THE LAST STOP

I woke up early the next morning and looked outside. This was the beautiful sight I saw.

We were in Quebec, Canada. I could not wait to get ready and go on my tour for the day.

I really felt like I was in France. Everyone spoke French and the signs were all in French. The shops and cafes were like in France. So pretty and full of charm.

Our first stop was to the Montmorency Falls. These Falls are 1 1/2 times higher then Niagara Falls. Though I've never been there so I couldn't say if that is true or not. It's just what we were told.

We first stopped at the bottom of the falls.

Then we went by bus to the top. Once up there we were told we had time to walk over to the bridge at the top of the falls, if we wanted to.

Of course I wanted to! This is looking to the left where the falls really drop down.

From the top the Falls looked much much higher up.

This is the view to the left on the bridge. The water looks so calm until it hits the drop area.

We lucked out as the day was beautiful! The sky was clear and blue and it wasn't to hot or to cold.

We then went into the Montmorency Manor . Inside we were going to be treated to a lovely cup of tea and chocolate cake.

There was also a cute gift shop inside.

Yes, I did eat the cake. It was a small piece but perfect for a yummy taste and not left feeling to guilty.

After we left the Falls we headed over to the Island of Orleans where we going to visit an actual working Sugar shack.

The drive there was so pretty. I had no real idea what a sugar shack even was though. Do you know?

Well it's a large farm of Maple Trees where they tap the sap and make maple syrup.

They still do it the old fashion way here. They tap a spout into the trees and attach a bucket to it. The sap slowly drips into the bucket and then they pick up the buckets when they are full.

We were then shown how they heat it up and turn it into syrup.

They also heated up the syrup a bit longer and it thickens up. Then they poor the warm liquid over crushed ice, that looks like snow, and it quickly cools down.

We each got a stick and rolled the cooled thick syrup around the stick. It lifts off the ice with ease. It's almost like a taffy.

I really didn't even want to try it as I thought it was going to be way to sweet. Then I heard everyone going on and on about how good it was so I gave it a try.

Oh My Gosh! It was like heaven. I had never had anything like this before. Yes it was sweet but not so sweet it wasn't good. It was almost like honey taffy or something.

I really wish they made this and sold it. They really should as they would have a gold mine. But, it's only a treat you get if you tour the Sugar Shack.

We then went to do a bit of shopping in the gift shop. I got some fresh made syrup to bring home.

We then made out way to this old house. It was built by a man, Jean Mauvide, who was only 19 years old back in 1734. Even though he was young he was already a surgeon. In fact, he was the surgeon to the King of France.

Inside they had some of the original furniture to see. See the chair. Looks like the back is missing, doesn't it?

Well that is what they used to make the chairs like. That way on cold days you could put your back to the fireplace and it would keep you warmed up.

We also learned that men and women were much much shorter back in the 1800's. The women were an average of 4 feet 9 inches and the men were only 5 feet 2 inches.

I knew they were shorter back then but had no idea why.

Then we learned it was because the pots and pans and often the plates they used were made from lead and therefore caused the people to get lead poisoning which caused their bones to not be able to grow properly.

We then continued our drive through the city and I noticed that several of the house had these lovely red roofs. It was hard to catch them in a photograph as the bus was moving.

Our tour guide then explained that sometimes it snows so much that you can't even see your home. So the red roofs help find the houses in the white outs.

I just thought they were so cute. Who knew they were helpful also.

When the tour was over, I went walking through the town on my own. I just loved the cafes and shops and the cobblestone streets.

There were also a lot of great antique stops. No, I didn't buy one thing here. I must have been shopped out by this time.

Well, to be honest, I had bought so much stuff on my trip that I didn't have room to pack it all. I was already at my weight limit with my suit case when I got there so I bought a carry on bag and it was already full.

The day was wonderful but I was tired so I headed back to the ship to rest up because at night I had another tour to go on.

It was going to be a night time Ghost Tour. I'll share that tomorrow.