Robot Claw

We had booked the first train to Quebec City from Montreal, and had to wake before dawn to make it. The train was very comfortable, with spacious airline-style seating, and the trip was smooth and relaxing.

I’m taking Bernard’s comment from the other day to heart and today’s blog will feature only ‘street photography’ in accordance, I’m sure, with his exacting standards 🙂

We arrived at Montreal just after 9, and since nothing had been open when we left Montreal the first order if the day was breakfast. I’ll illustrate the event in a ‘visual tone poem’:

Quebec City has an old section inside a wall and up on a hill and our hotel – the Chateau Frontenac – is right at the top. Even so, it was a relatively easy walk up to the hotel from the station through the picturesque streets of old city.

And the hotel itself! Here’s the first you see of it:

And a couple of other views:

It’s 120 years old, absolutely massive and (obviously) built to resemble a classic European castle. Our room is large and comfortable, and the hotel sits atop a cliff with incredible views of the St Lawrence river. According to a plaque, it is the most photographed hotel in the world!

It’s also one of the most expensive I reckon! Ignoring for a moment the (ugly) $12075 sculpture of a violin in the gift shop, take a gander at this ‘fridge’:

It’s pre-stocked with all manner of beverage and if you drink any a charge is added to your bill. A can of soda? $4.25! A can of beer? $9! The total price if you drink everything (and eat the snacks as well)? $328.25 🙂

After dumping our stuff we went out and explored the near bye area, including a fort and a field upon which a historic revolutionary war battle occurred. Eventually we ended up in lower city at the base of the cliff on which stands Frontenac.

The rest if the day was – if you can believe it – spent relaxing! Here’s Jim snoozing the afternoon away:

I went exploring and found some old cosplayers in the hotel foyer…

A handsome horse just outside…

And a ‘Caramilk’ bar that I speedily shoved down my gulliver…

Later on I did some shopping (more postcards mostly), some eating, some watching of TV and then – after dark – a walk on the promenade. Here I saw a great acrobat show:

And a very large and very impressive castle-hotel looking beautiful with the lights on:

Tomorrow we’re going to visit the great outdoors…

This entry was posted on Friday, August 9th, 2013 at 10:22 pm and is filed under Art, Family, Food, Miscellaneous, Trip. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.