Quebec City - Road Scholar Signature City - June 2019

Quebec City Canada - Road Scholar Signature City - June 2019

My experience in Quebec City was so compelling that I was inspired to capture some of  my personal favorite highlights below

Chantal, our Group Leader.
  Somehow she was always
 there to get us across the street.

The Road Scholar group!

An adventure!  We were feeling adventurous as we traveled up the "old Canada" road through Maine to Quebec City.  We started reading the plaques at the rest areas explaining how this road was often used by Quebecois traveling via foot to Maine for work in the lumber industry.   As we drove we listened to a book - "Champlain's Dream" and shared our amazement at his courage, vision, and determination to establish Quebec City. (He crossed the Atlantic 27 times in his lifetime!)   Feeling slightly less adventurous than prior generations we found our first challenge after entering the only walled city in North America.  Unable to find a suggested parking lot on our own, our Group Leader, Chantal, who I would soon learn could take care of 30 Road Scholars all at once, was good enough to hop in my car and take me to the spot and remind me all week long that I was in spot E61!  Our "adventure" at least by this century's standards was underway.

Notre Dame Balica

We meet Francois on our first morning for a brief lecture and he tells us that discovery occurs when a prepared mind meets with surprise.  He prepares us for what we'll see in upper Quebec City, and soon we begin to understand how Quebec's European ambiance developed and why it and the French language persevere.  Since the time of the fur trade in the early 1600s the French, British, Catholic and the Church of England have taken turns controlling the City in various ways.   Francois encourages us to look up while touring the city and note the French "chateau-style" where the roof is always visible and then note the contrasting  British style on adjacent buildings.  We see the yellow Scottish bricks and learn that they were loaded into vessels as ballast for the voyage to America, only to be loaded with Canadian wood for the return to Europe.   Inside the first American Catholic Basilica north of Mexico City, we are overwhelmed by the beauty and power of the church.  We walk across a small plaza, and by the town hall into the Holy Trinity Church built by the English.   The beauty of this church is much more subtle than the Catholic Church and Francois invites us to notice how this interior feels compared with the catholic Church.  He shares a  story about his Catholic mother who wouldn't even walk on the same side of the street as a non-Catholic church.   We begin to see and appreciate the power of the Catholic church all those years ago in Quebec City.

The most bombarded city in North America:  In 1759, the British invade and take over Quebec City and decree that English will be spoken and they severely limit the rights of French Catholics.  Soon after, Massachusetts citizens threw tea into the Boston Harbor, greatly scaring the British and they worried that the same rebellion could happen in Quebec City.   They enact the Act of Quebec which says, speak whatever language you want and practice whatever religion you want, but just don't rebel against the King of England.  And so while the British controlled Quebec City for many years, French is the first language for 99%, but while the vast majority would tell you they are catholic, only 6% of Quebec City still actively practice.

Chantal got me in trouble
with the waiter on the right.  But it
was worth it to have this photo!

Lower town:  On our second day we learn that in Quebec City, your wealth and power was always dictated by how high you lived in the city.  The lower town was for the Irish and the "Canadians" who were considered lower class.  We learn about the uncontrollable fires that have raged in a city that tries stay warm through six months of winter!

Ursuline Convent and Museum:  Late on our second day, our group was a bit fatigued after our walk to the lower town in the morning and bus ride along the fields of Abraham in the early afternoon, but we still had one more stop!  The Ursuline Museum tells the story of a convent and school that opened in 1639.  As we looked at a photo of the side-by-side beds in a room where the girls slept we could only imagine the cold feeling of being awoken at 5:30 each morning by the Sister ringing the hand bell on display in the middle of the room.  The girls were expected to stay silent and prepare for their day of classes.  The school became very prestigious and in the mid-1800s the school was one of the first to eliminate any form of physical punishment and practiced to make sure all students were treated equally.   A wonderful photo exhibit captures the nuns (average age of 88) in their final year in the convent (2017).  The school still operates as a private school today.

Chateau Frontenac - with Funicular to get
you up/down to lower town

The Morin Center:  Early Friday morning we visit the Morin Center.  Many in our group have read the suspense series written by Louise Penny where one of the books, Bury Your Dead takes place at the school.  The former prison from the 1800s was ultimately turned into a school.  The lower levels have been preserved in the form of a prison and many of us comment that we feel somewhat ill just standing in one of the higher security cells.  Some of the stories of the prisoners are surprisingly humorous, but others are chilling.  The school library on the top floor is small and beautiful with its own set of engaging anecdotes to delight us.

Anyone could have a wonderful time walking the quaint streets of Quebec City and visiting the outdoor cafes, but the program brought me to places that I never would have visited on my own and helped me appreciate and understand how the city became what it is today.  I may have to find a reason to return in the winter to this fun city.

Quebec City's Empire State towers at left.
First stone set on October 29, 1929!  Yikes!
Robert explains the statue celebrating the many
circus acts you see in Quebec.  Cirque de Soleil started here.

Francois shows us the French style on left
and British style on right.

Suzanne is telling Rick he's got it right!

A Macaroon Sampling for the group!

Hanging out in the lower town

The Chateau!

From our ferry cruise.

The first stone of Edifice Price.  Ominous date!
Note dedication to lumber worker at right.
The building was initially built for a lumber company

Chantal and Champlain
I'm not sure who loves Quebec City more!
Thank you Chantal!