Today's been great. We began with a delicious breakfast overlooking Chateau Frontenac, being serenaded by a harpist outside the cafe. Could this place be any cuter?! The weather had indeed cleared and the torrential rain was replaced by sunshine and blue skies, so we took a quick tour of the city again to retake some of the photos in a nicer light. Then it was time to check out of the Clarendon and head to our next stop, Tadoussac.
We decided pay a visit en route to Canyon Ste. Anne and we were very pleased we did. It's a very picturesque canyon covered in multi-coloured trees (fall is a bit more advanced this far north), with a spectacular waterfall, much higher than Niagara. It was also really well set up for visitors, with several lookouts to get the best views and some large footbridges going across the river rapids too. A great place to stop for a couple of hours, and one which resulted in a few hundred more photos on our memory cards!
We headed on further east across southern Quebec, roughly following the northern shore of the St Lawrence river. The scenery was just awesome all the way, with hills, forest and views of the river and various lakes lining the route. Eventually we reached St Catherine's Bay and caught the free ferry across the mouth of Saguenay Bay, which took 5 minutes to transfer us to Tadoussac on the other side. We checked into the lovely Maison Gauthier and then went further into the small town for a delicious meal at Cafe Boheme. I was very pleased that the native French-speaking, Swiss waitress couldn't tell where we were from, and said my French was very good. Hoorah!
It was dusk when we got here so we haven't seen much of the place yet, but needless to say it looks very spectacular - Tadoussac bay is meant to be one of the world's most beautiful bays. Fingers crossed that the weather forecast is accurate and it stays clear for our Zodiac whale watching trip in the morning. Better get to sleep - we have to be at the meeting point for 8am! I'm so excited that we might see whales tomorrow. Hope we're not disappointed!
Dx
PS notes for regular blog commenters:
@Patti:
No, Milton Keynes is not a lovely place, actually it's one of the unloveliest places in the UK. Another town that was planned all in one go, much like Ottawa, but unlike your lovely capital it was built in the era that taste and style forgot. Still, if you have friends there it would make a great base to explore some of the nicer parts of England like London, Oxford and Stratford upon Avon.
And watch that Big Terry - I suspect he doesn't live in Milton Keynes, probably rather further north (though all distances are tiny in the UK compared to Canada), and very likely works for a company called Jaywing. I'd recognise that sarcasm anywhere. And he said naturist (ie nudist), not naturalist.
@Big Terry: you won't believe it, how's this for another coincidence?...the tap in the bathroom at our accommodation in Tadoussac has a dodgy tap, just like the one in our bathroom before we refitted it about 5 years ago. What are the chances?!
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