Quebec City

Bonjour~ On a 5 day solo trip to Quebec city, I walked on average of 19,000 steps a day. Quebec city reminds me of san francisco with its fantastic view but killer slopes.

Montmorency waterfalls- apparently there is a bus that goes there in the summer. When it’s offseason, to get there by public transportation, you would have to take the #800 bus to beauport which has one million stops at every block.
What I like about this waterfall is there are so many angles you can view the waterfalls; stairs on the right, cable ride on the left, bottom view, top view with the cafe, over the bridge from right above the waterfalls, another bridge few feet behind.

View of old Quebec from Citadelle
I think if you haven’t been to Europe and want a taste of old world romanticism, Quebec is definitely the place to go. It’s quiet and the architect dates way back from 1608. You can get lost and not be very lost because after the first 2 days, I didn’t use the map on my phone that much.

The governor’s promenade in old quebec connects to Plains of Abrahams. It has a great view of the town across the river Levis. The Levis ferry is currently on strike so I didn’t get to go to the other side. The first day I was there I walked along the governor’s promenade with its 310 steps and mostly ascending. This is one of my favorite walks. I must have went forth at least 4 times and back 1 time. It’s calming and quiet because it’s a bit strenuous not many tourists go on it.

Batisse the royal goat from Citadelle- given to the city of Quebec by Britain, it symbolizes “stubborness” since goats are very stubborn, better words are unrelenting determination to protect its family/country. Actual use is more symbolic than literal although it does charge at random people according to our funny tour guide. Tour guide also mentioned in the 1970s when there was a nationalist movement, the goat was spray painted blue and couldn’t get the paint out ever 😦
(The apple is from farmer’s market!)

This is the first time I have traveled alone for a few consecutive days. I didn’t really go to many places-went to Musée des Beaux-Arts, Ursulines museum, Citadelle, Montmorency waterfalls and Marché du Vieux-Port de Québec! It helped clear my mind and know how to move forward. What to leave behind and what to hold onto.

Post about food next!

Song of Kamakura

We planned the trip around September 16th which was the day of the annual archery show at a temple in Kamakura. We enjoyed the show, the noise, the sound, the waves of people, the horses that didn’t care about the event, and the hot weather.

After the event, we wander around and it was at a temple which was probably not on our itinerary where we found our solace. We entered the big gate, and took off our shoes to enter the historical architecture with the plastic bags holding our shoes, and went to the back of the structure. Sitting down on a bench with strangers, we heard a song of words we did not know. We looked at the view of the garden, the shallow pond, the light breeze dancing on the water, the blue skies with cloud and found solace in the simplicity of it all where all the complexities of everyday life was escaped.

It was a moment that made the day trip worthwhile and an experience and a feeling that would never be forgotten. How simple it was to feel a fleeting moment of contentment, at the right time, in the right place.

Barbarian Sakura Old Fashioned marketing

The four of us has very different professions; unfortunately, it does not include marketing. The only thing we could really do is keep the samurai spirit and work as hard as we could! So last night, we went around the city, asking stores nicely, if we could post on their bulletins or walls. Spotting them is not easy- we also receive some rejections. Overall it was an exciting adventure! We really got out of our comfort zones! Along the way, we found a retro store, a CD/DVD store that was going out of business, a store that charges you $5 to post for two weeks, a bookstore that lets you post 1 poster and does it for you (not on the spot but as they rotate) and really really cool, good people who gave us the opportunity to post on their walls even though we didn’t give them business! We appreciate it tons! The journey was from 7pm to almost 12pm and we learned a lot along the way!

Started our journey here! We asked a couple of days ago, before we printed the posters out if it were okay to post!

I eagle eyed this Yakitori place! If they could post ads, could we also do that? The answer was yes!! Yatta!

Finally decided to go in, our brave and elegant samurai asked the cashier and got a yes! Conveyor belt style, we assembled 5 sets of 5 posters 🙂 (after many confusions, should we separate the posters into 5 piles or just assemble, etc!)

Very very strange store! But the staff there said “Irashaimase!” and told us “sure!” when we asked if we could post on their wall!!

Nice lady at a local taco place let us post this!!

Cool coffee shop let us post it! We just asked politely and they said yes!

Outside the theatre where they played Liselotte in May! (I had written a review previously)

Outside a school!

Very nice wine shop! We’re sorry we couldn’t drink that night 😦 😦

A for awesome! Outside a Banhmi sandwich place! Thanks guys!

A record store that’s sadly counting its last days 😦 …Thank you for letting us post!

Spanish fast food restaurant!

It was quite an adventure but we really appreciate all those who helped us along the way!!