It's Tuesday, so it must be Québec!

Today we were up and out into the rain.  Our first day of rain of our holiday (yes, I'm touching wood!).    We then drove a few hours to the city of Québec.  (You're in luck, lots of photos today!)  We drove through the modern part of the city, then entered through the original city gates (it still has an intact city wall) into the older part of the city.  Wow--so cute!  Looks just like a small European village.   Just adorable. (And everything is still in French, not so adorable.) After driving around the whole old town looking for a parking spot, we finally found one near the ramparts where the children played around the old cannons.

Anneliese, ready to fire cannons!

Shelby, laughing too hard to defend the city!

Then we walked around this thoroughly charming village.  In between the buildings, the Hôtel Chatêau Frontenac looms over the rest of the area.  It is from the age of the Grand Hotels.  It is built on the site of the former Chatêau Saint-Louis, right on the St. Lawrence Seaway.  We walked to it and walked around the main floor, but didn't dare to go up the elevators, someone surely would have stopped us!  We were already getting a few suspicious glances walking around the lobby taking pictures.  On a pop culture note, the chautêau was one of the main locations in Rick Riordan's book The Lost Hero, one of the Percy Jackson books.  It was the home of Boreas, Greek god of the North wind.  (courtesy of Wikipedia).  

The hotel from several blocks away.

Chautêau Frontenac

The interior courtyard of the hotel.

The lobby

One end of the lobby, leading up to meeting rooms.

The doors into the lobby from the courtyard.

Joshua, standing in front of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

We went into some of the shops and into, of course, another Notre Dame cathedral (every French city has one!).    Joshua has an interest in cathedrals and churches--from a completely aesthetic, architectural interest, not religious.  So we go into many churches we may never have gone into otherwise!  This was very pretty, but not extraordinary.

Inside the cathedral

Just a pretty sculpture with the painted stars behind it.

We continued to walk up and down and around the old town.

A magical looking Christmas shop.  Not as touristy as most are.
It actually had some very nice things.

Part of the lower town.

Three wet, wandering tourists.

When we were completely wet, we drove a few hours to our hotel.  The distance was to help make tomorrow's time in the car that much shorter, although it will be very long anyway.  Well, we have the final 9 chapters of Anne of Green Gables to finish and Anneliese and Shelby used Shelby's iTunes credits to purchase more of Cabin Pressure (the BBC radio program), so we'll have that to listen to as well.  Add in books and naps and a few well-timed toilet/snack breaks and we're set!