The month of February came in like a lamb and out like a lion. I think that's typically used to describe March weather, but in this case I mean it started out slow and finished with a bang.
Weekend #1 (I'm liking this new approach to recording my life - weekends only!) was Super Bowl Sunday and it was here in our fair berg. Or close - Arlington - at the "new" Cowboys Stadium. As a result, I decided to stay as far away from Arlington as possible, and frankly with the weather, that was pretty easy. It ended up being Joe's weekend for MOD and since there was ANOTHER threat of bad weather (which did NOT come to fruition this time), he spent much of it at work. I, on the other hand, watched the Super Bowl with our friends, Rod and Melissa Miller. I had a good time, but I felt bad for poor Joe.
Weekend #2 we began our exercise "program" by walking on Saturday 3-1/2-ish miles and almost 5-1/2-ish on Sunday. We used to walk pretty often until a couple of years ago when we both had jobs from hell. Now only Joe has a job from hell, but I have sympathized by not walking and, therefore, getting fatter and lazier. In addition to walking, we had dinner with my parents twice. First, we took them to Louie's in Dallas. Louie's was also featured on Diners Drive-Ins & Dives, which my Mom actually introduced to us, so it was our treat to take them to one of our favorite places. While they liked the pizza, they were disappointed that Louie's only takes American Express, so they couldn't use their TXU MasterCard rebate. So, to make up for it, they treated us to dinner at Shady Oaks BBQ the next day.
During the 3rd week, we took some time off work and went to Quebec City, so I'll insert that here so that it's chronological...
Wednesday, February 16, 2011 –
Trading in 70 degree weather for 20 degree weather!!!Our journey to Quebec City actually went off without a hitch, but I can’t remember the last time I felt so unsettled before a trip. We decided a couple of weeks ago to make this trip. Quebec City had been on my wish list for a long time and I decided if we came in winter we could see the famous ice hotel. To actually book the ice hotel is very expensive unless you get a last minute deal. So, I decided to take a chance on the last minute deal, but even though we planned to stay there during the week, it didn’t work out. That was roadblock #1. Then we had trouble booking a rental car, and we had trouble booking other hotels. When you hear that the “busy season” in QC is June – September, don’t believe them!!! I honestly started to believe that this trip was just not meant to be. But, as usual, we were not deterred. We moved forward with a hope and a prayer that it would all work out.
The first thing we had to do was get to Canada. The closest we could get on AA was Montreal, so we set out on a flight booked to 50. Always, the worrier, I wondered if they would cancel the flight. They did change equipment – from a 737 to a S80 – but the flight went with no other problems and we even got first class.
Our next challenge would be getting from Montreal to Quebec City on Air Canada. When I made our flight listing on Tuesday night, the AC representative said it would be no problem. But, by the time we got to Montreal, the flight was oversold by 2. We ended up standing by for an earlier flight than the one we originally planned on, although I swear they said that flight was oversold as well. When they called us up to give us our boarding passes, they told us we should buy a lottery ticket. Apparently, they rarely are able to get non-revs on these flights. Hum. Okay…
Now, admittedly, the hotel thing ended up working out. I really wanted to stay in the Chateau Frontenac because I’ve always heard that it’s THE place to stay in Quebec City. Thinking we would stay in the Ice Hotel during the week, I tried to book Frontenac for the weekend, but it was sold out. However, since the Ice Hotel didn’t work out we were able to get Wednesday and Thursday night at Frontenac. As an added bonus, it was $100CAD/night cheaper during the week than the weekend. So, instead of the ice hotel, we had a lovely, warm, and cozy room overlooking a very icy St. Lawrence River. And even though things did not work out EXACTLY like I hoped…the alternative worked out just fine.
Chateau Frontenac from the Plains of Abraham:
Thursday, February 17, 2011 –
Haute Ville and Basse VilleOn our first morning in Canada, we took the opportunity to sleep a little late. Joe was super tired so I tried to let him sleep, although I was awake quite a while before him. Once we were finally up and about, we had a muffin and hot chocolate at the Starbucks downstairs and then headed out to begin our tour of Quebec City.
First, we decided to do a walking tour from our Frommer’s Guidebook of Haute Ville, or Upper Town. There is quite a bit of construction around the hotel, Terasse Dufferin and Place d’Armes. I never figured out what they are working on, nor was it the only construction we would run into today. We did manage to see the monument to Samuel Champlain, the man who founded Quebec in 1608 in Place d’Armes between work equipment and dumpsters.
