Bonjour! It's Quebec City!

I loved Quebec City! The second stop of our trip to Canada.  We stayed in this cozy B&B on the main street that leads into Old Quebec City.

We parked that car we rented at the Montreal airport and
walked everywhere! 

Old Quebec City is a walled city with beautiful architecture, parks and cobblestone streets.

 The weather was 70-80 degrees.  Perfect for dining in the sidewalk cafes.

Situated on the banks of the St. Lawrence. Part of the city overlooks the river and part is down below on the rivers edge. Lots of stair climbing!

Art above the streets!

Many fur shops.  It must get awful cold here in the Winter.

 If I had audio you would hear this lovely harp music.  Not sure why Joe has his finger in his ear.

 Did I mention we walked everywhere?  This is day number four of walking 6, 7 hours a day. I had blisters on my little toes and on both heels. Don't buy new shoes before a trip, no matter how good the shoes! Band-aids were applied.

 Beautiful statue of Champlain at the riverfront. I don't know that happy guy, but apparently Quebec City does that to people. : )

 Inside the walled city is the Citadel, a functioning Canadian military fort. We just missed the changing of the guard. There they go!

Guard on duty outside the gates of the Citadel.

Here's Joe displaying his guard expression. Flip flops!! He's out of uniform!

 Did I mention we walked miles on this trip. At this point I gave up shoes and went back to the B&B to get my pink flip flop shower shoes. What a relief! Now, I'm waiting on JOe to catch up.

 Let Go, Joe! This is great! NO more shoes rubbing on my poor little blisters.

There were many beautiful art galleries in Quebec City. Friendly gallery owners, but weren't keen on my camera. Wish I could share with you. We had great fun exploring galleries.

 All I have is a peek inside this window.

 Yep, it's hilly here! More walking. Exploring for food and french bread especially.

 We found this fabulous market where we ate lunch.

 Joe checking out our options.

 Yummy veggies. Signs all in French. I learned more French than I thought I would.

 We settled for this beautiful french loaf and smoked salmon. We shared a table with a lovely traveling couple from Chicago.

Back to the city and more walking. Flip flops are doing great! Check out this paving. Looks wavy, but it's perfectly flat. An optical illusion.

 Imagine the rest of the ship buried under the ground.

 Around the corner and look what we see.
The biggest example of trompe l'oeil I have ever seen!

 A closer look...

Hard to know what is real and what is paint.

 I wish I could have seen it in progress.

 Into an older section of town this man was announcing something exciting in French! He was having a fine time.

 So, Joe decided to join him! HAH!

 Busy Summer tourist season. That's the top of the monstrous Hotel Fontaine in the background.

 Inside one of the many Catholic churches in the city.

 A tribute to mariners.

 OH, Fudge, indeed. Check out this clever packaging! Fudge Sausages. Fits perfectly in one's suitcase.

 Did I mention there were lots of stairs in Quebec City?

 Eeeee Gads! There's more?

Almost to the top. Whew!

 A big pay off! Beautiful Battlefield Park along the St. Lawrence.

 This is a residential area adjacent to the historic park. What a place to live! And within walking distance to the historic city.

 In the middle of the garden...a statue of Joan of Arc.

 Heading toward the high river bank we found an old military watchtower.

 A view of the opposite side. You can see the settlement on the bluff, as well as below, on the river. That staircase is a killer.

One last view of the battlefield before calling it a day.
Next stop is Trois Rivieres for the the Grand Prix!!! 
I'll post next week. What a great town with a love for art and an extraordinary enthusiasm for auto racing. Here's a preview....  Some very interesting art .....

 and hanging out with the APR race team for the Grand Prix Race! Zoom Zoom Zoom! Crash!

 I hope you all are enjoying a beautiful Fall season. Until next time...
Love and all good things,
Ronnie

Catching up

For more than a week we've been without home land-line phone or internet service.  It wasn't too bad, actually.  I was able to miss all the political robo-calls and calls from pushy volunteers in the days prior to the mid-term election this week.  What an ugly, mean-spirited election it was again, too.  Such a shame that so many adults haven't learned to play well together. 

Most importantly, being off-line for a week has helped me focus on what I really want from my life from here on.  More than ever, I realize that I am a bleeding heart liberal.  AND PROUD OF IT!  I feel much better when I can let my kindness and caring shine.  Caring isn't a weakness - it makes us ALL stronger.

"Kindness is the language

that the deaf can hear

and the blind can see."

~ Mark Twain

I've been shifting direction in many ways for quite some time, years really.  But now's the time to finally rid myself of as many remaining toxic things in my life as possible.  Attitudes, people, food, habits, everything. This will scare some people away, and that's OK.

"To be nobody but yourself

in a world which is doing its best,

night and day,

to make you everybody else

means to fight the hardest battle

which any human being can fight;

never stop fighting."

~ e.e. cummings

I'm opening myself up completely to everything positive.  Eating only what truly nourishes, exercising, focusing on what is good and meaningful and important to me.  And most importantly, seeking out like-minded people to share the rest of my time on earth with.

I know that I'm not able to change the world, but I can change my little part of it and make it the best possible place to be for me.

"The universe is full of magical things

patiently waiting

for our wits to grow sharper."

~ Eden Phillips

Blown away

Due to a storm with very strong winds, I've been having some technical difficulties.   But I'll be back soon.