The Château in photographs

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It’s the most photographed hotel in the world for a very good reason.  Over my five days in Quebec City, I’m proud to have helped add to the total.  The Château Frontenac is striking.  When you think of Quebec City, it’s the visual image that pops to mind first.   Even if I had no intention of pulling my camera out as I walked past, the hotel seemed to will it into my hand for another picture – a different angle, a different light falling across its spires, a different scene playing out in its shadows.  It’s a landmark that begs to be photographed.  Here are a few of my favourites from more than a hundred pictures I took of it on my recent trip:

From the Terrasse Dufferin

From the Terrasse Dufferin

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Nordiques everywhere

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I fell in love with Quebec City in my teenage years.  Summer vacations spent roaming the streets of Vieux-Quebec will do that to an impressionable youngster.  At that time,  I was also in love with the Quebec Nordiques.  They were truly mine; I didn’t know another Nords fan in my junior high or high school.  My hockey heart was first broken by their escape to Denver then completely destroyed by them winning a Stanley Cup in their first year away.

Although the team left the city, it’s clear the memories remain.  Fast forward almost twenty years, and there it was in all its glory throughout the streets of Quebec in so many shop windows – the big “N” and hockey stick logo and that most appealing shade of blue:


If that weren’t enough to re-ignite my passion for Quebec City, I saw this in a shop.  Maybe when you lose your favourite sports teams you’re more sensitive to this kind of thing.  It made me smile, recalling the time before two of my three teams departed me:

Nordiques and Expos

Raising a glass to good memories

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When I learned that this year’s national medical education conference was taking place in Quebec City, the first thought that crossed my mind was “I need to have a drink in the bar in the Château Frontenac.”  An odd first thought?  Not really.  Here I must pause to make a confession.

The only bar I’ve been kicked out of in my life was the Bar St-Laurant in the Château.

When I mention this to those who know me well I get a puzzled look as I’m a pretty quiet, tame fellow by any standard.  But it’s true.  Earlier in my life, it was made known to me in no uncertain terms that my presence in that bar was no longer accepted.

The punch-line?  I was 13 or 14.  I was with my Mom, Dad and a friend of our family from Quebec City.   A very formal waiter with a white towel over his arm leaned in to our table and in a quiet voice reminded my Mom and Dad that I was too young to be in the bar.  With that, Dad put $20 into my hand and I was off into old town Quebec to make my own fun for a couple of hours.

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Bonjour Quebec!

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I’ve recently returned from five (mostly work-related) days in Quebec City.  Unfortunately, the last time I spent any substantial time in this beautiful city was in the winter of 1993 when my Dad and I braved a couple of blizzards to take in a Nordiques game during my university winter break.  Working around a demanding conference schedule on this trip, I tried to make up for lost time.  I rediscovered a guilt-inducing fast food restaurant from my childhood, sat in the shadows of the Chateau Frontenac listening to a sax player as the sun set, wandered around quaint streets until my legs hurt and generally tried to eat as much splendid French food as one human can (truth be told, if you tested me right now I fear I would be at least 10% butter).

Coming up over the next little while will be stories and pictures from my rediscovery of a great Canadian city.  This guy was more than happy to welcome me back:

Bonhomme

The first rule of wine club

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Ok, so it’s not that drastic.  I can speak of Wine Club.

No summary of my recent trip to Toronto would be complete without at least a mention of the time I spent with my sister at her wine club and cellar.   Shortly after arriving in town on Thursday, we made our way to the club nestled away on a side street in downtown for a light lunch and a beautiful bottle of Ontario red.  My sister isn’t a big red drinker, but had stashed a few bottles away for when someone like me comes along with her.  The Thirty Bench Cab Sauvignon was lovely – nice cherry and vanilla flavours – it went really well the chorizo and a few other items making up a light lunch:

Perfect lunch for a Thursday

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Ruby Watchco

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Trying to pick a restaurant in Toronto for each visit is overwhelming.  Which cuisine?  What neighbourhood?  Something new or something loved from a previous trip?  About three weeks before my last visit and I hadn’t picked anything despite reminders from my sister that time was running out to get a reservation for a Saturday night at anywhere popular.  A reminder text popped in from her as I was watching “Pitchin’ In” on Food Network and somewhere in the back of my head I remembered Chef Lynn Crawford had a newish place.  A quick look online and Ruby Watchco was my choice for this trip.

It was superb.  The grapefruit and blood orange tequila cocktail was so good I didn’t get to snap a picture of it.  I could have eaten a bucket of the clili roasted eggplant salad .  The ribeye melted in my mouth.  The sherry vinegar roasted mushrooms (a side with the steak) would make an incredible football day snack (I’m picturing them in a funnel cone with a spear to poke them with, but I digress).  The blueberry and lemon curd parfait was the perfect blend of tart and sweet.

Course 1: Chili roasted eggplant salad with honey mustard goat cheese dressing
Course 2: Slow roasted ribeye with onion jam and horseradish cream
Course 3: Artisinal cheese w/ cherries and almonds
Course 4: Maple blueberry parfait with lemon curd
Me with a glass of Chianti

The restaurant itself was beautiful inside.  Homey with a modern feel.  The staff was super friendly.  For an evening, I wished I lived in Riverside so this could be my neighbourhood place.  I think the picture of me above speaks for itself in that regard.

Got Drunk, Fell Down (no, not me)

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A brief pause from travel writing for kudos to my hometown of Halifax. Two interesting pieces of public art were recently installed on the waterfront, and I’m kind of in love with them. In the foreground below is “Got Drunk, Fell Down” (the lamp that has fallen down and its friend looking down on it with some concern) and in the background is “Fountain” (the lamp post that looks like it is relieving itself into our harbour), both by Chris Hanson and Hendrika Sonnenberg who are former NSCAD students. On a perfectly crisp spring afternoon, people were walking among the lamp posts, taking pictures and enjoying the installation. Here’s hoping there’s more public art coming to our fine town:

Art on Halifax Waterfront

Toronto’s Signature Sandwich

/ Greg / 3 Comments

I’ve written about delicious sandwiches before (Philadephia’s cheesesteak, the Primanti Bros sandwich from Pittsburgh, the glorious hotdogs in Reykjavik) so I know what I’m talking about when it comes to a meal served on bread. Toronto’s peameal sandwich is right up there with the tastiest sandwiches I’ve tried.

Whenever I’m in Toronto on a Saturday morning, I’m making a beeline to the St. Lawrence Market.  Before the main course, there’s plenty of sights and tastes to take in.  For the carnivore, there are cases upon cases of cuts of meat like this:

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Public art in the Distillery District

/ Greg / 1 Comment

On my recent trips, I’ve taken a shine to seeking out public art installations.  On a quiet Sunday morning walk with my sister down to the Distillery District in search of an excellent coffee at Balzac’s, we came across a few interesting works.

This one, “Still Dancing” by Dennis Oppenheim, was right outside the coffee shop in the main square of the district and is a pretty clear nod to the brewing/distilling history of this area.  This installation is quite large with the top of the copper apparatus reaching almost 40 feet tall.

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