Monument to Samuel Champlain:
On our walking tour, we saw Maison Kent, said to be Quebec’s oldest building and where France signed the capitulation to the British forces. We also saw the Basilique Notre-Dame. It was very pretty, though it doesn’t match the magnificence of the Notre-Dame in Montreal. The Chapelle des Ursulines was closed, but we did observe the Cannonball lodged in the base of the trunk of a tree along Rue St-Louis. Apparently this cannonball may have landed there during the Battle of Quebec in 1759. On the other hand, it may have been placed there on purpose to keep the wheels of horse-drawn carriages from bumping the tree when making tight turns. Just before Porte St-Louis (which was also undergoing some renovation), we saw the unnamed monument with busts of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, which commemorates the 1943 meeting in Quebec of the two leaders. We did walk up to La Citadelle, which was built to fend off an attack by the Americans that never happened. Still, it is home to the Royal 22e Regiment, which fought in both world wars and Korea. In the summer, you can see the changing of the guard, however, in the winter there is only one tour a day. We were an hour early so we kept going. Unfortunately, by the time we made it back, we were too late.
Maison Kent:
Monument to the city's connection to Le Cirque:
Outside the wall, we walked down Grand-Allee (which I later learned means Grand Aisle) and stopped at a bistro for lunch of soup and sandwich. On the way, we passed the Hotel du Parlement, the government building which houses the National Assembly. Apparently they were not in session because the crown on top was not lit.
Hotel du Parlement:
After Haute Ville and lunch, we headed back toward Frontenac to the funicular to take us down to Basse Ville, or Lower Town. I actually thought this little part of Quebec City was really quaint and fun. I’m not much of a shopper, but if I was, I would have had plenty of opportunity down Rue du Petit-Champlain. It is a pedestrian-only street and allegedly the oldest street in North America. We passed by the Royal Battery where cannons were installed in 1712 to defend lower town from the British. They got their chance in 1759, but the English victory silenced them. From the Battery, we walked over to Place-Royale and checked out the bust of Louis XIV, whose palace in Versailles we visited in France a couple of years ago. The square is said to be the birthplace of French America.
At the end of Rue du Petit-Champlain (check out the icicles!!):
Royal Battery:
We managed to get past the construction of Lower Town and find the Old Port. They don’t shovel the snow from this area, but it was packed down well enough to walk around. We went to Pointe-a-Carcy and admired the statue of a sailor that is a memorial to Canadian merchant seamen who lost their lives in World War II (no Foley’s noted).
For dinner, we headed out to Aux Anciens Canadiens. The restaurant is said to be “traditional Quebecois” and so we decided to try it. I had the Quebec meat pie. Quebec meat pie is made of a ground meat and was in a scrumptious pie crust – very flaky. It was served with several side dishes, including a boiled potato and a sprig of broccoli, both of which I found to be a little bland. Then there was some cabbage that tasted like it was made with maple syrup maybe, but I’m not a connoisseur of cabbage, so I’m not sure. Last, but not least, there was what tasted to me like pears, but Joe said he specifically tasted apricots. Whatever the fruit was, it was mixed with tomatoes, so since I don’t care for tomatoes, I didn’t care for that either. Dessert was sugar pie, another regional favorite. It was very good, but VERY sweet!! Joe had a Bison Burger – mainly so we could try the poutine. Poutine is French fries with cheese curds and brown gravy and is the national dish of Quebec. For some reason, I always imagined the gravy to be cream gravy, but I had recently read that it was brown gravy, so at least I wasn’t surprised. He had apple pie and ice cream for dessert. Overall, our meal was good, but I wouldn’t say great.
Friday, February 18, 2011 –
Tootling around Quebec in our rental carOur second day in Canada was a very dreary, rainy one. After coming to terms with that, we started our day with breakfast downstairs. Two bowls of oatmeal (one with berries) and two hot chocolates = $23.
We took advantage of our time at Frontenac by not checking out until 11:30 or so. We had scheduled our rental car for pick-up at 1:00PM, so we decided to check out the Musee du Fort, which was just next door to Frontenac. It was a TripAdvisor Top 10 Things to Do and it only takes 30 minutes. It is about the wars in Quebec in the 1700s – primarily between France and England, but there was also a bit about a failed American invasion by Benedict Arnold, apparently before he became a traitor. The story is presented by a diorama with lights and video. It was pretty cool. As Joe said, worth about $6/each (we paid $8).
Musee du Fort:
From there, we headed, via taxi, back to the airport to pick up our rental car and then to Montmorency Falls, just outside of town. Usually you have to pay for parking, but when we arrived, we learned that the trails and the tram were closed, so the gates were up and parking was free. Unfortunately, the fog had rolled in and we could barely see the waterfall. It was mildly disappointing, but we continued.
