August 16 Saturday, Quebec City, with Nicole and Denis Grenier

Woke to a glorious morning, clear blue skies. Had a leisurely start, did some housework….took all of 10 minutes! At 9.30 we set off, and loaded Jilly with Denis’s address. The roads were quite busy being a Saturday morning, but we had no problems negotiating the network of highways, and we arrived about 45mins later.
It was so good to see Denis and Nicole again, they were with us at Tarawera in February, and we did enjoy their company and showing them our lake.
Lots of talking, both Denis and Nicole speak good English, and we sat around the table catching up over a few drinks then a light lunch with the best French bread I have ever tasted. Nicole is a very talented water colour …and she gave me two prints of the American Red Robin…finally found out what the bird was!
Then we were off firstly to see the Montmorency Falls…they are huge, and so impressive. There is a bridge crossing the top of the falls, giving us wonderful views. Then it was off to the Ile d’Orleans, an island in the middle of the river, about 50kms around the circumference, joined to the mainland by a long bridge. It was so picturesque as we wound along the narrow road past old homes and cottages, with beautiful gardens and lots of trees. We stopped at the end, and looked across to Quebec city. The river was full of yachts, and people were out enjoying the sunshine, after what has been a very wet few summer for the city people.
Denis, whom we have nicknamed “Guide Rangi”, gave us a quick tour just to the outskirts of the old city of Quebec and the city markets before heading home for a beer! Home is only 5 minutes from the city centre. Tomorrow we will be exploring the old city. Quebec is in the middle of it 400 year celebrations this summer, and enterntainment and attractions are everywhere. We have parked Ruakiwi on the street outside, so we didn’t have far to walk after a wonderful meal, and quite a bit of red wine!

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