Chapter 6: It’s “ka-BECK”

This past weekend a group of 16 Champlain Students, plus one Activity Coordinator, took a trip to Quebec City!



The way I’ve described the part of the city to friends and family since visiting is ‘it’s like they sawed out a huge chunk of a piece of an old European city and dropped it in North America”. We spent our weekend in Old Quebec, which is still walled in the way it has been since the original French settlers set up camp generations ago.
The streets in this area are still almost entirely cobblestone, aside from some main roads, and almost all the buildings are stone, brick, or stucco. There are cobblestone courtyards with monuments in their centers, an old fort with a main building called the Citadel, the Chateau Frontenac, and out-of-commission cannons at every convenient location. Like I said, right out of Europe.

It’s about a three hour ride by bus from Montreal to Quebec city, but it felt like less than that to me. The bus ticket was included in the cost of attendance, which was $120 Canadian or $100 US, as was the cost of our room for two nights, all our meals, and the various tours in which we took part. However, we were definitely treated to much more than what we paid. We stayed at an amazingly nice youth hostel called “Auberge International de Jeunesse,” which was basic but very clean and accommodating. Our rooms included two good continental breakfasts (your choice of tea, coffee, juice, yogurt, toast, bagel, apple, hard boiled egg and/or cereal), and I don’t think there was a single complaint about the hostel. (We loved the showers!)

On the first day, some friends and I took a walk up to the old fort walls and climbed around up there for a couple hours. As we were all in the Game major, there was many a comment about whether or not the old fort would serve as a good level in a game, existing or potential. The general consensus was no, because, as one of the guys pointed out, game levels are designed to be balanced; this fort was designed so the people inside would win. After walking around on the walls, we found a look out point over the St. Lawrence Straight with a path of stairs that led down around the face of the fort. Harbored in the river were the two largest cruise ships I’ve ever seen. They were essentially floating city blocks. Later that night, we went on a ‘Ghost Tour’ of old Quebec, where we were led around the area by a costumed guide with a lantern who told us old tales of murder and ghosts in the city. There was already a strong ‘Halloween’ air in Quebec, so I’d love to come back for the 31st.

During our stay we visited the Museum of Civilization, le Chateau Frontenac, the old French Parliament, the monument to Samuel de Champlain, and went on many little ‘side-quests’ of our own devising. There were many shops, most of them for tourists but some unique, and a definite feeling of ‘European’ throughout. I’d love to return again some day and see more of the city, outside Old Quebec, even if it isn’t for Halloween.

PS: Many thanks to Stefi for organizing this trip and taking us on a fun weekend adventure!!