Things We Did In Quebec City Day 1




After checking into the Chateau Frontenac, my parents and I headed outside to explore Quebec City around the vicinity of our hotel. It may sound like a cliche but everything around us felt like we were somewhere in Europe and not in North America. We hung out in the little plaza in front of City Hall on Rue des Jardins. After taking pictures until my mom was satisfied with the way the one with her and the fall foliage was to her liking, we started walking back towards the hotel since it was getting close to our dinner reservation at Chez Jules.



We arrived at Chez Jules 15 minutes before or actual reservation time but we were seated immediately. I was all ready to greet the hostess with bonsoir but she totally messed me up by greeting me first with bonjour which I wasn't expecting this late in the day. My mind kept thinking, OMG do they not use bonsoir in Quebec? whats going on and ended up just smiling and nodding in acknowledgement. Once we were seated, our waiter came up and greeted us with bonsoir(ah ha they do use it in Quebec), and I responded back with bonsoir. Then the waiter asked ca va and I responded back ca va bien. After that he went completely off in French and when he saw the dumfounded look on my face, he smiled and switched to English. I took 3 years of Spanish and 1 year of French in High School. What I've discovered so far in Canada is that I'm better able to understand conversational French with a Canadian than with a Frenchman. Canadian French seems to lack the heavy nasal emphasis which is common in France.(Just my personal observation BTW.)


We started off by ordering wine and a charcuterie platter which includes foie gras, to share. Since foie gras is illegal in California, what better time to try it than when in French Canada. Our wine and appetizer arrived and the charcuterie went really well with the basket of wonderful bread. I'm not sure if it is the proper way to eat it but I made myself little sandwiches with the meat, bread and the jar of cornichons on the table.


Orders for our main course were taken after our appetizer arrived. My mom ordered the fish with butter sauce aka Sole Meuniere Fillet, my dad the braised beef cheek and I went with the classic streak frites. While my moms dish was the simplest of the three, I thought it tasted the best. My steak frites dish was ok but I was expecting something closer to traditional french steak and fries than the version that I was served.


Once we were finished and our dishes cleared away, I ordered creme brulee for dessert. I was expecting a deep layer of custard which is common back home but from what I have read, authentic creme brûlée is supposed to have a thin layer of custard so that the caramelized sugar on top and the creamy custard on the bottom are balanced like the creme brulee we just ate.

After dinner, my parents went for a walk down to petit champlain but I headed back to the Chateau Frontenac to enjoy the hotel and the room that I was paying for. Last year when we were in Peru, I felt as if we paid for nice hotels such as Tambo del Inka and Palacio del Inka but never really got to enjoy what the hotels had to offer because we were always out and about. This time, I wasn't going to let that happen so headed back to our room while my parents went for their walk.