My Quebec City

I can’t imagine a warmer welcome than we received when we arrived at the Charles Alexandre Hotel. With twenty three rooms, it is a small, intimate hotel close to Battlefield Park and the wonderful Restaurants on Avenue Cartier. It is also less than a block from St Patrick Church where the only English Mass is said. Parking is only $8 a day, which is a bargain in any city. Our two rooms number 18 and 19 are reached by walking up two very steep flights of stairs. Check out my picture of AL after carrying our bags up the stairs. Lucky Jason was in charge of parking the mini van in the mini spot behind. There are rooms on the first floor if stairs are an issue.

We were delighted with our room which was a standard room. As you walk in the door we have a wooden oak desk on the left and a luggage rack on the right. Our bathroom is also on the right and though small is sparkling white and has a tub and pedestal sink. Jason and Jen have a shower only but their bathroom is twice the size of ours. The floors are oak and the ceilings are high. The clock radio in the room was a CD player and a CD is provided.

We both have queen size beds with yellow floral covers and plenty of pillows. An oak dresser holds our TV. We also have a comfortable chair in the corner for reading. Our closet is large and holds extra pillows. The decorations in both rooms are similar.

We have one window with no view to speak of but it allows for fresh air. The room is air-conditioned and we can control the temperature. If you need to iron something there is an ironing room down the hall from our room. It also has a door that leads too a deck outside of Jason’s room. By going through this room you can exit closer to the parking lot.

Breakfast is included in the rate of CA$119. With taxes and two nights parking the total was CA$291. With the horrible exchange rate that will be about CA$260 and then we will get a refund at the border of part of the taxes.

Breakfast is a very extensive continental. You have the choice of juice apple, orange or grapefruit or mix. There was two cold cereal choices corn flakes and raisin bran. You may choose from blueberry, bran and carrot or apple cinnamon muffins, homemade croissants or toasted bread, white, whole wheat or pumpernickle. The bread and croissant comes with cheese, sliced ham and creton. There is also yogurt available. Add tea coffee or hot chocolate and you have a very fine breakfast.

I have always wanted to try a tapas bar and this finally seemed like the perfect time. We had a wonderful lunch at our favorite restaurant Rabelais on the Casse Cou Stairs and at 7:30pm we needed a little something to tide us over. I remember seeing this restaurant last evening and suggested we give it a try. There is outdoor and indoor seating available but it was smokey outside so we opted for the downstairs inside.

The atmosphere is clubish and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Our first shock was that the menu was in Spanish and French, no English. Now my French is quite good but there were plenty of words on this menu that I had never heard of. Okay what is farci-I thought it was one of the languages in the Middle East, silly me it means stuffed. Anyway try to picture me translating the menu for the other three, it wasn’t a pretty sight. Sophie our waitress was very patient and explained anything that was beyond my scope, here I have to admit that I didn’t realize that l’ail was garlic, live and learn.

Having placed me in charge of ordering I proceeded to order three color olives, tomato and feta, osso buco braised with Madera, stuffed pepper, and tiger shrimp with garlic. The men folk ordered Sleeman’s clear beer and I ordered a Spanish beer Cruz Campo. It was a good choice, a slight bitter back bite, lots of hops, very enjoyable.


Every dish we ordered was outstanding. The olives had a citrus flavor, the shrimp was tender, the tomato and feta was perfect. The Osso Buco was so tender it fell apart and the pepper was a raw pepper stuffed with cheese and rice. We all shared everything and frankly scarfed it down in no time at all. I think we shocked Sophie. She came back and asked if we wanted to order more. We just smiled and said no, just dessert. When I told her everything was delicious she just smiled and said “I know”, well of course I guess she would know.

Now considering how good the food was you might expect dessert to be anti-climactic, hardly. I had churros with chocolate fondue and fresh fruit for dipping. It was to die for. Apples and bananas and one little yellow cherry, just divine. Al and Jen both had chocolate cake, it was two dense pieces more like brownies with mousse between and chocolate and raspberry sauce on top.

Would we return here. Oh yes we definitely will and can’t wait to try some of the other offerings. Dinner for 4 $63.

July 1 is Canada Day, a holiday in Canada. It was absolutely mobbed on Ave Cartier. We walked up and down the street several times looking for somewhere to have a light dinner. We were checking out the menu at the Turf Pub when two young men saw us looking at their pizza and told us they were very good. Okay, since they were fellow Americans we accepted their word and walked inside.

There was a lively crowd when we arrived. There was a lot of celebrating going on, I assumed it had to do with the World Cup. Our waitress Elise however was very quick to seat us and get us our drinks. I had a Stella and Al had some other kind of beer, the name escapes me at the moment.

We decided to share two pizza’s, Al and Jen had margarita and Jason and I had Cajun chicken. The pizza crust is as thin as a cracker and the sauce is sweet. The margarita had fresh tomato slices and cheese and the Cajun chicken was spicy but not overly so. Frankly it was a good thing we weren’t very hungry, you really need to order a pizza per person. They also have pasta choices and they come in huge bowls.