Our first glimpse of Montmorency Falls:
From the falls we headed toward St. Anne de Beaupre. The road follows the St. Lawrence River for a bit and we were fascinated with it!! The river was beautiful – covered in these huge chunks of ice. In Quebec City, the chunks are more broken up – maybe because of the ferry that goes back and forth across the river, but I’m not sure. Whatever the reason, the river was just stunning and I know that Joe had a hard time keeping his eyes on the road while driving.
Described as a religious destination, we knew that the museums at St. Anne de Beaupre were closed, but we were curious to see the basilica. This is where I learned what a true hypocrite I can be. I hate people who can’t follow the rules. It drives me crazy on a plane when the person next to me won’t turn off his iPod when told or puts his tray table down as soon as the flight attendant is out of site and leaves it that way for takeoff. I saw the sign when we walked in – “No pictures” – yet the second I saw someone else taking pictures, I took that as my sign that I could too. Even though I knew I wasn’t supposed to. I’m a little ashamed. Especially when I admit that it’s the second time I’ve done that. The first time was at the basilica in Venice last October.
Basilica and Shrine of Saint Anne de Beaupre:
Inside the basilica:
Racks of canes, presumably from people cured of their ailments and no longer need of assistance:
As we headed back to Quebec after our adventures out of town, we noticed that the fog had lifted a little around Montmorency Falls. So, we went back to the same parking lot and walked a little way toward the falls for a bit better view. There’s a walkway across the falls, but I never dreamed it would be open. As soon as Joe saw people up there on that bridge, I knew our future was sealed. From our views at the bottom of the falls, we headed up to the “Manor” and the walkway over the falls. I have to admit, though, it was really cool – a definite highlight of the trip. Much of the falls were frozen and it was a beautiful site. The walking was okay, too. It was mostly snow – only a little ice.
Montmorency Falls from the parking lot:
A little closer to the top of Montmorency Falls:
Joe on the bridge:
Finally, we headed to the #1 place I wanted to see on this trip – the Ice Hotel, or Hotel de Glace. We paid $17/each just for the privilege of walking around, but I didn’t care. It was SO COOL!!!!! I continue to waiver back and forth as to whether I’m disappointed that we didn’t stay there. The room that we would have stayed in was very plain and it was really cold inside the hotel. Further, it was actually above freezing and the hotel was, quite literally, dripping. I think the dripping sound would have driven me insane. But, still, it would have been an experience and I’m a little sad that I missed out. We walked around and checked out every single room. The “suites” were really cool. They were themed and some of them had fireplaces in them. One even had a TV, although I don’t think it played actual TV, just a video. Every time we walked from the hotel back outside, the lens on my camera and Joe’s glasses would fog up because it was so much warmer outside than in. We checked out the chapel and both bars and before we left, I had a drink in an ice glass and Joe had a beer. We enjoyed them on a deer skin pelt at an ice table/chairs at the bar. It was a very unique place.
Hotel de Glace (Ice Hotel):
The chapel:
Our drinks from the Ice Bar:
Saturday, February 19, 2011 –
Heading Home – 9:45AM ESTHaving accomplished what we set out to do, we decided to go all the way home on Saturday, which would mean flying through Chicago since the DFW direct flight leaves early in the morning. We had a little time, so we started our day with room service. For the same price as two bowls of oatmeal and two hot chocolates at Frontenac, we got scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, potatoes, fruit, baked beans, juice, and tea delivered to our door. Not that I’m complaining…I did love our experience at Frontenac and would recommend it to everyone. But is sure was nice to put our note on the door before midnight and have our breakfast arrive right on time, hot, and pretty reasonably priced!!
Since we got home late on Saturday night, we took a nice, long 6 mile walk on Sunday and that was end of our weekend...and our mini-vacation!
Weekend #4 was spent in Chicago. We flew up to spend the day with my friend, Michelle, before going to see her husband, August, playing a Dennis DeYoung, Unplugged concert (which was AWESOME, by the way). On Sunday, we went to Campus to visit Joe's family. His brother, Nick, and his family stopped by and we enjoyed a few hours of family time.
Downtown Chicago - "Hearts a Bluhm" - cardiovascular awareness campaign from Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute:
From our vantage point at side stage. The show sold out, so this was the only way we could watch - but, believe me, we did NOT complain!!!:
Here we are with Michelle:
And with August:
It was an interesting month, that's for sure. I think Joe is glad to have the bad, winter weather behind him!!
