On this raw, rainy afternoon I am daydreaming about our upcoming visit to Quebec City in the fall. This will be our third trip, and it has become one of our favorites. The first year we booked a room at The Chateau Frontenac. This place is not cheap even cutting corners, but I tried by booking a ground floor room – view of the courtyard – no frills whatsoever. When we got there they surprised us with an upgrade @ no extra cost to a 7th floor suite with views of two sides of the city. It was fabulous! The best view of all I discovered in the middle of the night when I got up to use the facilities. The bathroom window over the bathtub had a wide bench-like sill which was perfect for sitting to view all of Quebec City, lights galore. Each night I sat there like a mesmerized cat, taking it all in. That trip was great, And the only casualty was that our camera accidentally got dropped in the toilet. We were able to save the disc, but the rest was a flush. 

Once spoiled by the fabulous room, we requested it the second time we visited. Still a great suite, but at a much higher cost. We decided to book a bus tour to visit several landmarks outside the city, one being Montmorency Falls. These are large falls, comparable to Niagara. There were 2 ways up – 1) About 500 steps one way leading up the side of the cliff  or  2) A ricketty gondola on a thin wire that would take you to the top for 11 bucks. We chose #2. There was a wooden boardwalk at the top which spanned from one side to the other. It was heavily enclosed with wire, luckily, for clutzes like me. About halfway across I tripped over some heavy air and went sprawling across the boardwalk.  My purse flew open and all its contents went in every direction as well. I did suffer some bruises, not the least of which, my pride, but we carried on. After we got back to the city, and after considerable walking, we returned to the Chateau. By this time every bone in my body hurt. The bathroom had one of those deep soaker tubs, and offered all sorts of oils, lotions, and potions. I set about drawing myself a nice hot tub for my aching bones. I filled most of the tub with very hot water, and then had to add cold to make it doable. By the time I was done, the water level was about 2 inches from the top. Yeah. I guess I was absent from science class the day they talked about water displacement. I proceeded to get in the tub and slipped again. Next thing I know, I am underwater, and a great tidal wave is pouring from the tub onto the bathroom floor. At the sound of my screaming, my good husband appeared, and started mopping the floor with all those fluffy white Chateau bath towels. It took 4 or 5 to clean up the mess. Sigh.

I wonder what’s in store for us this time?