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Wednesday, December 24
21 to 22 december - quebec city 1:35 AMOur short 2-night stint at Quebec City was initially greeted by a near-snowstorm, which admittedly dampened our spirits a lil' as we were rather apprehensive towards what to expect, and didn't quite know how to cope with the damp cold and snow-piercing drifts. I guess we were really getting tired of the weather somehow, and what made it worse was to realize we had yet 2 weeks more to put up with it. :(
Our 233km journey on the VIA Rail from Montreal - we finally took a Hwachongian picture! Haha.
A better hostel this time round, with a 6-bed mixed dorm all to ourselves. At least it's warmer, heh.
xx
Nevertheless, Quebec City was still a beautiful stopover for us, where we spent all our time exploring what's called "Old Quebec", one of the city's neighbourhoods and a renowned UNESCO-declared world heritage site. Generally speaking, Old Quebec refers to the historic area of interest which lies within the city's fort walls, and possesses much of the city's best architecture. The area exudes a distinct European feel with its stone buildings and winding streets lined with shops and restaurants; everything everywhere was just quaint yet rustic and aesthetically-pleasing.
Streets of Old Quebec
Left: check out the icicles hanging from the rooftops - I think they look like mini stalactites, haha.
Right: A "bar" made entirely out of ice. Speaking of ice structures, there is even a Hotel du Glace (Ice Hotel) in Quebec City which, as its name suggests, is a hotel made entirely out of ice..! We tried to visit that but were told it is currently non-existent cos it's rebuilt only every end-Dec and stays open for Jan-Apr (after which it melts down), haha. Interesting eh, and how cool too - accommodation is CAD 600 per night!
Brunch at Paillard le Boulangerie, known for its tantalizing array of breads and pastries, yummm.
Randomly sitting on a huge heap of snow right in the middle of the road, haha.
Old Quebec's sloping alleys
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Chateau Frontenac Hotel, Marche de Noel
Quebec City's skyline is dominated by the massive Chateau Frontenac Hotel, perched atop Cap-Diamant. It is apparently the most-photographed hotel in the world, and "Catch Me If You Can" starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks was also filmed here, haha.
The snow blanket looked so inviting that JS and I couldn't help but trudge in it ourselves, haha. The snow's really more than knee-deep though, I can even sink my body into it! Heh.. had a little bit of fun rolling about, but got all snow-covered, cold and dripping wet thereafter. :S
Chateau Frontenac is alongside the Terrasse Dufferin, a walkway along the edge of the cliff which offers beautiful views of the Saint Lawrence River - see the large floating pieces of thin ice!
Taffy on Snow, a local delight simply made by pouring boiling maple syrup over snow and rolling it onto a stick when frozen, something like 麦芽糖 though it's really much tastier, heh. To the right's a huge tobogganing slide, spans over a large distance though it ain't as steep as the one I tried in Winnipeg.
And this is for Vicki.. :)
A really huge fir tree - it's probably fascinating somehow to see "real" Christmas trees covered in "real" snow scattered all across town this year (compared to what we have back home)!
Marche de Noel, the country-styled Christmas market which sells all kinds of handicrafts and foodstuffs
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Petit Champlain
This is the highlight of our 2nd and last night in Quebec City, where we chanced upon Petit Champlain, a touristy yet amazingly beautiful area with quaint shophouses. We;d wanted to visit the area earlier in the day, but had trouble keeping to schedule (it was simply too cold we had to defrost indoors time to time to regain feeling in our fingers and toes), but it was a blessing indeed to have ventured here at night, just cos of its brilliant Christmas lightings and decor!
Some people contend that Christmas is over-commercialized with fake decor and lightings, and perhaps that is true to a certain extent. But I guess in a place where fir trees and hollies are 100% natural and every sight is just so amazingly beautiful, one just momentarily immerses himself into the Christmasy atmosphere and takes in the season's aura in awe. It was as if we were transported to a different fantasy world, a wonderland where only the present mattered - and it is probably in these moments that you'd wish the scene were complete with a close friend or loved one.. :)
P/S: I'd almost wanted to apply for Universite Laval for exchange initially, but was deterred by the decision cos I didn't have time to pick up French to be able to live in Quebec City. But imagine if Shuwen and I did apply for Laval together..! We'll be in a fairyland every day! Haha.
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Winifred Lim
Arthur V Mauro Residence, Box 436B
120 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg, MB R3T 6B3
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About me
You are an enthusiastic innovator, always seeing new possibilities and new ways of doing things. You have a lot of imagination and initiative for starting projects, and a lot of impulsive energy for carrying them out. You are stimulated by difficulties and are most ingenious in solving them. You can get so interested in your newest project that you have time for little else. Your energy comes from a succession of new enthusiasms and your world is full of possible projects. Your enthusiasm gets other people interested too.
Your feeling preference shows in a concern for people. You are skillful in handling people and often have remarkable insight into the possibilities and development of others. You are extremely perceptive about the attitudes of others, aiming to understand rather than judge people. You are much drawn to counseling and can be inspired and inspiring teacher, particularly where you have freedom to innovate. With talent, you can succeed in almost any field that captures your interest.
A difficulty for you is that you hate uninspired routine and find it remarkably hard to apply yourself to sometimes necessary detail unconnected with any major interest. Worse yet, you may get bored with your own projects as soon as the major problems have been solved or the initial challenge has been met. You may need to learn to follow through and finish what you have begun, but are happiest and most effective in jobs that permit one project after another, with somebody else taking over as soon as the situation is well in hand.
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