“Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.” – Anatole France
Our second stop on Wednesday was Île d’Orléans, it’s located in the Saint Lawrence River about 3 miles east of Québec City. The island represents the tidal divide of the St. Lawrence, where fresh water begins to mix with the sea. Île d’Orléans was one of the first settlements for New France in the sixteenth century, and a large percentage of French Canadians can trace ancestry to early residents of the island. One road circles the perimeter of the island offering visitors a look back in time with historic homes and churches, vineyards, sugar shacks (maple syrup), delicious bakeries, fruit stands and drop-dead-gorgeous scenery.
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Sept. 19 – (Part II) Île d’Orléans, QC
Sept. 19 – (Part I) Montmorency Falls
“It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves – in finding themselves.” – Andre Gide
We left Québec City this morning and headed east to see Montmorency Falls (Chute Montmorency) and then the Île d’Orléans. This post will cover the falls…I’ll do another post for the island. The day started out dreary, windy and cool but began to clear as we enjoyed the falls.
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Sept. 18 – Old Québec, QC
“The pleasure we derive from journeys is perhaps dependent more on the mindset with which we travel than on the destination we travel to” – Alain de Botton
Our last day in Old Québec was cold and windy, not a good day to be outside, but it gave me a chance to do a little shopping. Since it was a dreary day and not a good day for taking pictures I thought I’d share more pictures from our first two days in Old Québec. I think we walked up and down every little cobblestone street (Rue) in town…at least once. I’m in love with this city.
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Sept. 17 – Old Québec, QC
It’s a pretty good life I’m living, you won’t hear me complain. I’m just hoping tomorrow I get to do it all over again. -Howard Livingston
Old Québec…what an amazing place to visit. I think we’d like to return and spend a month just hanging out at the little sidewalk cafés and wandering around at a slower pace. The city made all our senses think we’re in France, with the sight of winding cobblestone streets and century old buildings, the sound of French pleasantries, the taste of buttery croissants and the enticing smell of fresh-baked bread and amazing chocolate. It’s a little piece of Europe right here in North America.
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Sept. 16 – Old Québec, QC
“Love is the food of life, travel is dessert.” – Anonymous
Just a short blog today to let everyone know we left Montreal this morning and headed east. We arrived in Québec City around lunch and the weather is amazing…we’ve finally found some nice temps. It’s been crazy hot up here and in upstate NY lately. We had a wonderful day wandering around Old Québec. I will give more details (and pictures) when I have time. For now here’s a look at the place we’re staying and Stan’s birthday dinner.
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Sept. 15 – Montréal, QC
Québec Adventure
Thousand Islands Lighthouses
I’ve enjoyed taking pictures of lighthouses since we left Texas in 2011. I have a lighthouse map and an online photo album with 267 lighthouses that I like adding new lighthouses to. The past year or so I haven’t seen too many new lighthouses, but our trip to the 1000 Islands gave me a chance to collect a few more.
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Thousand Islands Boathouses
The Webster Dictionary’s definition for boathouse is simple: a shed at the edge of a river or lake used for housing boats. In the Thousand Islands they take their boat houses a little more serious than that and some are over a century old built as lavish retreats on their own, with bedrooms, dining rooms, fireplaces and even ballrooms. Grand boathouses dotted the St. Lawrence River during its Golden Age when wealthy business barons owned fleets of vessels. Other boathouses are practical ports of call. Like every island, every boathouse has a story to tell.
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Aug. 25 – Thoroughbred Horse Racing
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” ―Mother Teresa
Early Saturday morning our friends from Oneonta called…they raise horses at their Waterhill Farm. One of their babies was running in a race at the Finger Lakes Racetrack and they wanted to know if we’d like to join them. Of course we wanted to! They picked us up in Baldwinsville and off we went for a day of fun at the racetrack. Finger Lakes Racetrack isn’t as fancy as Saratoga Race Track, that we visited last summer, but it sure was fun watching a horse run that our friends had raised.
