Day 8 and 9

Our next port of call (Tadusec) was cancelled due to weather and we went on to Quebec. We disembarked around 6pm and walked in the drizzle. We had dinner in a nice French bistro and walked back to the ship. The next morning we went out in the drizzle and found a 2 hour city tour. It was a nice break from walking in the nasty weather. After to tour we walked in the upper city and had a casual lunch, and then walked some more in the upper and lower city.  Total walking mileage for the day was 7.6. I (Bo) managed to do some clothes shopping – stuff that’s very different from what we can buy in California. Quebec is a very pretty town of about 500,000. The old city is pretty compact and walkable, but you have to be prepared to walk up and down a lot. It must be very pleasant and attractive during the summer when the weather is nice, the views are beautiful and there is a lot of outdoor activity. In the freezing drizzle and fog, it’s definitely less appealing. And we can’t imagine walking the steep cobblestone streets in the winter with snow and ice. They probably use tons of salt every winter, which (as our guide told us) lasts about 6 months. One amazing site we saw was a sled slide near the famous Frontenac hotel (supposedly the most photographed hotel in North America). The slide has been there since 1884 and it is 200 feet height, 800 feet long and you can sled at the speed of 44 mph.