§ On Monday Caroline and I packed up the car and drove north for Canada.
§ First, Toronto! We stayed one night, in the Queen West neighborhood. Heading into the city on Monday we hit some intense rainfall, narrowly missing a record-breaking storm the next day.
Toronto has almost the same population numbers and density as Chicago yet feels much bigger. Maybe it’s just been too long since I’ve been back to Chicago. It was cool to see the streetcars and all of the infrastructure required for them.
Dinner at School pretty good. My chicken Sandwitch was great, Caroline’s hamburger was just okay. That is when we remembered Canadian food safety standards forbid burgers any rarer than “medium.”
§ Next, three nights in Québec City. We broke up the eight hour drive from Toronto with quick stops in Kingston and Trois-Rivières.
Kingston was unexpectedly beautiful. We had lunch a few feet away from Lake Ontario with a fun view of a giant cluster of wind turbines across the lake. Trois-Rivières turned out to be the perfect place to stop for dinner with streets jam packed with great restaurants flowing out onto the sidewalks. It is where I had my first poutine.
We finally pulled into Québec City just before midnight. That first night—holy crap, it was like we were living inside of an anti-Vrbo attack ad. Thankfully, we checked in to a great new hotel early the next morning and spent the rest of the day exploring the city.
Old town Québec City might be the perfect scale for a vacation. It is big enough—and has enough winding cobblestone streets and bustling alleyways—to get lost in but small enough that you’ll start feeling like a little bit of an expert in less than a week. Uncharacteristically, almost all of the photos I took were in portrait orientation. It must be something about the narrow streets and all of the hills.
All of the food I got the chance to try was great. A new breakfast favorite is eggs and potatoes with poutine and hollandaise.
Québec City felt like a gateway drug for Europe. I am sure I’ll be back but my next trip might have to be over seas.
§ We missed Niagara Falls on the way to Toronto but we stopped by Montmorency Falls, which they are quick to point out is 99 feet taller, on the way to Tadoussac. What a spectacle! It was definitely worth the stop.
The entire drive through the mountains to Tadoussac was beautiful. We passed so many blueberry farms!
Our two nights in Tadoussac were a great way to wind down from the bustle of Québec City. We ate some delicious seafood and saw a few beluga whales. Our boat ride through the fjord was completely breathtaking.
Little did we know July is le mois de la guédille—“the month of the lobster roll”—we, of course, participated.
§ Next week we will be stopping by Montréal and Fergus en-route back to Cleveland.
