Vacation in Quebec — Day 5

On this, our fifth day in Quebec, we decided to check out the Montmorency waterfalls, which were literally a 10-minute drive outside of downtown Quebec City.


At 27 stories tall, Montmorency Falls is 100-feet higher than Niagara Falls. The falls were simply gorgeous! (9/28/05)


Here they are from one of the lookouts ... as you can see they have a pedestrian bridge that spans the waterfall. (9/28/05)


Now that we're up at the top of the waterfalls, here's the stairwell down! (9/28/05)


James and Tim pose in front of the waterfall at the top of the stairwell. You may not be able to tell, but Tim, who is afraid of heights, was terrified. Mad props to him for making it through the experience! (9/28/05)


After the climb down those million stairs, we took a cable car back up to the top where we had lunch at the Manoir Montmorency just behind Doris and Jenn. Built as the summer home of the Governor in 1780, the building also served as the home of Queen Victoria's father, Prince Edward, from 1791 to 1794. It ultimately burned down, and what stands there today is a re-creation. (9/28/05)


The view from the Manoir Montmorency restaurant! (9/28/05)


Afterward we explored the city of Montmorency where we saw this interesting looking church with a gold statue of Jesus on top. (9/28/05)


While on the hunt for a liquor store, we found the nearby PFK. To the best of our French language knowledge, we think it stands for Poulet Fritte Kentucky. (09/28/05)


Later that evening, we went shopping in downtown Quebec City where I snapped this shot of the Basilique de Notre Dame de Quebec, the oldest parish in North America dating back to 1647, although the building that stands there today was built in 1922. (9/28/05)


Afterward we bought some Cuban cigars at J.E. Giguere Tabac, which was a stone's throw from the basilica. Our resident Cuban cigar expert Doris gives the selection a careful inspection. (9/28/05)

Vacation in Quebec — Day 4

Our fourth day was also one of our busiest, since it was our first chance to get inside the heart of Quebec City.


As much as it poured the day before, the weather on our fourth day was clear and sunny, as can be seen from our hotel window. (09/27/05)


We entered the walled city through the rue Dauphine gate. Just going through this arch was like going back in time 250 years. (09/27/05)


It was a feast of the senses walking through the narrow streets, among the centuries old stone buildings. (09/27/05)


This is Maison Maillou, which once housed the colony's treasury. Built in 1736, and expanded in 1753, the building typefies the architecture of New France, complete with iron shutters. Today it's the home of the city's Chamber of Commerce. (09/27/05)


This is the Fairmont Chateau de Frontenac hotel, Quebec City's most recognizable landmark. Built in 1892-1893, and expanded again in the 1920s, the hotel is an excellent example of the chateau-style hotels built by Canada's railway companies. (09/27/05)


Inside the Chateau we stopped inside an upscale liquor store that had some amazing (and expensive) finds, like these bottles of 1963 vintage port for only $675 Canadian, plus 15% tax. (09/27/05)


Another view of the Chateau from underneath a prominent statue of Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer who founded Quebec City in 1608. Of the 25 settlers he brought into the city, only 8 survived the first winter. (09/27/05)


We took a guided tour of the Chateau de Frontenac, which included a visit to one of the many executive suites named after the famous guests that at one time occupied them. Here Doris and Jenn listen to our tour guide from inside the Trudeau-Carter Suite named after former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and former President Jimmy Carter, who didn't actually occupy the suite at the same time. :) (09/27/05)


After an exhausting hike up 300+ stairs, we found ourselves on the Plains of Abraham, site of the definitive battle between the French and the English in 1759. If the French had won the battle, Canada — and arguably, the United States — might have been French-speaking nations. To see the actual picture Tim was taking, click the photo above. (09/27/05)


This is the Parliament Building in Quebec. Erected between 1877 and 1884, this structure is the seat of 125 provincial representatives. This was right next to our hotel too! (09/27/05)


After resting back at the hotel for a while, we headed out for dinner on the town. This time it was at a nice little restaurant called Le Hobbit, which was near the oldest grocery store in North America that we shopped at the day prior. (09/27/05)

Vacation in Quebec — Day 3

No trip to French-speaking Canada is complete without a visit to romantic Quebec City, founded by French explorer Samual Champlain in 1608 as the hub of New France. It's also the site of the definitive battle between the English and French that marked the death of New France and the birth of British Canada. In addition, Quebec City holds the distinction of being the only walled city in North America.


