Montreal & Quebec

From the Toronto area, I headed east towards the Atlantic Coast.  On the way, I spent time in Montreal and Quebec City, both of which have an "old town" although Quebec's is much older and much cooler.

Montreal

Montreal (an old convent)

Quebec

Quebec

I'd been to Quebec City when I was about 11 and my memories were vague but that it was like Europe, with narrow streets and old buildings.  And yes, it was still like that.  A chunk of my time was spent just wandering the streets, popping into shops and things.  And into this church, which has some historical significance I've now forgotten.  Maybe it's just an old church, on a big square in the old city.

Some old church in Quebec

It contains this magical flying boat.

I also took a tour of the Citadel, which is a walled fortress overlooking the city and is still an active military base (so you need to take the guided tour to see the grounds).  It was pretty cool to look at and learn about, and added to the knowledge I'm either learning or remembering about eastern Canada's history.  (Things like, I vaguely remember there was a war between the British and the French in the 18th Century, but I don't know what it was about.)  Among other things, I learned that the Citadel was originally a French fort, and that in whatever war it was, the French lost it to the British in twenty (20) minutes.  Maybe because the French sent runway models onto the field to defend the fort.

The French Army

At the Citadel:  This device keeps the official time.

The Citadel

Montreal's old city was also nice, for a downtown area in a big city, but not as cool or fancy as Quebec's.  Its highlight is the Church of Notre Dame of Montreal, a huge and ornate Catholic Church.  As in several of my other stops along the way, I learned more about the history of the area at the church, because in addition to being a church, it's highly decorated with scenes from Montreal's past.  I liked that the building was both a religious center and an homage to its city.

Notre Dame de Montreal

The French converting the Indians, instead of slaughtering them, unlike some other countries I could name.