Our October Trip through Quebec: Day 8

October 8, 2011 ~ Day 8:  Another beautiful sunny autumn day.  After a delicious breakfast in a sunny breakfast room at the Auberge des Flores, we checked out and set out to do some sightseeing in the area.

The one good thing about not having a Spa Day is that it gave us a free day to explore.  We set out to find a National Park ~ Parc National de la Mauricie ~ that we heard about,  and  might have missed otherwise!

More covered bridges along the way:

 The park itself was an unexpected and beautiful discovery!

Interestingly, there were swarms of ladybugs that day;
I'd never seen ladybugs in swarms before!

But it didn't detract from the amazing scenic views:

After driving the 30 mile scenic route through the park, we headed southeast toward the highway to Quebec City!  Along the way we continued to see some photographic sights!

We made it to Quebec City just before sundown and discovered our hotel ~ Hotel Champlain ~ was right in the heart of the Old City.  A wonderful room in a great spot! 

I am really going to enjoy our stay here!  

It was early enough, so we dumped our stuff and went out to explore on foot, and find a place to get something to eat.  We found an amazing and vibrant city (and something to eat!)  

Horse-drawn carriages ruled in the Old City!

 Wow! Lower Old City View at Night!

 Outdoor Cafes abound!

Cool Sign!

Street Musicians everywhere!

After a fun dinner, that included conversation with another couple our age, who are here on a cruise, we made our way back to our wonderful room for a good night's sleep and anticipation of a great tomorrow!

what a bathroom!

End of a great Day 8!

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Our October Trip Through Quebec: Day 7

October 7, 2011 ~ Day 7:  After a lovely night in the Quebec countryside, we checked out early to visit the Mont Tremblant area,  before heading east to our next overnight stop at another French Inn, this time with a Spa, in Shawinigan.

It was a beautiful, sunny, crisp autumn morning and there were wonderful reflections on the lake behind our French Country Inn:

The Mont Tremblant area was only a few miles to our north, and beautiful in all it's autumn splendor.  Here is the photographic record of our drive through the Laurentian Mountains.

Ski slopes above the Mont Tremblant resort (seen along the shoreline) and a lovely lake with various kinds of boats.

 Pontoon Boats

 Brilliant fall foliage on the mountainside

 More fall foliage

 Hikers starting the uphill trek:

Another lovely lake near Mont Tremblant Village:

 What a great way to spend a lazy autumn day!

After spending a peaceful morning driving around the town and the resort-area,  enjoying the spectacular fall foliage, we headed south and east, toward Shawinigan, passing more covered bridges on the way.

Another mountain lake we found along our route:

We arrived at our destination ~ Auberge Les Flores (Inn of the Flowers) ~ late afternoon and had a delicious dinner in the charming on-site restaurant.  This photo was taken the next morning, of our table for two the night before, in the restaurant:

The one disappointment is that we anticipated a Spa Day the next day, but found out upon our arrival that the spa was completely booked.  I hadn't thought to make advance reservations, but will definitely make sure I do,  the next time we want to do a Spa Day!!

All, in all, a wonderful Day 7!

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Our October Trip Through Quebec: Day 6

October 6, 2011 ~ Day 6:   Another beautiful blue-sky-kind-of-day! It's check out day, and our last morning in Montreal.  Because of the rain our first few days, we didn't get to see some of the sights that are best seen on nice days - such as going up to the top of the Olympic Tower.  
So after breakfast, checking out, and retrieving our car from the parking garage, we started our driving tour of Montreal.  First up, we wanted to see Habitat 67, which made the #8 spot on the list of 50 Strange Buildings of the World.  

We passed by the Biosphere 

and crossed the Jacques Cartier Bridge 

and made our way to Olympic Stadium and Tower

An amazing cable car took us to the top:

It looked like this for the first part of the ascent, thru a tunnel

then we rose above the tunnel...this is the first

glimpse of the outside world, going up:

At the top, we experienced a 360 degree view of the area!

Jacques Cartier Bridge over the St. Lawrence

Looking north toward Parc Mont Royal (antenna onthe left horizon) and St.Joseph's Oratorio (dome just to the right of center horizon)

 and the Montreal skyline

After our Olympic Stadium experience, I wanted to revisit two spots from our bus tour yesterday, to get better/more personalized shots.


First Stop: St. Joseph's Oratorio.  The view from the spot our tour bus stopped yesterday did not do this place justice.  I wanted to capture the sense of the beautiful surrounding gardens and the long, long walkway from the street.

Next stop: Parc Mont Royal to get more personalized captures of these amazing Montreal views!

And that ends our Montreal visit!!  Following an early afternoon Dairy Queen[!] break, we headed 90-minutes north to our next destination: a little town in the Laurentian Mountains, not far from Mont Tremblant, but more affordable ~ Val-David, Quebec!

We stayed in a quaint French Country Inn, La Sapiniere!

Perfect end to a perfect Day 6!

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