It was pouring the day we drove from Montreal to Quebec City (approximately a 3-hour drive). I snapped this picture from the passenger seat just as we were about to cross the Victoria Jubilee Bridge. (09/26/05)



Along the way, we stopped at this crazy restaurant and gas station that had all these dinosaurs surrounding it. I also picked up some fresh cheese curds, which is a popular snack in Quebec. They were pretty good, I must say. (09/26/05)



We couldn't afford to stay at the landmark Fairmont Chateau de Frontenac hotel (it was about $400-$500 a night). But we did the next best thing: We stayed in a hotel with a view of the Chateau. Believe it or not, this was the view from our hotel room! (09/26/05)



The city is divided between Upper Town and Lower Town. Here we are walking Lower Town in the rain looking for a place to eat. We ended up finding a nice little pizza place, which had good food, but slow service. (09/26/05)



The building shown here, with the green awnings, is Maison J. A. Moisan. Founded in 1871 by Jean-Alfred Moisan, this store claims the title of the oldest grocery store in North America. (09/26/05)



Doris and Jenn shop at the oldest grocery store in North America. I really wanted to buy something there, so I found a nice bottle of ice cider from the Cidrerie Michel Jodoin — a well-known Quebecois microdistillery. Like ice wine, ice cider is made with apples that remain on the tree throughout the cold Quebec winter. The apples are then harvested and pressed while still frozen. (09/26/05)



Since it was pouring out, we thought it would be a good chance to catch a movie. Unfortunately we couldn't find any theaters playing movies in English. But we did find the Wal-Mart, where we bought some cold medication and local maple syrup at a fraction of the cost of what you find in the souvenir shops. (09/26/05)



Yes, they even sell fresh cheese curds at the Quebecois Wal-Mart. (09/26/05)

Vacation in Quebec — Day 2

Well, we're back from our trip. And although I didn't have as much time to blog from the road as I would have hoped, I plan on catching up today. Rather than write a lot of narrative, however, I'm going to do the lazy version of blogging and simply post photos and captions. At least then I'll be back up to speed more quickly.


Tim, on his actual birthday, waits in our hotel lobby before heading out to explore Montreal. (09/25/05)



St. George's Anglican Church, just outside the Bonaventure metro station where we caught our ride to the Parc de Mont Royal. Built in 1870, its double hammer-beam roof is one of the largest of its type in the world. (09/25/05)



Jenn, Tim and Doris as we wait for the #11 bus to take us to the peak of Mont Royal. (09/25/05)



View of downtown Montreal from the chateau atop Mont Royal. (09/25/05)



Jenn and Doris pose in front of the Montreal skyline. (09/25/05)



After spending the morning at the Parc de Mont Royal, we stopped at a little sandwich shop for a snack. While there we had a candy bar that I had never before seen: Kit Kat Chunky, which is kind of like one big Kit Kat, instead of four to the package. I swear, Kit Kat must be the national candy bar of Canada, because they also have Peanut Butter Kit Kats, Caramel Kit Kats, Kit Kat Dark, Vanilla Kit Kat, Strawberry Kit Kat, etc. (09/25/05)



After getting food, we decided to do a little shopping. These sunglasses — a birthday gift from Doris and Jenn — were what Tim selected. (09/25/05)



While there, I also had them make a custom shirt as a souvenir of this trip. Here Michele, the friendly store clerk we met, holds it up for a picture. (09/25/05)



On our way to dinner in vieux Montreal, we passed the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montreal, which opened in 1829. The tower on the right hand side, at 228 feet high, holds Le Gros Bourdon, the largest bell in North America, weighing over 12 tons. This is also where Celine Dion got married. (09/25/05)



Jenn, Doris, Tim and I celebrate Tim's birthday at Bonaparte french restaurant just blocks away from the Basilique Notre Dame de Montreal. (09/25/05)

Vacation in Quebec — Day 1

The day started very early. 4:00 a.m. in fact. That gave us an hour to get ready before we had to leave for the OC airport. Somehow we conned Everett into taking us to the airport, which was very nice given the ungodly hour.


Tim riding the tram at the Cincinnati airport. (09/24/05)

We made our way through the security check in plenty of time to catch our 6:45 a.m. flight to lovely Cincinnati where we had a 1.5-hour layover. Actually, it’s my very first time in the Buckeye state (although you could hardly call it an actual visit to the state).

I was surprised to see the plane that was going to take us to Montreal. Unlike the 183-person-capacity 757 that took us from California to Cincinnati, the plane that took us to Montreal was a 50-seater CRJ50. It made for a slightly choppier ride than I would have liked, but it was nice.

After landing and making our way through customs, we picked up our car (a white Jeep SUV) and headed to downtown Montreal. Just driving into it, I got a glimpse as to what a great-looking city this is. Lots of old buildings, many of them made from stone.


Driving up the Rue de Guy looking for our hotel. (09/24/05)

Our hotel, although somewhat shady looking from the outside, is actually quite nice on the inside. Plus we have a great view overlooking Crescent Street, a lively street filled with restaurants, bars and clubs.


The view from our hotel, overlooking the bars and restaurants on Crescent Street. (09/24/05)

We had about an hour-and-a-half to unpack and rest before we had to head back to the airport to pick up Doris and Jenn. What we didn’t know was that the second leg of their flight, leaving out of Chicago, was delayed by an hour-and-a-half.

