the falls, the legend also states that her body was never recovered.
While we were there my grandma and I enjoyed the outdoor art exhibit that told use the story of the white lady as well as showed us little descriptions of the story previously mentioned of the white lady.
After exploring the outside of the park there is restaurant that serves your basic food, we didn’t eat there because we did not know about it so I can’t really comment on the quality of food but, they had a balling gift shop, like they legit had everything however they were on the pricey side.
Since I really didn’t want to change the 400+ steps with my grandma to get to the bottom of the falls we rode the lift down, which cost about ~$15 CAD round trip. They also have a zipline there but that is way too adventurous for someone who was scared to walk over the suspension bridge, but my Grandma could’ve done it without batting an eye… probably.
Next Time I Visit
The weather wasn’t really on our side while we were in Quebec City due to Hurricane Florence catching up to us which kinda impeded what we could do, thanks Florence. But, it’s whatever because I still had an amazing time and created a lot of fun memories with my Grandma!! I wished we could have rode the fairy that went around Quebec City just so we could have enjoyed more views without walking and I also wished we could’ve gone to a winery or something but like I said it just gives me more reason to go back and visit the friends I made there as well.
Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed! What are some of your favorite places to go in Old Quebec?
