to the city where the battle for the main language of North America was decided, according to some… at any rate, for us, a restful break from the routine and stress of life in the Banlieu of Montréal, and a debrief for me personally after the stresses of the first exam this year!
Of necessity, our weekend was short, as we decided to take the Via Rail train from Montréal’s Central Station early on Friday afternoon, and return by the same route on Sunday. Rather than blow our budget for the whole weekend in a luxury hotel, we opted fortuitously for a wonderful and historic bed and breakfast in the heart of Québec’s old town. http://www.bedandbreakfastquebec.com/
But I am jumping ahead! For me, the train trip was interesting despite the fact the route lies through the less than inspiring river valley between Montréal and Québec City; for one thing, this was my first rail trip on North American soil; for another it enabled a much closer study of the landscape than that permitted by taking the AutoRoute in the current wintry conditions.
Rail transport in Canada is highly organised, boarding our train involved more formalities than would be undergone to board a pan-European budget flight, and despite the aging infrastructure, shared tracks and ugly station facilities, our departure from the central station was agreeable, especially once we had crossed the shaky Victoria Bridge and left behind the sleepy South Shore town of St Lambert with its one-horse station. (below)
I doubt if rail is even second-fiddle to road transport in this country, which is a little sad. The coaches were old and tired but very comfortable, and the absence of stress inherent with road travel was a huge advantage. The logistics of maintaining a railroad in the fairly remote shooting-box countryside North of Montréal during winter most certainly cannot be easy; despite this, the ride was smooth, and we arrived in Québec’s outskirts several minutes early. One has an impressive view of the St Lawrence River as the train crosses one of two huge bridges into the provincial capital, and glimpses of the more imposing buildings in the city, such as the ubiquitous Chateau Frontenac.
The Gare du Palaise was both imposing and tasteful, something we are not accustomed to in Montréal’s architecture. Though built significantly later, it harked gently to historic railway stations in England, and the old town, when entered by taxi, was redolent of Stamford. I was pleased at the absence of pretentious architecture and also of cold grey granite, as the weather on our arrival was far from welcoming, snow forming slowly and steadily into slush and rain on the steep, crazy-paved streets.
Our welcome at the Maison Historique James Thompson was a most favourable first impression- and thankfully one which lasted! The historical aspect of the ancient house has been tastefully incorporated to make the place charming, romantic and welcoming without being kitsch or artificial. The “security system” particularly tickled me:
An old blunderbuss (I never discovered whether or not it was loaded….) to back up a feature built-in by the Scottish builder of the house, James Thompson- a “murder hole”! This strange little device initially reminded me of a pillbox loophole, then suggested a very old fashioned mail delivery system or speaking tube, but no… in tandem with the blunderbuss, they offered a significant “deterrent” to would be marauders. Thankfully our hosts spoke English and seemed to have no predisposition against English speakers, and as we remembered the door entry procedure, we had no trouble on returning in the evening!
Our accommodation had everything we needed, in a delightful antique room with every modern comfort tastefully concealed. Being at the top of the house meant that we were very quiet and save for the inhabitants of an aquarium, we had the whole top floor of the house to ourselves.
We had a small supper at Le Saint-James, a resto-bistro very near to our guest house, having spent the evening wandering around the many rather expensive stores which are mixed in with cheap gift shops and “Irish” pubs.
http://manoir-victoria.com/index.php/en/gastronomy-table-manoir-resto-bistro-st-james
We decided to have an early night, as the next day portended very poor weather, and we wished to use the best of our time in the morning to have an excursion. The room, despite being antique, was warm and well furnished, and as previously mentioned, wonderfully quiet. I doubt if that kind of tranquility would exist anywhere on the Island of Montréal.
Our delightful accommodation. On seeing the road in the morning, we were glad to have taken the train!
To be continued…
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