Quebec City, Quebec

 Maverick “the van” arrived in Quebec City in the afternoon.  We both were eager to get out an explore.  It was a little challenging reading the signs being they were in French and a lot of people here speak French. It was fun trying to figure it all out.  Bryan found a spot in a parking lot where you could park for up to 24 hours.  I believe it was $10 for the night.  Unfortunately it was raining, but that didn’t stop us from getting out.  We ventured onto a cute little street that looks exactly like what you’d see in Europe.  All the cafes were packed with tourists and the windows had cute shutters and were opened to the outside. Bryan picked out our dinner spot “Ninkasi” We both ordered their local beer and split a plate of nachos.  The nachos were a tad different from the US.  I swear they mix marina sauce in w/their salsa and used a different kind of cheese. They were delicious though and I might have to try making them this way when I get home. Headed back to the van and ran across a candy store.  I love cinnamon bears and thought that they might sell them here. We walked in and looked around and a young worker came up and asked if he could help with anything.  I asked him if they had cinnamon bears and he looked at me with a strange look and said “no, we don’t have cinnamon beer” Ha, ha I guess bear and beer sound the same here.  He must’ve thought I was a lunatic asking for cinnamon beer at a candy store. Had a great nights rest and we were craving a good breakfast. We knew we were in the right city for some amazing pastries. We drove down to Le Croquembouche Patissier et traiteur.  I had an almond croissant and Bryan had a croissant rouge (raspberry croissant) with some black coffee. Best ever!!!! I had watched a video on Tik Tok of things to do in Quebec City and a popular waterfall (Parc des Chutes-e-la-chaudiere) was only about a 20 minute drive and claimed to be taller than Niagara Falls. We went inside the visitor center and the map was a little bit difficult to figure out.  We thought there was only 2 ways to get to the top.  Walking 487 stairs - which we planned on doing or taking a gondola up for around $15/ea.  We headed towards the stairs and the area was closed due to construction.  We didn’t really want to ride the gondola up to the top being we already paid over $20 to get into the park. To our surprise the lady at the counter told us you can take the car up to the top. They had another parking lot up there The suspension bridge going over the falls freaked both of us out.  I hustled to get to the other side and Bryan took a little bit longer checking things out. We walked over to where you could see people zip lining. The zip line crossed right in front of the waterfall from one end to the other. The price was pretty amazing  @ $30, but we both said “no thanks”. The waterfall was amazing and so happy we found this little gem not far from the city. We headed back to our parking spot and got ready to do a walking tour.  It was a self guided tour and we aren’t the best at walking maps, but we figured we saw over 3/4 of what was on the map.  We made reservations for a nice dinner that was off the beaten path.  We each has a glass of wine, bread basket and we split a salad. For our entrees, I had a spaghetti dish with ham, tomatoes, mushrooms in it.  Bryan had the chefs special where they pick 2 different pastas.  His one pasta was puttanesca and we aren’t sure what the other pasta was. Both dishes were super flavorful and delicious. We slept in different parking lot near a marina and had another great nights rest. Before we left we decided to hit the same bakery. Once again, we were not disappointed in the items we picked.  I chose an almond/chocolate croissant and Bryan had a mixed berry danish. We were very sad to be leaving Quebec City. Hopefully we can return someday, it truly is a magical place to visit.