A change of scenery. Almost a change of country. 500 miles north of Toronto lies French-speaking Quebec. The approach across the St Lawrence Seaway is very fine, and as soon as you get close to the houses you sense that this place is different from what you have seen in the rest of Canada.
It’s a bit late in the day, but anyway let’s go with our friends Cleo and Naim to have a quick look at the Plains of Abraham and the river below.
Next morning we’re back at the Plains of Abraham. It was here that in 1759 General Wolfe fought the decisive battle which obliged France to give up its colonial acquisitions in North America. Incidentally both Wolfe and the French commanding officer, General Montcalm, lost their lives in the battle.
My dear chap, who put your hat on for you this morning? That’s better –you’ve got to look your best on guard, you know.
The guards look British enough, but there’s not much else that looks British here. The whole city, with its chateaux and its narrow streets, its bistrots and its street artists has a strong French flavour, really quite different from the Anglo-Saxon cities to the south.
Quebeckers are concerned about keeping the traditional appearance of their city and you will not, for example, see tall skyscrapers dominating the skyline. Here, high above the St. Lawrence, is Dufferin Terrace and the imposing Chateau Frontenac.