Pictures first!
Monday newspaper, front page. Turns out all those "crusty punk rockers" (40,000 of them, apparently) were here to watch some French punk band. It got muddy. It was really odd walking around today and not seeing nearly as many piercings and dreadlocks.
It isn't French culture till you start hearing an accordion. It almost felt like I was in Amélie.
The Victoria Cross, Britain's highest military decoration. Photographed inside one of La Citadelle's military museums.
Chateau Frontenac, as seen from La Citadelle. It's a hotel now, evidently a really expensive one. I saw a new red Ferrari with a pink bow in the parking lot. Someone's gonna have a great birthday.
First Grace Alive! shirt in French Canada! I only included this to prove that I am in fact here and didn't cull these photos from Google.
Ceremonial guard. You can barely make out their eyes under the fuzzy hat thing, and it's kinda creepy when you realize they're looking at you.
Knives from Nazi-era Germany. On the left is a knife issued to Hitler's elite SS guards. On the right, a knife issued to Hitler's Youth (think, Nazi Boy Scouts).
A tank, trying to look non-chalant.
Twelve-ton cannon. It had a range of 5 kilometers, which is pretty darn far.
Another restaurant. Just to give you sense of the local atmosphere.
Yet another restaurant. They really dig flowers over here.
Today was characterized by near misses. For dinner, we had cuisses de grenouilles (that would be frog legs) as an appetizer, but the camera battery died before my brother could grab a shot of me digging in. This was the first time we'd had frog legs since 1991, and for the record, it still tastes (and strangely enough, looks) like chicken.
Then, when I'd charged the battery just long enough for maybe one or two shots, Wyclef Jean came within ten feet of me at tonight's concert (he seems big on this whole crowd interaction thing), and I didn't have the good sense to snap a picture until he was on his way back to the stage. Bah!
Said camera battery is charging, so I still haven't been able to upload pictures. What did we do today…breakfast was croissants and pain du chocolat…yum. We visited a local mall for a bit. I tried brushing up my French by listening in on conversations, but man…teenagers everywhere talk way too fast, I guess.
After grabbing lunch, we went back to Vieux-Québec to visit the citadel that overlooks the city. It's called, quite cleverly, "La Citadelle." It turns out that it's actually an active military base housing Canada's 22nd Regiment, so were only allowed to go on a guided tour. We saw all sorts of nifty stuff, including an absolutely-breathtaking view of the city, and these humongous cannons (a 9-ton gun nicknamed "Rachel," and an anonymous 12-ton behemoth). The ceremonial guards are dressed in those big fuzzy black hats and red uniforms that the Tower Guard in London wear, so that was a good picture opportunity as well.
After the tour, we wandered through Vieux-Québec until we got to Chateau Frontenac, which is down by the waterfront. Street entertainers were drawing crowds, so we stopped to watch a couple juggling acts before wandering some more. It was approaching early evening, and the whole city had taken on a lively but easy-going pace. There are musicians and horse-drawn carriages and flowers everywhere. It was fun just walking through cobbled streets, turning at random corners, finding little surprises, and feeling surprisingly at ease. I don't sense a language barrier at all, but then, I haven't had the opportunity to engage in a real conversation with someone.
We ate dinner (including the above-mentioned frog legs) at a Vietnamese/Chinese/Thai/generic Asian place with a spectacular view of the city. The food was alright (General Tao's chicken is the same wherever you go), but service was slow. Afterwards, my brother and I went to watch Wyclef Jean, who's an electric presence on stage. It was a fun concert (the guy can play the guitar with his tongue!), and afterwards the streets were choked with thousands of concert-goers. I got a little adventurous and led my brother down some back-streets back to the hotel.
Oh! Camera battery's charged. Gonna upload some pictures.
Beautiful pics guys, I loved them, my favorite was your family pic, you guys really look French, you bro and mom especially...the colors, kind of gave them away. The whole bleu, blanc, rouge...you know. Anyways, the chateau was cool too, it is interesting to see how it wasn't all just French influence, it had hints of German and Austrian architecture as well....very cool none the less...that is one thing California lacks is castles...such a dramatic work of art and structure that is underappreciated, I have yet to see a castle that didn't leave me just ooing and ahhing over it.....we need more castles....