Fortunately my mozzie-bitten arm is not too bad now - still swollen but not as uncomfortable after another night of rest. We packed, checked out of our hotel and grabbed a quick breakfast in nearby Place de la Ville. We had intended to go to the Museum of Nature but as time was running out we decided to skip it in favour of exploring the city sights some more. This was our first overcast day but it was still very hot, making it VERY humid. Yuk. We walked past the National Arts Centre and a park with various statues celebrationg Canada's native population, then headed down to the locks one more time for yet more photos. Stu spotted an identical sculpture to one on the Birmingham University campus where he works - I'd been thinking it was about time for another spooky coincidence! We headed past the war memorial before grabbing a sandwich for the road and setting off for Quebec.
We were over the border in no time at all and said farewell to Ontario for the next 8 nights. We stopped at the Quebec information centre, scoffed our lunch and headed towards Montreal. Unfortunately, the traffic was pretty heavy so it took us a long time to cross the island. One thing I am rather missing from home is the radio - I miss the BBC! We haven't brought any CDs with us so we're relying on a variety of radio stations which seem to vanish as soon as we find them and few are really our cup ot tea! Once out of the city we made quick progress again, and the kilometres flew by as night fell.
Nearing Quebec City it was a different story as we found ourselves getting rather lost. It's not an easy city to navigate (would it be too much to ask for a sign pointing us to 'centre-ville'?). When we got into Vieux Quebec the roads are marked by the tiniest little signs about 12ft above the ground and almost impossible to read. Though we were tired and harrassed we did still manage to take in our surroundings and appreciate just what a beautiful city it is and how lucky we were with our hotel's location - Hotel Clarendon is right in the middle of Vieux Quebec, overlooking Chateu Frontenac.
We finally found the hotel about 9pm - another late arrival, which rather scuppered our evening plans. It was our 8th wedding anniversary and we'd hoped to celebrate with an extra-special meal, but we put those plans on hold til the 23rd. Instead we had a quick meal and drinks in a European-style pub (typically European in one respect at least - the service was terrible compared to what we've come to expect in North America!) and headed off to bed. Not quite the anniversary we'd hoped for, with so much time behind the wheel, but Quebec promises to be a fab place to spend the next day or two.
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