Back to Quebec City

I promised you that, after I'd come home and finished the laundry, I'd share more about our great time in Quebec City last week.

The laundry's done.

FRANCOIS

What can we say about this city other than.....it's gorgeous (see photos,)  it's old (founded in 1608) and it's French.  One writer has called it charming with a dash of haughtiness.

On our second day there we arrived at our small tour bus to find a seriously handsome sophisticated guy with a dreamy French accent, dressed as a tour guide.  And his name is Franscois.  My first thought was, "I'll bet he has an interesting story."

Turns out he does.  He was a TV commentator for the Quebec City hockey team.  The team left town, and, as a life long (and, as it turns out, centuries old) Quebec City resident, Franscois didn't want to leave.  So he reinvented himself as a tour guide.

FUNICULAIRE

The city goes from the St. Lawrence River, straight up the side of a steep hill so, if you're game for it you can walk up the steps, and, if not, you can take the funiculaire (kind of like a ski lift.)  On our first day we took the funiculaire up and walked down.  Both fun.

The second level of the city has a spectacular boardwalk.

BOARDWALK

In the top photo - and, by the way, Dave took all of these photos except the first one - to the left, is a park called "The Plains of Abraham."  A famous battle was fought here.  The first time Dave saw it he asked the guide, "Does the name have a religious significance?"  The guide said, "No, it's just named after a guy named Abraham who owned the field."

DOWNHILL TO ST. LAWRENCE RIVER

FRANCOIS DOING HIS THING

But, of course, the crown jewel of Quebec City is the massive Chateau Frontenac Hotel.  If you want to stay there, book early.  It's everybody's favorite spot in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

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CHATEAU FRONTENAC HOTEL

Up East in Newport

The land was ours before we were the land's.  She was our land more than a hundred years before we were her people.  She was ours in Massachusetts, in Virginia, but we were England's, still colonials...
     From "The Gift Outright" by Robert Frost

This morning, as part of my two hours of reading, I re-read part of Robert Frost's poem from the Kennedy inauguration.  I was a big time Kennedy person.  For a short time, I believed in Camelot.  But, both before and after Camelot, I was fascinated by the Kennedy Clan.  Still am.

So I was excited when our cruise ship stopped at Newport, Rhode Island.  This is where John Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier were married on September 12, 1953.  As you can see, the plaque outside St. Mary's Catholic Church, tells us that this is the place.

Jackie spent much of her childhood in Newport at one of her parents' many homes.  I can understand why.  Newport is exquisitely beautiful.  Dave and I walked for miles.  I think we covered the entire town.

A couple of years after the Kennedy wedding, when I was attending Tech High School in Indianapolis, two brothers, both U.S. senators, came to Butler University to speak.  Any Tech students who were interested could attend.

I'm so happy I took advantage of that invitation and got to hear John and Robert speak, well before they became famous and well before Camelot.

Here are John and Jackie, along with Robert, Teddy and others, on their wedding day in Newport.  They absolutely had plans for their future but, as we all know now, they had no idea what what life had in store.



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The Go Along Spouse

As you know, I followed my husband, Ken, all over Florida.  When I was young, it was never even a question as to who the "Go Along Spouse" would be.  It's what women had been doing since time began.

But things have changed.  Twenty years ago, when my daughter graduated from law school, her husband moved with her to Atlanta where she accepted a job in a prestigious law firm.  Since then life has become way more complicated, but they're still compromising and they're both fantastic "hands on" parents to four children.

One of the best things on a cruise, for Dave and me, is getting to know other people.  Especially folks from all over the world.  Pictured here is a family that delighted us.  Almost every day we saw Steve and his son, 14 month old Thomas.  Whether they were in the Lido with Steve balancing plates of food on a stroller or around the pool where Thomas was everywhere, Steve seemed to be a happy, attentive, "hands on" dad.

And a good thing too because wife and mom, Laura, is the 4th officer, and the only woman,  on the bridge.  We were especially grateful for Laura's expertise as a navigator one afternoon.  Using instruments, she guided the pilot of our tender taking us to shore on a day when the fog was as thick as pea soup.

This beautiful family has been on the ship since January.  That's five months.  They plan to keep this up until Thomas starts to school.

Then they'll go home to the UK and Steve will get back to his career in environmental studies.

What an exciting plan!


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Quebec City

Fifteen years or so ago, when I whined a little bit about not being able to travel and maybe never getting to go to Europe, my friends would say, "Try getting to Quebec City.  It's the next best thing."

And I would think "Nice try - but Canada isn't France!"

And then, in my 60s,  with my darling companion (as June Carter Cash used to say) I did get to travel all over Europe and beyond and it's been everything I'd ever hoped for .

And now this trip to Canada!  This morning we woke up in Quebec City.  After breakfast we walked about four miles through the old city.  My friends were so right.  Old and French.  

We walked up hill to the Le Chateau Frontenac Hotel, opened in 1893.  Pictured here, it's huge.  Dave decided that instead of sleeping on the ship tonight he would get us a room in the hotel.  However, after inquiring about the cost, we decided not.  But it was fun to hang out in the lobby.  

We've booked a tour for tomorrow morning so we won't miss anything. 

Our cruise line, Holland America, goes all over the world but passengers have voted Quebec City the number one port of all.  I can see why.  

