May 18, 2018. Quebec City, Quebec.

Right after breakfast we headed out on foot, down to the old walled city of Quebec. We passed this ship sculpture on the way there. It depicts the history of Quebec, from the arrival of the French to modern times.

We passed through the wall into the old city. Right inside the wall was the esplanade powder magazine, constructed in 1815.

The Palais de Justice de Quebec (Court House).

The Hotel Frontenac is the most imposing structure in the old city.

We walked down banks of stairs to get from the upper town to the lower town. Quebec City is built on a cliff overlooking the St. Lawrence River, a very strategic point on which to build.

We took a ferry boat across the river to Levis, but did not labor up the hill to see the church.

The view of Quebec City across the water was worth the trip!

On the way back on the ferry we saw that the cable car was running so decided to take that route to get back to the upper city.

There was a plaque for Leif Ericsson in the ferry building.

After lunch we walked back down all those steps to see the Filles du Roy plaque in lower town. The filles du roi (Daughters of the King) were young women of marriageable age recruited by the king of France, who even paid their dowry, to sail to Quebec to marry the French settlers. This occurred after the Frenchmen were already here and starting to consort with the Indians. The king did not want the French blood diluted by any other strain, so sent hundreds of young women here in the late 1600s. We have several fllles du roi in our lineage.

Monument to Samuel Champlain, below.