Quebec City

This is yet another installment in my on-going backlog travelogue blog updates. See also: Boston, Rockport, and Ben & Jerry's—all associated stops on this magical nor'eastern trip of two summers past—and posts yet to come: Montréal, our queen Céline Dion in concert, Walden, and Parc national de la Mauricie. Again, chronology has long been thrown to the wind. But be it known that August is a magical time of year to visit eastern Canada—long sun-filled days and greenery at the cusp of summer's end.

Now seems as good a time as any to remind myself that any future trips to eastern Canada should include much more time dedicated to exploring Québec City. The best comparison I can offer is that of a European one: Montréal : Québec City :: Genève : Annecy (though, full disclosure, my photos from Genève perhaps skew toward the historic charm of the Vieille-Ville and less of the skyscraper-riddled-non-profit-business-center-metropolitan-type-city vibe). Montréal is an amazing city with a rich history, expansive food culture, museums, parks, and so much more. In comparison, Québec City felt more akin to a small village with a bustling center.

Ever the city-planning-nerd, I remember vividly visiting the Québec City website several years ago when planning this part of our trip and discovering an amazing landing page with a toggle switch between video footage of winter scenes and summer scenes, both filmed from the same location and angle. It was such a remarkable website feature, highlighting the different experiences offered by a visit during opposite seasons! I've tried and tried to locate the page I so vividly remember, but alas it seems their site has undergone updates in the interim. There is still a summer-winter toggle switch akin to that of their 2016-era website, though the effect is not quite as immersively magical.