Tomorrow night we sail to Montreal.  We'll fly home on Monday.  After I do some laundry, I'll share with you some magnificent photos Dave took of Quebec City today.  It's just like being in Europe. 

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Ah, Wilderness

As Stefon on Saturday Night Live would say,

"This trip has everything!"

High winds, drizzle, 45 degree highs - tiny Canadian port towns - and last night's Broadway type show featured a flutist.  But we've had a good time.  Night before last we had dinner with a couple from Australia.  Last night we dined with a couple from Lake Mary, Florida - which is right up the road from where we live.

We're currently on the 12th day of our cruise.  It will end on day 15 in Montreal.  We'll be sad to leave the ship but will enjoy a few of days in that great city before flying back to Florida.

This morning, as we were walking in a small French port village - by the way we're averaging seven miles walking per day - I asked Dave to tell me about one of his favorite Canadian vacations with his wife and kids.  He's famous for his camping adventures.  Here's what he told me.

When his kids were about 9 and 11 Dave saw an ad in the newspaper for a "Canadian Wilderness Lake Vacation."  He was excited.  When he wrote saying they'd like to try it, the reply asked "Do you need a motor?"  Since they weren't planning to fish, he wrote back "No."

After a few days traveling north, they arrived at the wilderness lake.  Nothing there but a row boat with one oar.  Since Dave had declined the motor they just waited.  About an hour later somebody arrived, and, eventually they got to their cabin.  This resort consisted of four cabins, one room each.  Plus a lodge.  The lodge was simply a bigger cabin.  Only one of the other cabins was occupied, plus the care taking couple who stayed in the "lodge."  A this point I asked.

"What did you do?"

Dave wasn't sure but said it was fun.  "Why?" I asked.  Well, he says, the four beds in the room were really cool, made from wood carvings and they had red Canadian blankets.

"Did you have an inside or outside bathroom?"

Dave doesn't remember.  It didn't seem important to him.

"Did you have electricity?"

Oh yes, they had a generator.  But it went off at 10 pm.

"You must have gotten really cold."

"We had blankets."

Again,   "What did you do."

Dave said they took the row boat around to other deserted islands and looked for "things."  They picked blueberries.  The blueberries were big.

"Did you make cobbler?"

No, they had no way of making cobbler.  But they did have an ice box.  Every morning the caretaker brought in a big chunk of ice.

"But what did you do?"

In the lodge (the bigger cabin) was a sauna.  The caretaker stacked wood   About 4:00 PM it was fired up and the sauna got really hot.  (This doesn't sound dangerous at all!)  They would lie in the sauna and get really hot and then jump in the ice cold lake.  Once when they did this Dave came up out of the lake with leeches all over his legs.

Now that sounds like fun!

I'm so grateful that Dave got that kind of vacation out of his system and I'm so grateful to be sitting here in the library of this luxury cruise ship, even if it is still a bit leaky for the big storm.

Tonight is formal night.


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Charleston

The city's two rivers, the Ashley and the Cooper, have flooded and shaped all my life in this storied peninsula.  From "South of Broad"

In Pat Conroy's book, "South of Broad", he calls Charleston "The Mansion on the River."  We spent a nice afternoon in Charleston a few days ago.  Since we're on a cruise, I've, of course, lost all sense of time and place.  The only way I know the day is by looking at the carpet in the elevators.  So the above is approximate.

We took a guided tour.  The guide was good.  Born and raised in Charleston, he was funny and certainly knows the city.  But I had a little trouble with his jokes.  To me, he was a little bit shy of racist and a little bit shy of sexist.

When we reached Broad Street I was waiting for him to talk about Pat Conroy, one of our great southern writers.  Conroy has written many well known novels about the south, including "The Great Santini"  and "Prince of Tides." His last book "South of Broad" was all about Charleston;   This book sort of did for Charleston what "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" did for  Savannah.

All of the homes on our tour were lovely and old.  But, since reading Conroy's book, I know that living "south of Broad" means that you've arrived.  That you are somebody.  Living in a similar house north of Broad?  Not so much.

But when we stopped and I asked the tour guide why he didn't mention Conroy, he said, "We don't like him.  We don't mention his name."

"What??  I guess you feel the same way about Stephen Colbert."

"No, he's not so bad".  And, then, as if to make amends with me he said,

"I'm not supposed to tell you this but his mother lives right down this street."

My guess is that Mrs. Colbert isn't thrilled about having her house pointed out.  So I'm not going to tell you if she lives north or south of Broad.


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Sea Sick

It's the third day at sea.  We're traveling from Fort Lauderdale to Montreal.  A 15 day cruise.  The sail away party was great.  The rest is a blur.

A big storm.  As George Castanza said on "Seinfield,"  The sea was angry that day, my friend. 

Watching folks come into the theater last night was like seeing drunken sailors dressed like elegant little old ladies.  Lots of lurching.  Then water gushed from an upstairs room, down the winding staircase from the balcony.  Startling, but the crew took it in stride.

I'm having to choose between those little pills they're handing out at the front desk and consciousness.  Should I risk not keeping my breakfast down or take a pill and pass out?  Hard choice.

We got off the ship in Charleston yesterday.  I felt like an astronaut landing.  I wanted to kiss the ground.  Sea sickness is very strange.  You can be near death and then the waves stop and you are instantaneously healed.

Things are better.  We're still not allowed on the deck but the waves have stopped washing over it.  The winds have subsided to 46 mph.  

And tomorrow is another port day.


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