Quebec City

Quebec City one last time

Posted on October 16, 2024 by Edward Thorpe

Today was a beautiful sunny day in Quebec City. The plan was to simply load our luggage into the car in preparation for tomorrow’s start homeward. It was a simple plan but the rest of the story comes under the heading “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up”

Our departure 19 days ago was from berth 22 and we parked the car nearby the port with only minor difficulties described earlier. We returned to the port but to berth 30. When I looked at the map as I planned the trip, it looked like it was a simple walk along the dock westward to rue Dalhousie followed by a 10 minute walk to the parking structure. The Port of Quebec had a different version.

The first issue was getting off the ship. In most of our ports there were 2 gangways for disembarkation but not today. Today about 2000 travellers had to exit single file through a single gangway. We managed to leave the ship about an hour after the gangway opened. We then traversed a serpentine walkway to the terminal exit. Walking to the west was not permitted. We had two choices. A shuttle to somewhere undetermined or a walking tour to the east to exit the terminal following a GPS track back to the west resulting in a 30 minute 6,000 plus step trip across the Quebec waterfront.

On our way out of the port at berth 30 we managed to find a king security person who confirmed that there was a parking lot immediately outside the terminal. It was not, however, clear how to access it. We could see only busses and taxis in the area and no private vehicles. When we found our car we were pleased that it started immediately but some settings such as temperature units needed to be reset. I set the GPS to the published address of the Terminal for berth 30 and we crossed our fingers. The route retraced our walking path right back to the terminal. Our cruise ID medallions were our ticket past port security and we parked within 50 metres of the ship.

We boarded the ship easily enough returned to our rooms and disembarked again with our two largest suitcases, happy again for wheels on suitcases. As I opened the trunk of the car we noticed that a spider had taken up residence and seemed displeased that we had destroyed his home. He skittered off while we packed our luggage away. The morning experience over, we rebounded the ship just in time for lunch. Hopefully our final disembarkation tomorrow morning will be uneventful.

Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer Abroad

I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.

Emerald Princess at Quebec City

Posted on September 29, 2024 by Edward Thorpe

We arrived at the cruise terminal early which is something we’ve done many times before. The plan was to drop off our checked baggage then park the car. I guess we were too early for this port. We were directed to an area to drop our luggage but could not access it. The security people either looked at us and shrugged or refused to acknowledge English. As a last resort we found the parking lot, a four level garage, where we found a spot on level three. A full investigation found no elevators. Thankfully. wheels on luggage has been invented so we pretended to be a vehicle and rolled back down the same ramps we just used.

We headed for what appeared to be the terminal nearest the ship. As we got closer we indeed found a couple of dock workers loading luggage onto the familiar dollies. These are palettes with three sides off heavy wire mesh. Luggage is loaded through the one open side. Once loaded it can be moved on its wheels or picked up by a fork lift and staged near a loading door win the ship’s side. Now we joined a second queue to await the opening of the checkin area. Much of the confusion was due to our early arrival but once the boarding process got underway we were on the ship in less than 30 minutes.

The weather in Quebec City is overcast and breezy with occasional rain. Since we have visited the city on several previous occasions we decided to not wander the streets. Perhaps the weather will be better when we return in three weeks. So we have used the time to explore the ship and catch up on laundry.

It took a while to get internet access set up on the ship so I’ll post this without additional photos then add photos and publish again on our trip from Charlottetown to Sydney while we are at sea.

Ivan Doig, This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind

There is more time than there is expanse of the world and so any voyage at last will end.

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Edward Thorpe

We arrived about 5 PM on Wednesday after a long but relatively uneventful day’s travel. Travel through the city was slowed by preparations for a cycling Grand Prix which caused a short detour around the competitor’s start/finish area.

Our Hotel

We had time to wander the streets for a while as we looked for somewhere to get a light supper then back to the hotel for a visit to the wine bar.

Thursday was another day to wander. Vieux Québec reminds us of Venice without canals if it were on a mountain. You can go nowhere in the city that is not uphill, at least that is how it seems. We made our way down to the lower city to the VIA Rail station (Gare du Palais) then along the waterfront to the Cruise Terminal (no ships in port today) then into the Lower Town. We picked up croissants for lunch tomorrow’s travel at a little bakery and after eating one with our coffee, we walked back up the stairs to the Upper Town. We will ride the Funiculaire (a short funicular railway) to the upper town later today, after dinner.

Here are a few photos for the day. Love the murals on many walls.