Considering we only had an hour-and-a-half to kill, and we didn’t know Montreal in the slightest, we just decided to get a bite to eat at a somewhat upscale restaurant at the airport (as upscale as an airport restaurant can be, anyway).


Ordering food at the Altitude resto bar. I'm not exactly sure how a resto bar is different from a regular restaurant, but I didn't ask questions. (09/24/05).

When they finally arrived, they were starving, not having eaten anything in hours. So we made our way to Crescent Street where we found a nice little Portuguese tapas bar where we got a bottle of vinho verde and sampled some great appetizers (including a fabulous anchovy salad — Doris is the only other person I currently know that likes anchovies).

By then it was 12:30 a.m. and the street was still packed with people. But we were exhausted and headed back to our hotel for some much-needed sleep.

Tim's Birthday Dinner

Tonight we celebrated an early birthday for Tim. The actual date is Sunday when we'll be on vacation in Montreal. We didn't do anything too big this year. We just invited a few local friends to a smallish dinner at the Vietnamese restaurant nearby.


James, Tim and Everett at the Vietnamese restaurant. (09/23/05)

Plus, since we have a flight at 6:45 a.m. (and have to be at the airport one hour early), I knew we weren't going to be up for our typical late night thing.

Tim got some fun gifts, including the Elektra DVD and an iTunes gift card (from Jon and Amy), the Corpse Bride soundtrack and a voice recorder (from Everett), and the latest Terry Brooks book, a $38 Starbucks gift card and a pre-order for the City of Villains game (from Joe).


The birthday boy poses with Jon and Amy. (09/23/05)

Tom and Christine, who weren't able to attend, also sent him a really cool game for PlayStation 2 called Katamari. Doris and Jenn also sent him something really cool, but it's backordered and won't arrive until after Canada. More on that after Tim receives it.


Blowing out his birthday candles. (09/23/05)

I gave him a pewter Jack Skellington jewelry box with a really cool stained glass lid. Inside, I rolled up a Canadian $100 bill to spend on anything he wants in Canada. But the best thing about that Canadian $100 bill was that it only cost me 80 bucks! :)

An American Icon

Friday, September 30, 2005 marks the 50th anniversary of the day the world lost an American icon: The late great James Dean.


The classic James Dean portrait. Photo by Roy Schatt. (c.1954)

While I haven't really been into James Dean all that much recently, I was really into him during my teens and early 20s. I had James Dean posters. I read almost everything I could about him. I watched all his films (which isn't hard to do, since he only made three). My favorite was Giant.

Why did I like him so much? I think it was because he embodied everything I wished I was. He was cool. He was confident. He was hot. In fact it was around that time that I started using my given name of "James" rather than my childhood name of "Jim" or "Jimmy." In fact, that's still in effect with anyone that has met me during college or thereafter (only my relatives still call me "Jimmy," which I don't mind at all).


The classic photo from Giant. (c.1955)

In my Junior year in high school, when I was applying for colleges, my mom and dad took me on a cross-state road trip to all. the major state universities in Southern California. It was on that trip that I persuaded them to depart from Interstate 5 and take old 41 and 46 two-lane highways so I could drive the same route that James Dean drove on the day of that fateful day in 1955.

We even stopped to take a picture on site where his Porsche Spyder collided with another car in the remote town of Cholame, California. I've driven through there one or two times since, and every time, it's hard for me to believe that this is where his life ended.


James Dean: February 8, 1931 - September 30, 1955. (c.1954)

For years, I always said I wanted to go to the spot on September 30. It won't happen this year, however, since I'll be in Canada. But at the very least I can pay a small tribute in the James & Tim Blog.

Heading Home

Yesterday I headed back home via Southwest. Since it was a daytime flight, I made sure to secure a window seat on the right side of the plane. It's the best spot to secure great views of San Francisco and other landmarks. Plus, when you fly into John Wayne airport, you can usually see our house as it approaches Orange County.


The view of San Francisco from the plane. You can see downtown, Alcatraz island and the Golden Gate bridge near the top. (09/19/05) [Click the image for a higher resolution photo]

This time, however, I was flying into Bob Hope Airport in Burbank since I got such a great fare, it made the extra hour drive worth it. It actually was fun, since I hadn't flown out of/into Burbank airport in at least seven years.


Santa Cruz from 30,000 feet. (09/19/05) [Click the image for a higher resolution photo]

I like it because it's so much more convenient than LAX. It doesn't even have jetways — you have to walk down the stairs. Every time I de-plane there, I always pretend that I'm the President.


I always like to pretend I'm the President every time I step off a plane at the Burbank Airport, which does not use jetways. (09/19/05)

It's actually a pretty cool airport with a lot of history. In its 75-year history, it's been used many times by many aviation pioneers, including Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh.