Saturday, August 10, 2019

Saturday, August 10, 2019

Tonight's picture was taken on July 31, 2008. You maybe asking.... what is this??? On July 31st, we had to tell Mattie what was wrong with him and how we were going to treat the cancer. Mattie loved bugs. So his art therapists gave him some clay. With the clay he formed a bug. We had Mattie visualize his cancer as bugs in his bones. So the way to kill these bone bugs, wasn't with bug spray but with chemotherapy. In essence the chemo would squash the bone bugs in his body. With that, we asked Mattie what his clay bone bug would look like after treatment. So he stomped on it with his foot, and this was what this photo captured. A smashed bone bug! It was important to explain bone cancer to Mattie in a way he could understand. Given his treatment was going to be so significant and radical, he had to buy into the process. 


Quote of the day: The word “Kebec” is an Algonquin word meaning where the river narrows. Quebec City’s location is at the intersection of the St. Lawrence and the St. Charles River. ~ hikebiketravel.com

Visiting Canada isn't like a typical Caribbean cruise. First of which it is cool, in the 60s with on and off again rain. Or torrential rain to be specific. 

I would have to say one of my favorite things on a Princess Cruise is their breads. All bread products from rolls to croissants. I would love to meet the bakers, because to me this is the best food on the ship. Despite the cool temperatures I ate breakfast on the balcony. 

Peter is not with me on this cruise. He is missed and as I particularly love watching him get jazzy about nautical directions, land masses we are passing, the stars, the swells and waves, you name it. Things that wouldn't necessarily catch my attention, but once he points them out, I see them too. So I am doing some Peter-isms on this trip in his honor. 

We toured Quebec today by foot. We had a three hour walking tour with an incredible guide, Danielle. She had incredible energy, loved to share history and stories about her city, and did a great job keeping track of all of her guests. 

As we walked passed the museum, you know I had to take a photo of this butterfly!

Quebec has an interesting history. Great conflict between the British and French for ownership of this territory. So literally part of the city has French architecture and the other English. Danielle, explained that the french influence uses pitched roofs and stone. 

While the English side tends to use smoother granite and flatter roofs. Honestly both sides are beautiful. Understand though that I stood in the middle of the street. On the right hand side of the street I captured the photo above and on the left hand side I snapped this photo!

Quebec utilizes all its flat spaces with murals. This one is incredible and the artist came from France to create this historical masterpiece, which depicts many of Quebec's great leaders like Samuel Champlain (the founder of the city!). 

They say that walking in Quebec is a lot like visiting Europe without crossing the ocean. I would say Quebec is charming, has preserved its old world charm, and celebrates its illustrious culture. 

This is truly whimsical. In the middle of the town square is a statue of King Louis XIV. He was placed in a snow globe. Literally there are fans inside the snow globe, providing movement to the fake snow. Here's the funny part about this.... the King never visited Quebec and never saw snow. However, since this once was a French territory, and he reigned over the city from a far, they have done what I consider an ironic tribute to their former king. 

Meanwhile today, Quebec has independent governance, yet still is a part of the British commonwealth and therefore symbols of Queen Elizabeth are found throughout the city. 

I never saw the movie, Catch Me if You Can, but apparently Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed in this square, coming out of this cafe! Though the movie was set in France, it was filmed in Quebec!

Quebec is divided into tiers. The photos above were taken in the lower tier. The tier heavily French influenced. To get to the upper tier, you can walk or take the Funicular. It takes about a minute. 

The Funicular puts you right outside the famous Hotel Frontenac. Built in the 19th century as an ideal stop over for the Canadian Pacific travelers. It is recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1980. It has about 600 rooms!

See this symbol, it reads Je Me Souviens. Meaning "I remember." This symbolizes Quebec's history, a combination of the English and French. 

The crown at the top is for England, the lilies for France, the Lion for England, the Maple Leaves for Quebec! 

This red roofed home is the oldest house in Quebec. In fact, near this house, was the residence of Queen Victoria's father. Queen Victoria is responsible for one of the three roadways into Quebec. By the way, I should have mentioned that the upper tier of Quebec is a walled city. The wall is still preserved today!

Holy Trinity Cathedral, an Anglican Church. Danielle wanted us to see the interior differences between an Anglican and Catholic church. She said that the it is a city of churches, reflecting both its Anglican and Catholic histories. 

Interior of the church. To the left, in the balcony, was a special section designated for the Queen or her representatives when they are in Quebec. 

This monumental clock, the only one of its kind built by Richard Mille, is a gift from Switzerland and the Canton of Jura for Québec City’s 400th anniversary. Internationally recognized for its state-of-the-art watches, the company has created a work in keeping with the highest standards of fine clock making. This gift therefore symbolizes the bond of friendship between the Republic and Canton of Jura and Québec City.

It took more than 6 years of work and expertise from some hundred specialists in 28 trades to design and manufacture the clock. Its parts are crafted from premium materials such as titanium, ruby, sapphire, and aluminum.

The Aldred Building is an Art deco building on the historic Place d'Armes square in the Old Montreal quarter.

Completed in 1931, the building was designed by Ernest Isbell Barott, of the firm Barott and Blackader, with a height of 316 ft or 23 stories. Built at a cost of $2,851,076.00, Barott endeavored to design a modern building which would, at the same time, fit with the square's historic surroundings. The building's setbacks at the 8th, 13th, and 16th floors allow more light on the square and create a cathedral-like massing, reflecting the adjacent Notre-Dame Basilica.

Getting a feeling for the weather? We walked in down pours today, and it was cool! However, I would say that Quebec is a very large tourist stop. In fact, to me there were more tourists around us than residents. 

Then we saw the beautiful Notre Dame Cathedral. 

The interior of Notre Dame!

I have been a catholic all my life and never heard of the "holy door." Or its significance. Here's some historical context.......Pope Boniface VIII began the tradition of the Holy Year, known as a Jubilee, in 1300 and the Catholic Church has celebrated them every 25 years or so ever since. A major part of the Holy Year for Catholics is a pilgrimage to Rome and the ritual passing over the threshold of the holy door to symbolize the passing into the presence of God. At the same time, remission of the temporal punishment for sins is granted.

So literally this door you see here is opened every 25 years. Danielle said we would have to come back in 2025, to experience this open door! However, I had no idea that Catholics even made a pilgrimage once in their lives to traverse through a holy door. 

In its hay day, the priests of Notre Dame created and established this huge seminary. Many men were educated to become priests here. Now the seminary is much smaller and the remaining portion of this campus is instead used by the local college, specifically to train architects. 

You saw that we got to the second tier of the city by Funicular. Well the way down is accomplished by walking down steps!

On the way back to the ship, I snapped this photo. I think it helps to give you perspective of the city. It has the lower tier (where we were standing) and the upper tier (where the Frontenac Hotel is located, it looks like a castle on the mountain). 

Get a feeling for the walls around the city? At one time Quebec was going to tear down these walls. Luckily someone advised them not to do this, but to instead preserve them and their history! 

My mom with the Caribbean Princess as the backdrop!

At 4:30pm, we all went through the mandatory emergency safety assembly and at 5pm, we set sail. 

With rain and lightning!

 Good-bye Quebec. 

Something about this sail away reminded me of NYC! Maybe it is that big building that reminds me of the Empire State Building in the distance.