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Today's Travel News
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
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Quebec City - A Step Back in Time
(Part One of a Three-Part Series on Quebec City)
By Judi Janofsky & Rich Steck Several years ago, we spent a few days in Quebec City. It was in the fall and the air was cool, crisp and delightful. Street performers were expressing their art on the large promenade that skirts the St. Lawrence River. And outdoor cafes flourished as customers enjoyed the last days of a fading summer. What is most apparent about the city’s Old Town (Vieux-Quebec) is that no matter where you walk history is your constant companion. The original fortified walls still surround the historic area. Houses dating back to the 17th century line cobblestone streets. Bronze statues of the city founders dominate park squares. And the river that brought explorer Samuel de Champlain to its shore continues to flow past the city with the same intensity it has for centuries. Standing guard over the city from its highest point is the grand and formidable 618-guestroom Chateau Frontenac. Like a fairy-tale castle, its towers and pinnacles soaring proudly over the ancient city below, the Frontenac dominates the horizon. For over a century, it has been a much-loved icon for the people of Quebec and Canada. While many of us may remember Champlain and his exploration of the St. Lawrence River from history books, it was actually Jacques Cartier, exploring the region for the king of France, that started the first colony here in 1535. But it didn’t survive long. The hostile environment forced him and his colonists back to France. It wasn’t until Champlain arrived in 1608 to establish a fur-trading center that the city we now visit today was founded. In February we ventured back to Vieux-Quebec with friends, this time to experience its annual Winter Carnival. It was by far one of the best trips we’ve ever had anywhere. Almost every day it snowed. The beautiful kind where real snowflakes seemed nearly as big as the plastic ones we hang on our Christmas trees. So white and thick that in minutes they re-covered the snow-plowed streets. Drifts on the sides of the roads were over our heads in places. And still it snowed. ...More
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