Hi, nice to greet you. I’m Yael Yancelson and I’m very excited to be your guide and companion on this magical journey through the senses and imagination.

In this episode we are going to take a very nice trip, we are going to the beautiful city of Quebec in Canada and thanks to our imaginative power we will enjoy a wonderful tour with our 5 senses, so will you come with me?

Now I really hope you bring comfortable shoes because this Canadian city is basically covered on foot, in Old Quebec almost everything is 20 minutes away, so let’s gather strength and start this wonderful tour of what has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Jewel.

Quebec is one of the ten provinces that, together with the three territories, make up the thirteen federal entities of Canada. Its capital is the homonymous, Quebec, and its most populous city is Montreal. It is located in the east of the country, bordered to the north and northwest by the Hudson Strait —which separates it from Nunavut— and Hudson Bay, respectively; to the northeast with the province of Newfoundland and Labrador; to the east with the Gulf of San Lorenzo and the province of New Brunswick; to the southeast with the United States; and to the south and southwest with the province of Ontario.

We started in Place-Royale and I don’t know if it happens to you, but I immediately go back to the 17th century, when New France originated and is undoubtedly the cradle of North American civilization. We are going to see this imposing church called Notre-Dame-des-Victoires which is the oldest stone church in North America and can you appreciate this Quebecois fresco? It is an immense mural that neither more nor less tells us 400 years of history. Shocking, right? Appreciate its colors and textures

Let’s go up the funicular and go to the Petit Champlain neighborhood where we can buy curios and see how they have rebuilt typical buildings dating from the 17th century.

And let me tell you that I visited this place when I was just a little girl and I have fond memories of a wonderful trip with my grandparents, we stayed here at the Chateau Frontenac, which is basically a castle and I kept thinking I was a princess, for sure you also feel like part of the French royalty here, don’t you? Look at nothing more than imposing this castle, it was inaugurated in 1893, the châteauesque style building has 18 floors; its height of 79.9 meters and is increased by the elevation of 54 m in which it is located. It is one of the first major railway hotels completed and was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1981, just a few years before I came here. The hotel has been expanded three times, with the last major expansion taking place in 1993. Let me tell you, the design of the central tower is very similar to a fortress, derived from the medieval castles found throughout the Loire Valley in France . With pitched roofs, massive circular and polygonal towers and turrets, ornate gables and dormers, and tall chimneys. The exterior foundation of the hotel is largely made of gray stone, with a steel frame running the length of the building and brick cladding. The materials that make up the interior of the building include mahogany paneling, marble stairs, carved stone, wrought iron, and glass roundels.

How do you see it? Very elegant, right? We are told that unlike the other Châteauesque style buildings found in France, the Château Frontenac did not use elements of Italianate architecture, instead placing a greater emphasis on Gothic elements and certain elements of the Victorian architectural style. the Château Frontenac was designed by architect Bruce Price.

And let’s continue here and the adventurers follow me because we are going to climb the panoramic staircase or cross the suspension bridge, to see a beautiful landscape framed with all the force of the Montmorency waterfall, a captivating natural phenomenon, don’t you think? So much green that is framed with the water makes a wonderful landscape. And if you’re like me, you’re going to want to get kicked off this zip line- wooooo.

We return on foot and after only 15 minutes we return to the old part of the city and continue touring these charming streets, isn’t this beautiful? We see the Petit-Champlain, the place Royale, the Plains of Abraham and the Parliament Building. Let’s also enjoy a walk through the Dufferin Terrace to take some great photos.

And well if we think of someone famous born here, the famous singer Celine Dion immediately comes to mind, she was born in 1968 here in Charlemagne, Quebec. Did you know that in 1973, Celine Dion made her first public appearance at her brother Michel’s wedding and since then, he continued to perform with his brothers at his parents’ small piano bar called Le Vieux Baril. At twelve he wrote his first songs, Ce N’était Qu’un Rêve (It Was Only a Dream); At thirteen, she recorded a demo that reached René Angélil (whom she would marry) who was so captivated by the girl’s voice that he mortgaged his house to finance his debut, 1981’s La voix du bon Dieu.

And now we are walking to find a very bohemian and warm neighborhood, without a doubt one of my favorites, it is the Saint Jean Baptiste neighborhood, we will pass through the oldest warehouse and the church of St. Matthew and what do you think if we enter one of the many and curious restaurants to discover a bit of the gastronomy of this place.

IF YOU LIKE TO COOK WITH ME, CLICK THE BUTTON, OR YOU CAN CONTINUE TO TRAVEL.