Tag Archives: Royal Caribbean

Upper Town just above the funicular

Old Quebec is pretty much two towns in one. Last week we looked mostly at Upper Town. This week we’ll head into Lower Town. And to get there we’re going to take a funicular, which is a railed, counterbalanced transport system used on very steep inclines. Here is the funicular that ties together Upper Town to Lower Town:

Funicular connecting Upper Town and Lower Town

The wait for the funicular can be lengthy, especially with multiple cruise ships in town, but it beats walking. And then there’s the view on the way down:

Looking down at Lower Town from the funicular

As with the Upper Town, Halloween had found its way to Lower Town as well:

Lower Town decorated for Halloween

Lower Town decorated for Halloween

The charm with Lower Town derives mostly from the narrow pedestrian streets and picturesque buildings of the Quartier du Petit Champlain:

Lower Town Quebec

You’ll also find in Lower Town Quebec a couple of beautiful frescoes. The fresco pictured below is the Rue du Petit-Champlain mural located at 102 rue du Petit-Champlain in the Quartier du Petit Champlain. This mural depicts some of the history of the area, including the bombardment of Quebec (1759) during the Seven Years’ War, as well as other disasters that have befallen the city:

Fresque du Petit-Champlain

The decorative touches of the buildings in Quartier du Petit Champlain are fun:

Lower Town Quebec

Lower Town Quebec

Lower Town Quebec

On Wednesday we’ll continue through the streets of Lower Town, and even take a break for a poutine lunch.

Greens, Yellows, and Reds

As we strolled through the streets of Quebec City, Ursula and I were not disappointed in our introduction to the area’s fall foliage. The colors were stunning, and of a far wider range of colors than the fall foliage we sought out in our trip through New Mexico’s Enchanted Circle (Part 1; Part 2; and Fun Photo Friday favorites). Whereas that trip gave us impressive yellows and golds set against a backdrop of mostly dark greens, this foliage was an explosion of reds and oranges in addition to the yellows and golds, and the backdrop consisted of lighter, more enticing shades of green:

Seeing red in Quebec

This next image allowed me to capture a subtle, graduated transition from reds at the top to oranges, followed by yellows trailing into light greens:

Graduating from orange, to yellow, to light green

Of course, it’s always fun to play around with depth-of-field (see: Controlling Depth-of-Field):

Playing with depth-of-field

But enough fall foliage today. Let’s take a look at scenes Quebec City has to offer year round, such as the Monument Samuel De Champlain:

Monument to Samuel de Champlain

The base of this monument is also photo-worthy, especially if you can compose another landmark behind it such as the dome topping the Louis S. St. Laurent Building:

Champlain Monument and Louis S. St. Laurent Building

So, you think finances are boring? Au contraire, mon ami, as they would say around here. Take a look at Quebec City’s Ministry of Finance:

Ministry of Finance Building (1887)

Ministry of Finance Building (1887)

Another view of the dome atop the Louis S. St. Laurent Building with just a hint of fall foliage thrown in:

Louis S. St. Laurent Building

And, finally for today, I’ll leave you with this Jean Lasalle sculpture commemorating the 325th anniversary of the death of Marie of the Incarnation, an Ursuline nun who was canonized April 2, 2014.

Jean Lasalle sculpture—Ursuline School for Girls