Day 3: Old Quebec

Day 3 was one of our shorter drives of our honemoon roadtrip adventure.  Montreal to Old Quebec was under 4 hours...I guess that is still a pretty long drive, but compared to our other destinations it felt pretty easy.  

Old Quebec was even more colorful and vibrant than Montreal, and is definitely a piece of Canada we promised we'd visit again, and kind of wished we had more time in.  
Despite our 24 hour stay, we made the most of it by staying up late into the night and waking up early in the morning to explore most of what the central city had to offer.

Besides getting to stroll through this romantic city, we also had the fanciest and one of the most delicious meals of our lives, zip-lined across a waterfall, oh and did I mention the churches?  See below...

Notre-Dame Basilica

Notre-Dame was actually a stop on our way out of Montreal
as we headed toward Old Quebec.  
Click on the above photo or title links above to visit their website.

It was very quiet and dark inside, which made for a peaceful visit.  We were honestly both a little bit cranky just before we went in, so it gave us an opportunity to refocus for the day ahead.  
There was a donation charge at the door to get in, but with all of the cute cafes and shops that were around the church, the stop felt well worth it.

Exploring the City

We were blown away as we rode into Old Quebec.  Amidst the natural beauty of the city's mountainous terrain, and the St. Lawrence River, it was also a magnificently colorful city. Much of the architecture and general city culuture made me nostalgic of my time spent in Europe.  We had to keep reminding ourselvess that THIS was Canada!

The City by Night

After we had the fanciest dinner of our lives, at a super romantic resturant called Panache
 we walked around the city for most of the night, stopping at a few outdoor drink spots along the way. 

Although we did not go to this adorable restaurant in this photo, you can click on the photo above  if you would like to know more about it. 

There were so many cute shops and cafes in the lower and upper walkways of Old Quebec.  I definitely recommend giving yourself adequate daytime to explore the shops while they are open.  The nightime was a good opportunity to scope out cool places we wanted to get our coffee and breakfast in the morning - we found a cute spot, as pictured below. 

Parc de la Chute - Montmorency

We had simply driven past this  waterfall on our way into Quebec, and googled it as fast as we could.  We had no idea it existed until we arrived.  I was glad we had a trip without many reservations so that we could enduldge in discoveries like this!
Click on the photo or title to find out more about this place!

And Then We Decided To Do This

To be honest, we had no plan to zip-line, mostly because we had no idea this place existed (let alone that zip-lining was an option), but also because it looked TERRIFYING!

 We got some minimal instructions in French, and because apparently "no, we didn't pay yet" didn't translate, we ended up going for free...  without documentation that we ever went.  It was probably the scariest/most thrill seeker thing we did the whole trip.  

I would definitely recommend doing this, and then rewarding yourself with a slush puppy!

Me being grumpy after I accidently fell in the water in a rash effort to save my phone. 
​No dice...haha 

And We're Off

After staying in Old Quebec way later than planned, we left into the night down to our next stop in Saint John and the southern edge of New Brunswick. 

Next Stop - Day 4-5: New Brunswick