Voyage to Quebec - Part Deux (Sept. 18)

Today went great. We started by driving out of the city towards route 138. We got to "Chutes de Montmorency" (Montmorency Falls) a minute later - you can clearly see it from the highway. Amazing falls in a beautiful canyon, once owned by one of the British governors of Quebec. And you can see why he built his summer house there. With 83 meters drop, this fall is higher than the Niagra Falls (though it's smaller in capacity). You can walk over it,

climb stairs down to its base (and yes, you then have to climb all those stairs up again, as my poor aching feet can attest - damn, I have to get into shape... sometime in the future) , or take a cable car down. With the great weather and visibility we had we could see all the way down to the St. Laurent, where all the water go to. [insert picture]

From there, along route 138 to St. Anne Mountain and St. Anne Canyon. This, again has a huge fall, this time with 3 hanging bridges criss-crossing it. With each bridge, the level of scariness grows. You can zip-line from one side to the other if you're extra brave. As for me, the swinging bridge was enough. (And yes, more stairs to climb back up...).

On the way back, we stopped at the St. Anne Church - a huge cathedral, with its own Michelangelo original. We heard a sermon (in French) and some psalms sung by the choir (also in French).Back to QC, for an evening stroll in the old city again. A French onion soup au gartin and back to the hotel to plan tomorrow - the last day of the trip.

Tips:

1. In Quebec, French is the first language. They consider themselves Nouvelle Francaise ("New French") and although they can tell you're a tourist, they'll start with French and switch to English only if they have to... that is, if you're not foolish enough to brandish your limited mastery of their language by replying with a "bonjour" - and before you know it they're 3 sentences ahead, in rapid French. So, unless French is a favorite second language, reply in English.
2. Do not go into a fancy French restaurant and order just soup - you get the dirtiest looks possible from the maître d' :)
3. Music for the road: XM 80s for the highways, XM Pops (classic music) for the rural byways.

• Favorite highway song:
  "Life is a Highway" by Tom Cochran.
• Best classical piece when descending a mountain road towards a lake:
  "The Pines of Rome" by Rasphigi (fourth movement).
• Best classical piece when driving by a river:
  "The Blue Danube Waltz" by Johann Strauss