Retired - Not Out: Canada

Up somewhat later than usual as a result of all the walking yesterday. From the window it looked like a cool and cloudy day, but this did not stop the boss from insisting that I apply sunscreen to my face...

The plan was to spend this day having a wander around the Upper Town.

One of the vestibules that broke up the long expanses of corridor in the hotel:

A short walk to Café Smith:

where for breakfast Amanda had a ham, cheese and salad croissant:

and I enjoyed one of the largest cinnamon whirls I had ever had:

Yes, it was this chilly and no, the sunscreen was not required:

A view of the funicular:

up to the Terrasse Dufferin.

A statue of Samuel de Champlain:

Random tourist:

Just another photo of the Frontenac:

Now take a closer look at the part of the building just above and beyond the lighting globes on the right of the picture:

Yes - the image of the hotel is sufficiently important that scaffolding and builders' lifts are camouflaged behind tarpaulins printed to look like the underlying brickwork and other features of the hotel.

A three-dimensional rendering of the World Heritage Symbol:

The Édifice Price:

The nearby Hôtel de ville de Québec or City Hall:

We made our way to the nearest section of the Ramparts and climbed up, which gave us the first of many excellent views of the surrounding area:

Unfortunately, the Ramparts, like everything else in Canada (or so it seemed) were undergoing significant amounts of restorative building works, with large sections fenced off, requiring many U-turns and much retracing of steps:

to the extent that at one point your correspondent declared that he "wasn't going to climb any more bloody stairs"...

Before descending I got a shot of this monument, which commemorates the First and Second Quebec Conferences in 1943 and 1944; more about this later:

Also these views of the Parliament Building:

and the Frontenac:

"Lemme out!" cried my companion:

so we descended to street level and made our way along Rue d'Auteuil and Rue St-Louis until we reached the Roosevelt and Churchill Monument:

Unveiled in 1998, the monument caused controversy by omitting any representation of the former Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon MacKenzie King, who hosted a series of meetings in the Quebec Citadel, where Churchill and Roosevelt met to plan the Second World War invasion of Europe.

We started to make our way homewards, passing the Monastère des Ursulines de Québec:

and also stopping to visit the Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec:

with its stunningly beautiful interior:

Finally back at the funicular:

and thereby to Café Smith:

for more refreshments.

Pistachio and red velvet macarons for Amanda and a most acceptable chocolate doughnut for your correspondent:

Strolled to the local convenience store to collect milk and orange juice and then back to the hotel to recover.

After a rest and freshen up we decided to head out for an early dinner.

The fountain by the side entrance to the hotel:

Our chosen destination, Côtes-à-Côtes, had no tables free inside, in anticipation of a large booked party. Since it was a pleasant evening and the views were impressive we agreed to sit outside:

where we both enjoyed ribs slathered with Jack Daniels sauce:

followed by triple chocolate brownies:

Out, and along Rue du Marché-Champlain, which seemed to be the local pick-up point for every school party visiting the city:

On, via the many shops along Rue du Petit Champlain, where Amanda was pictured with a bear behind:

Up to the Terrasse Dufferin - though this time via L'Escalier Casse-Cou (Breakneck Steps), thereby burning off just a few of the calories consumed earlier.

We found a free bench and sat watching the world go by - though by this time I was too tired to raise the camera any higher than this: