Touring Old Quebec

Howdy folks!  Well the last two days in Quebec were filled with tours! And, of course one was a food tour and one was a “tasting tour” – sounds like a bit of the same thing 😉

First up was a food tour of Old Quebec…..that also took them outside of the walled city to an up and coming area called Jean Baptiste.  Kim and Linda had already discovered this area (a guide had told them about it, and they had visited a restaurant there).  This tour took them to a poutine snack shack, a wine bar, a creperie and the oldest grocery store in North America (where Kim and Linda had their first sugar pie of the trip)

Doesn’t that all look delicious! This was a great way to get to know the city a bit more and try some local dishes.    Poutine and sugar pie – how can you go wrong?

Before this tour, they stopped at the Quebec Parliament buildings for a free guided tour.  This was a very interesting tour, steeped in history.  The guide was awesome!

On their last day in Quebec, they went on a tasting tour of Isle d’Orleans.  Located in the St. Lawrence River about 5 kms east of downtown Quebec City.  This island was one of the first parts of the province to be colonized by the French.  There are many farms and local producers that you can visit.  They went to a Belgium chocolate place, a nougat shop, apple cider shop, blackcurrant winery, and a local winery…..   all were interesting and had nice demonstrations and tastings……

So folks, it looks like Kim and Linda had a great time and they did – there are many more things that they did on this trip.  Quebec is a diverse province, full of history, beautiful buildings, and amazing food……..

As you know Kim is a fanatic for ice cream and Quebec didn’t disappoint…….  here are her top 3:

1. Belgian dipped chocolate on the Isle D’Orleans.  Dip cones in Quebec are amazing……the dip is solid like a chocolate bar and this one didn’t disappoint.  Dark chocolate on vanilla soft serve:

2. A “sampler” of 3 cones from the #1 Trip Advisor recommendation Chocolato.  Seriously?  3 baby cones – one was chocolate soft serve with peanut butter dip, one was a chocolate, vanilla swirl with maple syrup dip and one was vanilla swirl with dark chocolate…..delicious!

3. A “kooky” cone at a local chain called Les Chocolate Favoris…..vanilla soft serve with chocolate dip, covered in maple syrup and maple popcorn

Okay, now for best poutine…..this was recommended to them by a guide, and the guide told them it had been written about in the New York Times…….Kim didn’t check this out so they chose to believe him.  lol

Kim and Linda jumped in an Uber Cab and went to Chez Gaston – enthusiastic paws up folks!  Looks pretty awesome to me!

And last, but not least, their recommendation for best sugar pie is at a restaurant in old Quebec called Cochon Dingue (Crazy Pig in English)…..they brought a piece home for Grandpa and he said it was was amazing!

That’s all for now folks!  You know, sometimes life throws us curve balls and we have days when we don’t always feel 100%…..it’s those times that you have to appreciate all those little things that make life grand!

Take the time to sit on a park bench overlooking the St. Lawrence river, feel the cooling breeze as the sun sets on the Hotel Frontenac…..listen to the children laugh, admire the history and hardships of people that came before us, to make the world just a little bit better.  Stop in the water park and watch the kids have fun, and just have a conversation and a laugh with people from around the world.  These are  things that make life special.

And….eat your way around the world – what would life be without poutine, sugar pie, ice cream (and some great wine!).

Have a paws-tastic day everyone – hug and kiss your family and friends!,