Page 25 - quebec
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or some reason we had low-
                                                                                         ered our expectations for
                                                                                         our upcoming cruise from
                                                                                         Quebec City to New York.
                                                                                         We had recently experi-
                                                                                         enced  three very  enjoyable
                                                                                 Fcruises to the Baltic, San
                                                                               Diego to England through the Panama
                                                                               Canal and a transatlantic sail from Rome
                                                                               to Rio. What could a leaf peeper cruise
                                                                               in our own continent offer – I mean
                                                                               contrary to popular belief, California
                                                                               has pretty good peeper material in good
                                                                               years. But our cruise buddy friends had
                                                                               already booked The RCCL Explorer of the
                                                                               Seas and we decided to tag along.

                                                                               Boy, were we wrong. This cruise was fab-
                                                                               ulous, full of fun, adventure and most of
                                                                               all great food and drink. We saw a side
                                                                               of Canada we didn’t know existed, and
                                                                               reveled in casual sophistication that de-
                                                                               fined  the  cities  and  the  natural  beauty
                                                                               that marked the rugged coastlines of the
                                                                               Saint Lawrence Seaway and the Atlantic
                                                                               Ocean. In Canada we felt a comfortable
                                                                               familiarity with the people and the land,
                                                                               but, there was also a definite uniqueness
                                                                               in culture and scenery here that made
                                                                               for more of an exotic adventure.
                                                                               The  biggest  surprise  was  our  embarka-
                                                                               tion port Quebec City. In retrospect, I
                                                                               can’t  figure  out  why  all  of  my  travel
                                                                               friends aren’t raving about this won-
                                                                               derful city. It is without a doubt one of
                                                                               the most interesting, friendly and fun
                                                                               metropolitan cities in the world. It’s like
                                                                               being in France without the expense, jet
                                                                               lag and attitude (although I’ve become
                                                                               fond of French attitudes as I get older.)
                                                                               Top: Mary James poses under a leaf peeper’s dream
                                                                               tree.  Middle: An ancient cannonball lodged in a
                                                                               tree in Quebec City. Bottom: The Square in the
                                                                               lower city. Opposite: The RCCL’s Explorer of the Seas
                                                                               as seen from the upper city in Quebec City.










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