It wasn't until a couple of years ago when I became interested in visiting Quebec (pronounced Kee-bec).  There was a feature about it on 60 minutes one Sunday night and after that program, I knew it was one place I wanted to see for myself one day.  Well, I finally made it to Quebec last July 2010.  It was very French alright.  If Montreal struck me as one French looking city, Quebec looked like one little French town.

On the fourth day of our vacation to the French speaking part of Canada, Marc and I woke up early, way before all of the City of Montreal even woke up, and checked out of the Travelodge Hotel on Rue Levesque and headed to the train station in the basement of the Queen Elizabeth Fairmont Hotel to catch the Rail Canada train to Quebec.

What struck me most was the similarity of the Canadian countryside to the East Coast of the USA.  Upon arrival in Quebec, our hotel was just a short walk from the train station.  We booked a few nights at Quebec's very first hotel called The Clarendon and we were very, very pleased with our choice.  Given that it was the city's very first hotel, it was therefore very historic replete with old world elegance.  It was right smack in the city center making sightseeing truly easy.

Here is a view of the Clarendon Hotel.  It was actually right in front of Quebec's City Hall.  We arrived before 12 noon that day and as is customary in many hotels, the hotel employees could not check us in til 2 pm.  So we left our bags with the concierge and took a walk around town to kill time.  I remember us being hungry so we went and looked for a place to eat.  We ended up having brunch in MacDonald's.  It was pretty cool being asked for our order in French.  Just like in Paris, I say.

From there we went to Simons Department Strore to exchange the necklace I bought at their Montreal store.  It turned out the necklace I bought for my niece as a gift for our Christmas trip to Manila later that year was broken.  Luckily, the store gladly exchanged it without any problems.  We walked around some more to get an idea of the lay of the land, passing by churches, cathedrals, museums, stores, and very expensive restaurants.  One impression I got was how expensive food was in Quebec.  Very, very expensive.

Shortly before 2 pm, we returned to the hotel to find out if we could already check in and luckily we could.  We left our bags in the room, freshened up a bit, and began our adventure.

We started our walk outside the city center and ended up at a plaza where the Palais Mont Calm was located.  It was where many hotels were located as well.  We were about to book our stay at the Marriott as it was right there by the city gates.  Not very far from town at all.  It was still quite central.

A beautiful monument called the Muses in front of the Palais Mont Calm.

See the Courtyard by Marriott in the background to the left.  That's where we originally planned to stay instead of the Clarendon.

We checked out many Tripadvisor reviews and opted for what we thought was a more centrally located hotel.  Honestly though, given the very small size of Quebec City, practically any hotel or B & B is centrally located.  This we found out after the trip. Athough we eventually didn't stay in the Courtyard by Marriott, this hotel, one of our favorite American chain of hotels will definitely not disappoint.

The YMCA Hotel.  I like the design!

The Palais Mont Calm just outside the city walls.  It is a venue for many French language revues and shows.  In fact, I took this shot from atop a part of the city walls that surrounded the center of Quebec.

A closer view of the theater's facade

This tower was very close to the plaza where the Palais Mont Calm was.  As soon as you walk up the stairs and enter through its door, you can begin your walk on the walls.  I believe this is called the

Fort St. Louis as it is the gate right on Rue St. Louis.

We walked on these walls right on our first day in Quebec

A partial view of  another tower along the fortification or wall.

A view of the same tower farther up on the fortification or wall.

Since the tiny city of Quebec is surrounded by its old fortifications or walls, a walk on them inevitably provides a view of the city proper within.  This shot was taken exactly on top of the city wall.

This is Rue St. Louis.

Here I am with another view of the center of the City of Quebec in the background while walking right along on the fortifications or walls.

A partial view of the St. Lawrence River on a hot muggy day.

After a walk on the walls, comes the walk along the promenade.

And a walk on the promenade begins from this gazeebo.

The two green barriers you see in the background aim to prevent people from riding their bikes on the promenade.

Marc on the promenade by the St. Lawrence River

Keep walking, keep walking.  The promenade is long and it goes up and down, up and down.  Isn't that view of the river and the harbour of Quebec lovely?

Marc and I actually walked on the walls without really knowing where they were leading us to. Little did we know it was a way to reach the Chateau Frontenac.

The Chateau Frontenac

Here I am a few yards away from the Chateau Frontenac.

The promenade leads you to one of Quebec's most famous sights, the Chateau Frontenac.  It's actually a hotel belonging to the Fairmont group of hotels.  It's very pretty.  The irony of it all is that we found eating here in this upscale hotel cheaper that eating in many of the city's restaurants.  We had a lovely buffet lunch here on our very last full day of vacation in Quebec.  Had I known I was going to be blogging a year later, I would have taken pictures of the restaurant and uploaded pictures of the dishes.  Well, next time.

We went inside the famous Chateau Frontenac and toured its public areas.  There were lots of people inside.  Mainly tourists.  The hotel offered a tour of the Chateau and we decided to take it at a later time.

Different views of the Chateau Frontenac

The main entrance to the chateau

A view of the buildings that comprised the chateau

A clock right on top of one of the chateau's roofs.

An arch

Another view of the Chateau Frontenac

A few feet away from where the present day Chateau Frontenac sits, the ruins of the original Chateau can be found.  It wasn't built as a hotel from the beginning.

This is the site of the original chateau. All that's left are the ruins which people can visit up close.

Next on our list was a visit to the Parliament of Quebec.  It was a bit drizzly that afternoon and we figured it was the best time to visit the parliament then as the tour was indoors.  We joined a big group of tourists, 99% of whom were Canadians from all over Canada.

The Parliament of Quebec

In front of the Parliament of Quebec

Now, off to the Parliament Tour.