I would say basically this is a bar which serves food. There are lots of burgers and also steak and salmon. They have wok choices as well, curry shrimp and chicken satay are just two of the offerings. They even have Tex-Mex choices, enchiladas and fajitas. If you can’t find something to eat here, I don’t think you will find it anywhere.

We still had enough room to try their desserts. Jason and I shared a creme brulee and Jen had the cheesecake with fruit. The crust on the creme brulee was perfect, the custard was much softer than we are used to, almost a liquid but it tasted delicious. The cheesecake was more European style than New York style, a very thin cheese layer.

Would we return, probably not. It was an okay meal and Elise was a very friendly waitress however nothing we had was exceptional. There are just too many restaurants in Quebec to repeat if the food is anything lest than memorable. .

In 1803 the British built four Martello Towers as part of the defense of Quebec City. It is a little distressing to realize that who they were defending themselves against was the United States. Today three of the towers still exist and one is open for tours. Another one hosts dinners but that is for another journal.

In order to visit the Martello Tower you need to be able to climb stairs. Not just nice wooden stairs (though two of the stairways are just that) but also curved and uneven stones stairs. These were constructed to make it difficult for the invaders to get in but it also makes it awkward for the visitor of today.

Entrance to the Tower is $4, If you purchase one of the passes for $10 it is included along with the Odyssey, Abraham’s Bus and the Louis St. Laurent Heritage House.

You enter the tower at the middle level. This is the barracks. If you are brave you can try on one of the uniforms that the soldiers would have worn, we also see their beds which were bunks and looked very small. When you realize that 20 men lived in this room it seems even smaller.

There are posters written in French and English and also audio presentation. You pick up the headphone, take the magnetic end, and put it on the language you prefer (Spanish, Japanese, French, or English) then put the magnet on the metal strip. The audio should start. There are six or seven through out the tower telling about everything from daily life to punishments for numerous infractions. You didn’t want to be a deserter, not only would you be branded with a D below you armpit but you would be made to stand on one foot with the other foot poised over the pointed end of a bayonet until fatigue made you impale your own foot. Gross

The view from the top floor is quite extraordinary. You can see the river, the Chateau and all the way to the Citadel. There is also a cannon in place so that you can see what the Martello Tower was really meant to do.

On the bottom level was the storage of the thirty days rations that we were always kept on hand and also the powder magazine. One of the audio presentations here talked about the dangers of working in the magazine. Of all the audios I found the one of Private John Atkins writing to his fiancé back in England the most poignant. He talks about conditions of solitude and of the men who resorted to drink, debauchery and going into debt to pass the time.

It was a very interesting tour. Parking is available on the street alongside the park with meters. Allow about an hour and fifteen for your visit.

Louis St. Laurent was the Prime Minister of Canada from 1948 to 1957. He had the house on Grande Allee built in 1913. It was here that he raised his family and in 1973 that he died. Now for most Americans I am sure that the name Louis St. Laurent doesn’t mean anything, and I have to admit that I fall into that number. I am well versed in the history of Quebec up to and including the loss of Canada to England in 1759. After that I have only a cursory knowledge. This was an opportunity for me to widen my horizons.

I was surprised when I first heard him talk, to my ear he spoke French with an English accent and English with a French accent. Once I learned a little about him I realized why. Like both of my grandparents on my mother’s side, he grew up speaking French to his Quebecois father and English to his Irish mother. It perfectly explained his accents to me.

We are welcomed into the house by the virtual maid Yvonne. She reminds us to wipe our feet. We then meet a real park ranger who takes our entrance fee $4 each (there is a $10 pass that includes Martello Tower 1;Abraham’s Bus, Oddessy and Louis S. St Laurent House). She directs us to the parlor where the interactive visit begins.





There is an old fashioned TV and you listen to an interview with the Prime Minister. On one of the tables there is a book and if you push the button in it you can ask some questions. The interviewer stops and says that the visitor wants to ask a question and then asks whichever one you pick. You can sit on any of the furniture and interaction will enhance your visit.

In the office you are asked by Yvonne to answer the phone and you then listen to what the caller has to say. This part of the visit has most to do with Mr. St Laurent’s law practice. He was a lawyer from 1905 until his election and then when he was defeated I 1957 he went to work with his son Renaud who was also a lawyer.

The next room you visit is the den. Here you meet Mr Dion who was the Chauffeur for the St Laurent’s for 30 years. We also hear from their daughter Madeleine and their granddaughter. It is very entertaining.

In the dining room it is Madam St. Laurent who is doing the talking. She tells us about her years in the house and the decorating and entertaining she did.

The last stop is the kitchen. The ranger met us here and gave us additional information. The house was sold after Mr St Laurent’s death in 1973. It was with the help of his daughter that they were able to recreate the house, she however died before it opened in 2003.

All the audio portions are offered in both French and English. We as a matter of fact traveled
through the rooms with a French speaking couple. Both of us seemed to enjoy it equally. They offer children’s birthday parties in the house which certainly sounded interesting.