Quebec

Île Bonaventure Island and Percé Rock National Park: Percé, Quebec

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This was the first point in our trip that I was really overwhelmed and astounded by the natural beauty. I felt like we were part of a “National Geographic” expedition. The town of Perce is similar to Bar Harbor; very touristy. Perce Rock is unique and cool but the boat trip out to Île Bonaventure (Bonaventure Island) Migratory Bird Sanctuary is an experience of being embedded in wild nature. Don’t pass up the boat trip.

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Percé Rock (Pierced Rock)
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Taken from boat ride to Bonaventure Island
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Lobsters
We had a big Lobster Boil. Lobsters are delicious but a lot of work to get to the meat without the right hardware. We enjoyed having lobster pretty much whenever we wanted and at very reasonable costs. We were getting tired of it by the end of the trip.
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Video’s from boat and from hike on Bonaventure Island
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Northern Gannet’s nesting. Adults have about 70″ wingspan
Birds
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In 1971, everyone living on Bonaventure Island was evicted (about 36 family’s). Some of the homes are still there.
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Percé Rock from Bonaventure Island
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Boat captain pointed out that Percé Rock looks a bit like a “horse standing in the water, getting a drink”
Horse Drinking
Pizza
Soup

We went exploring little towns along the coast and found a wonderful little restaurant/craft shop. I ordered a pizza and Becky ordered chowder. Both were different than we expected but delicious. Pizza was brie cheese, bacon, and arugula. I wish I had a picture of Jennie’s grilled cheese sandwich. She generously let us taste a bite. Best grilled cheese we’d ever had. I was 67 years old when I learned there is something called “bacon jam”. Brie cheese and bacon jam make an amazing grilled cheese!

Québec City, Québec

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1893 Beautiful Le Chateau Frontenac Hotel (now a Fairmont brand) was one of the first Grand Canadian Railroad Hotels. It is in the ‘upper’ old town area. Roosevelt and Churchill met here in a secret WWII Conference August 17–24, 1943.
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Old homes surround the Joan-of-Arc Garden (Parc Jeanne d’Arc). This is a sunken garden area of the ‘Plains of Abraham’ where British and French fought. Interesting trivia: this garden is where the Canadian National Anthem (O Canada) was first played in 1884.
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Joan of Arc
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Sainte Anne De Beaupre Shrine (Basilica). We visited a couple weeks before Pope Francis came to speak with the local indigenous peoples/tribes. Tour guide said the whole area around Québec City was getting ready for the visit.
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Beautiful ornamental columns and capitals
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Artwork and ornamentation everywhere and lots of reference to indigenous peoples
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Séminaire de Québec 1663. Oldest educational institution in Canada. Love the simplicity of this entry.
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Fresque des Québécois in Old Québec’s Place-Royale. Mural illustrating some history of Old Québec.
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Notre-Dame-des-Victoires (Our Lady of Victories). There is a bigger Notre-Dame church on top of the hill. This second, smaller one was allowed for practical reasons because in winter it was too hard for clergy to get down the hill and too hard for invalids to get up the hill.
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One last pic of Le Chateau Frontenac Hotel