MacGougan at Large

Notes on a Trip to Québec City - 1

Driving to Europe

You’re strolling along narrow, cobblestone streets, lined with interesting shops. Every so often there’s an open square with a statue. You’re on your way to a museum or a scenic overlook. The signs are in a language other than English.

This is the European daydream of the American would-be traveler.

The key barrier that stands between us and realizing this dream is an expensive and uncomfortably sleepless night in an airplane. If only there were a way for us to get in our car and spend less than a day driving to someplace where we could get that same experience.

For those of us who live in the Northeast, one such option to consider is Québec City.

Linda and I had never been there before. We had a very nice four-day, three-night stay there in early November.

It wasn’t the perfect time to be there. The weather was cool and sometimes wet. The buskers and ice cream stands of the summer were gone, but the toboggan ride and the Christmas market of the winter were not yet ready. There were a lot of workers around - removing summer benches, installing wooden bumpers to protect fragile steps and curbs from snowplows, and starting to put up Christmas decorations.

On the other hand, we were able to do everything on our list and things weren’t crowded. It’s a beautiful city and an interesting and very welcoming place to visit.

I’ll dive into some particulars as this series continues, but here are a few key reasons to consider a visit to Québec City:

• You want picturesque? The old city part of town is one big picture postcard - a UNESCO World Heritage Site and very walkable.

• You want historic? This place played a critical role in the history of all of North America.

• You want friendly? The people we met and interacted with could not have been more welcoming and helpful - in English as well as French.

For those of us who live in the Hartford area, there’s also a feeling of being in a sister city. Hartford and Québec City were both founded in the early 1600s and are both the capitals of their State or Province. Both gained NHL franchises in the 1970s and lost them in the 1990s. The teams moved to bigger markets and were both renamed after states and catastrophes - with the Hartford Whalers becoming the Carolina Hurricane and the Québec Nordiques becoming the Colorado Avalanche.

As if to prove this sister-city point, our walking tour guide let us know that he was a retired actuary.