July 25, 2014 (95th Day)

We realized that it was not going to be a perfect day to explore Quebec City because of the weather.  However, we left the campground at 8 am, hoping to find a parking spot in Quebec City and we did.  Then we realized we did not have enough Canadian coins to pay the meter. Erwin had to walk over to some shops nearby hoping to exchange Canadian dollars for coins.  Some stores would not exchange.  One storekeeper suggested that we go to a gas station nearby and we walked over there.  Got coins then walked back to the metered parking. All instructions were in French! We missed the key wording which said it was $12 for 12 hours from 8 pm to 8 am, we walked away and thought about it a bit, returned to the meters and asked passerbys if they spoke English and finally found one, he  corrected our thinking and said what we had already paid was not and will not allow us to stay without getting a ticket or towed. We had to fork over another $18 bucks to correct the situation! Ouch, $30 bucks for parking for a day! We made sure that we made use of it that day!  Lesson learned??   Probably not unless we wanted to learn French!
 

There were 3 H's in Quebec City: HOT, HAZY & HUMID!

Unusual sculpture which includes Edith!

More colorful sculptures

Woodcarving in progress

Beautifully carved piece

Mural on the side of a building

Breakneck Steps (L'Escalier Casse-Cou)

336 Steps that connects between the lower and upper parts of the city.  

A good workout for us!  There were lots of people using the steps for exercise, some of them passed us several times going up and down running! There was one elderly lady (in excellent fit shape) who talked to us each time she passed us, stating this was her 3rd, 4th, 5th time and was going to do one more when we arrived at the top! Wow, a glutton for punishment or just Gung Ho on exercise!

Artichoke and Pepperoni Pizza for our lunch

Pool noodles used as an amazing looking  sculpture, hard to count how many were used!

The dog taking a dip in the splash park (we told you it was hot and humid)

We could not continue exploring the city because of heat and humidity, so we left in the mid afternoon.  We drove east from the city crossing Ile d'Orleans Bridge (Route 368) to the island called Ile d'Orleans. The island is about 3 miles east of Quebec city, is populated mostly by French Canadians.  To circle around the island it will be 47 miles. We were planning on finding a park to leave the van and ride the bikes for few miles, but when we got on the island we found out that there was no bike lane at all. The roads were narrow and most of the way there were no shoulders to ride on and no room if two cars met for the cyclist.  We did not go biking at all, kept on driving around the island making a couple stops along the way. One place we stopped at was to look around and buy chocolates.  There was nothing to see on the island that Edith was ready to get off the island, but we had like 30 more miles before we could get off.  We would not highly recommend anyone to visit the island, but if you want to go for a leisurely ride then it is okay.

When we saw the bridge over there we were so glad because we thought we would never leave the island alive.  After crossing we arrived Quebec City then took backroads to go see Montmorency Falls. Edith visited it back in 1978, said the falls was very beautiful.  However, she was surprised to see a lot of changes there.  There was no admission to the falls back in 1978 and now they are charging $11 just to go in and park the vehicle.  We both decided to wait until tomorrow morning to go back and decide if we are going to visit the falls or not.

We went back to the same campground we stayed at the night before. After supper we went out for a hike.  It was still humid!

July 24, 2014 (94th Day)

Lovely morning, 65˚

At the campground the shower is coin-operated (bummer) and it takes 75 cents for a 2 1/2 min shower.  It is interesting to notice that the coin machine accepted American quarters!

Before checking out of the campground we got the propane refilled for $17.74 Canadian dollars. Out of the campground at 8:50 am (little late to start the trip, but we had things to do before checking out)

We stopped at Tim Horton's for light breakfast and to use wifi to check emails. While there we got gas fill up at Esso.

We wanted to use backroads all the way from Saint Mathieu-de-Beloeil, Quebec (QC) to Quebec City, QC, but we realized that we would not make it to Quebec City before nightfall, so we elected to get on QC-20 (interstate).  We were surprised the road conditions were sub-par, in need of repairs. Bumpy most of the way.  Should have stayed on the backroads where we would have been driving slower and the bumps would be less noticeable! Win some, Lose some!

Lots and lots of cornfields.  Barns and silos as well. Most were too far off road for pictures!

Turned north to 55 from QC 20 to get on 132 (scenic route)

Brief road construction outside of Becancour, QC

We visited Saint-Pierre-les-Becquets Catholic Church (176 years old). The interior is very beautiful. The church has lovely spiral stairways.  There is a great view of St Lawrence River from the park by the church.

Since we both were from Class of '69 at Gallaudet we tend to notice this number wherever we go!

There were many churches on 132.  We decided to check out several churches along the way. The graveyards were interesting.

A very pleasant drive on 132. Lots and lots of barns, but nothing too interesting to stop and take pictures.

We wanted to see what Quebec City is like before visiting it the next day. Oh boy, traffic jam almost all over the city. Even pedestrian traffic!  We thought we could take the opportunity to visit the city for a couple hours before going to a campground, but a parking spot was nowhere to be found!  We agreed that we were going to come into the city very early tomorrow morning and we knew where we should park.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7fSAu8uB0o&list=UUc1sN0j1aIwLmqT67a9kMUQ&index=1

There were few campgrounds outside of Quebec City, QC.  We elected to stay at Centre de Plein Air in Beauport, QC.  Nice campground, lots of trees, nice trail.