I'm Back!

Wow, though I was away only four days, it felt a lot longer. Don't get me wrong, Gizmo Guy and I had a fantastic time in Quebec City. Our bank account however isn't feeling so healthy - food is EXPENSIVE there, as is the gas which is approximately ten cents a litre more than it is in Ontario - $1.34 a litre (which for my American friends, translates to $1.34 per quart or $5.36 per US Gallon, or $6.03 for an Imperial Gallon (slightly bigger than a US gallon.) Ouch!

But the hotel, OMG - we made SUCH a good choice in our hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Clos St. Louis within the old city, steps away from the Hotel Frontenac. I posted pictures of our room on Tuesday, but take a peek at some of the other rooms available. Oh, and on Tuesday I said it was built in 1649 which is what the lady who checked us in said, but I discovered in a booklet in the room that it was actually built in 1849. Which makes more sense - still old, but not AS old. (Though there are buildings from the 1600s in parts of the city - I'll post more about that in the days to come.)

The breakfasts they provided were delicious, and they really knew how to look after you. GG and I would stay there again in a heartbeat.

When we checked out today, the owner handed me a lovely embroidered silk bag and said that everyone who stays with them takes a souvenir with them -- a lovely miniature teapot. I haven't had an opportunity to take a picture of it, but I thought it was really classy. Especially since I collect teapots!

We didn't realize how lucky we were to get a hotel room this week until we were sitting on a pub's patio last night and kept seeing men dressed very obviously in team colors walking by - Belarus, Italia, etc. "What game is going on?" we asked our waitperson. Duh, the World Hockey tournament is being held both in QC and Halifax. As I said, we were lucky to get a reservation in hockey-mad Canada.

Anyway, I haven't even checked my house - I saw dishes piled quite high in the kitchen so I immediately started up my computer and tried to ignore what else I might find. I'll try to get around to people's blogs tomorrow, and then Saturday I'm heading into Toronto for TRW's monthly meeting. Once I get over that eight hour drive - which is a story in itself.

But if you ever plan on going to QC - take some time to get yourself in shape before you go. There are LOT of very steep hills - some of the streets even have handrails on them to hold onto as you climb (or go down). Those of you planning to go to San Francisco this summer, you'll have a hint of the QC streets.