Au Revoir, Quebec

Since we weren't stopping in Montreal, we thought that we should at least see a bit of old Quebec (city). John put Hotel Frontenac in his GPS and we followed it to the center of the old town where we parked the bikes and walked around for a couple of hours. The old town area is very quaint with a long narrow street lined with shops selling everything from souvenirs to jewelry and clothing - it reminds me somewhat of Bratislava. Rather touristy with all the cafes and restaurants, but still impressive. We walked along the water for a mile or so and then climbed a long stairway up the side of the hill to the Plains of Abraham, where a famous battle was fought in 1759 that determined the future of Canada as a British colony, rather than a French one.

Back on the road we went by Montreal and stayed at a very strange hotel in Lachute, about 60 miles west of Montreal. The hotel was being remodeled and looked as though it was once quite fancy. The weather was warm and clear all day, and the road we followed alternated between two and four lanes.

This morning we were up early to get to the BMW shop in Ottawa for a service on John's bike. As we approached the city we began to hit a lot of stop and go traffic, mostly due to construction. Ottawa is rather like LA without the charm - I've finally found a Canadian city to which I have no interest in returning. We were at the shop for three hours and left in the early afternoon. The road was pleasant enough once we escaped Ottawa, going along the river in places and eventually Lake Nipissing, where we are spending the night in Sturgeon Falls, Ontario. The area around the lake appears to be a favorite vacation spot, being on the water and not far from Toronto.

Tomorrow we'll be back in the USA.

The Hotel Frontenac in Quebec City.

Looking down at a row of shops in the old town.

How "darling" is that restaurant?

A busy outlet at the motel in Lachute - this wasn't unusual when the three of us shared a room and we needed to charge our phones, Kindles, and even our helmets (Bluetooth).