Quebec City

Aah the delights of wandering an old city in late autumn as golden leaves are falling and the outdoor ice rink opens for the season.  In the season’s transition, some hang onto summer, issuing a protest by going out in 40F weather in sandals, shorts, and T-shirts and willing themselves not to shiver while others eagerly don their serious and fashionable winter blacks and proudly strut rue St. Jean.  

The Quebec Hostel is in the city’s old town, an area of narrow streets pushing up unrelenting steep hills.  It is among many other old buildings occupied by  small and excellent restaurants, cafés, pubs, and shops.

In this city of half a million, the vieux-port Quebec is small and tight enough so we could walk from the Gare du Palais train station to the hostel.  We were warned it was all uphill.  Except for a block or so after leaving the station and those few steps crossing rue St. Jean, it was.  Uphill.  

Quebec City was founded in 1608 by the French navigator and explorer Samuel de Champlain near the site of a small Iroquois village.  The city’s name draws from an Algonquin word, Kebec--“Where the River Narrows.”  Celebrating its 400th anniversary in July 2008, Quebec looks every bit the part of a 17th century financial, military, and cultural center.  

The old wall, built prior to 1694, has three historic gates.  Of these, Porte St. Jean and Porte St. Louis were destroyed and rebuilt in 1791, and twice since.  Old Quebec was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.  Numerous buildings exist in the vieux-port whose origins reach to the 17th and 18th centuries.  

The Quebec volkswalk took us past much of the history, including The Plains of Abraham battle site, the Citadel (17th century), Notre Dame Cathedral (from 1647), The Château Frontenac (1893), and many less-noted but historically important buildings.  Notre Dame Cathedral was twice destroyed by fire, first during the siege of Quebec (1759) and again in 1922. 

Throughout the old town, horse-drawn tourist carts and wagons clatter down cobblestone streets with costumed drivers interpreting local history.  

What makes Quebec different is, of course, the French language and influence.  We were told by several French travelers that Quebec French differs from French French in many ways including accents, rhythms, and words, but it is the same language.  

Whatever the differences, French is a wonderfully conversational language.  Yes, I eavesdropped on people to see if I could pick up a word.  After all, I thought, with three years of college French 101 and a bunch of workshops, something should have stuck.  And while I picked out a few--very few--words, what I became aware of was the beauty, pleasantness, and comfort of those conversations, even that of the man yelling at the taxi driver.  

My first attempt at French was in the Gare du Palais, the Quebec VIA Rail station.  After dedicated rehearsal, I walked to the coffee shop counter and said, “Je voudrais un croissant petite dejeuner.”  And the guy said, “We’re out of that.”  I was so pleased.  He had to have understood me to say they were out of that! “N’est pas?”  

The second significant influence from the French is food.  The Ottawa Marché By Ward market is populated by French farmers crossing the bridge from Gatineau with a great variety of vegetables, meats, cheeses, and baked goods.  French Patés from Montreal are found all over the region.  

From the boardwalk at the Chateau Frontenac, we looked down on three cruise ships.  Pat talked with a woman whose goal was to eat at a McDonald’s at each cruise stop.  And then there’s the “Martha, what is this town?”

We have been told a few stories of the rude French.  Upon questioning, we find the stories’ origins often quite old.  There is a formal coolness to the French style which is put off by our feigned personable friendliness.  In reality, any of us are rude at times, a few make a practice of it.  Others may have turned rudeness into an art form or a burlesque.  An elderly lady told me that she has once or twice been insulted with such charm, eloquence, and grace that she remembers it proudly.