Summer 2024: Historic Quebec City and Montreal

The summer seemed to have passed by so quickly. I’m glad we had the chance to go to Quebec City and Montreal for a few days.

My older son built this Lego train with figures that resemble us.

It’s the boys’ first time to Quebec City and they were really excited about the train ride and seeing a very European city in Canada. It’s been 8 years since Christian and I were there and we were looking forward to going back.

We were treated to ride on Via Rail’s new Siemens train. The fleet just got replaced this year for the Windsor-Toronto-Quebec City route, also known as The Corridor.

When we left Ottawa, it was raining lightly. It was an unusually wet summer.

It’s a 6 hour ride from Ottawa. I love taking the train. It’s just a slower, better way to travel. The seats are spacious and comfortable. I settle in and watch the landscape, read and take a nap.

We arrive in Quebec City at the Gare du Palais train station. I have my custom Large Utility Tote with backpack straps option. I like to travel light, so this is a good size for a 4 day trip.

Old Quebec looks so different from any city you will find in Canada, a city steeped in history that looks like Europe. That’s because the French explorer, Samuel de Champlain founded this settlement in 1608. To this day, French is the predominant language spoken in the province of Quebec.

It consists of the Lower Town and the Upper Town. The walk up is a pretty steep path within fortified city walls.

Most of the buildings date to the 19th century, with some from the 17th and 18th. They are now beautiful art galleries, antique shops, boutique hotels and restaurants. There are still residents that live in Lower Town.

We were in Quebec City for 2 days and on the second day, we had some light rain. It was a good time to visit the Plains of Abraham Museum. It’s a museum dedicated to the battle between the French and British, during the Seven Years’ War, in which the British finally won.

Diorama of British soldiers preparing for battle.

My younger son, Nol, took this photo. He said this is the best museum he’s ever been to. I’ve brought him to art galleries and the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, but he wasn’t so interested. You never know what kids take to, so sometimes you just take them places and see if they like it.

As a bag maker and history enthusiast, I’m always interested in the bags soldiers carried. How were they made? What were they made out of? Did it have a specific use?

We loved going to Quebec City, but we also made time to stop in Montreal for a couple of days. We just took it easy; walked around downtown, Old Montreal and sat at cafes.

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