So far both Aiden and I have been very impressed with the cycling in Quebec. The province has a series of bike paths that connect the majour cities under the name "la Route Verte." There is a map book that you can by to accompany your journey along the paths that lists cyclist friendly accommodation and other things that interests cyclists: condition of the shoulder on the road (when the route goes on the highways) or things like elevation charts for hilly areas. I heard some bad stories about the roads in Quebec from some of the other cyclists I've run into that have done this trip, so far we haven't seen any of it, so we're hoping they took a different route...
On our way into Quebec City we ran into three different cyclists that went out of their way to help us. The first showed us the best way to get downtown, which happened not to be on la Route Verte, and the second and third both helped us to find our way to our first night's accommodation in Beauport. We were staying in two different places in Quebec City because it was next to impossible to find a place to stay and this wasn't the first time this happened on the trip. The first time it was hard for us to find a place was in Saskatoon, SK. The night we showed up was in the middle of a particle accelerator convention; I kid you not, that is what it was, and as a result most of the hotel rooms in the city were gone (Saskatoon, apparently, has the only particle accelerator in Canada.) The reason for the lack of hotel rooms in Quebec City was due to Paul McCartney performing on the Planes of Abraham for Quebec's 400th anniversary. I'm not much of a Beatles fan, and even less of a Paul McCartney fan. I saw him and his motorcade zipping around the city today, I wasn't impressed and wish I had my seal pelt on.
As a city, Quebec City is certainly beautiful. We spent most of out time walking around inside the city walls of Old Quebec City. It is like old Montreal, but much larger, and seems more genuine. It was definitely like visiting a well preserved European city, and gave me a good idea what it would have been like here a long time ago (something that is rare for a North American City.) There was quite a bit I couldn't see today because of Sir Paul and the security associated with his concert (bahhhh) so I think I'll be back.
3 comments:
I love Quebec City too, like you said, feels very European with the cobblestone streets and stuff.
Also, excellent seal hunt reference. haha
Hey, I grew up on Paul McCartney, but why was he invited to a "French' celebration - and he's not even Canadian!? And it is not like it was a Federal mandate - the Quebecois Committee invited him themselves! What, Celine was busy?
Sorry that Paul McCartney got in your way but I still like him. Besides the music I like his taste in boats. Although he could afford a motorized mega-yacht the size of a city block he sails a Sunfish. (And so do I.)
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