Impractical shoes on cobblestone streets

The drive between Montreal and Quebec City looked suspiciously like parts of semi-rural Wisconsin, with the exception of a random mountain every now and again. However, at a bend in the road that previous experience would have told me led to Tomahawk, we came upon a breathtakingly beautiful waterfall. It was at the point that I thought, Ooh, this is going to be an adventure.

I arrived in Quebec City via the Orleans Express bus line at about 4 p.m., which meant I had two hours to kill before Fred was scheduled to pick me up at the station. So, I did one of my very favorite things in the world: I explored. With no map in hand, no advice from the tourist desk, and no food in my stomach, I randomly picked a street that looked slightly less traveled than the rest and began my adventure. My first stop was a tiny stone bakery where I purchased a 100% butter croissant for 1.60$. You know if anything's advertised as "100% butter" it's going to provide an out-of-body culinary experience. With that as my fuel for body and mind, I continued to explore for the next two hours, then went back to the train station to meet Fred.

At about 6:10, as I was just starting to wonder whether Fred remembered we'd planned to meet at 6, I saw him sprinting towards me from about half a block away. Given that he's 23 years old and in the film business, it should have occurred to me that "I'll pick you up" does not necessarily imply that he has a car. Turns out that he lives about three miles from the bus station, and he was running late (no pun intended), so he sprinted so as not to keep me waiting too long. He could barely breathe by the time he reached me. I told him I didn't mind waiting and he could have walked - or called my cell phone - but he insisted that he wanted to be on time for me. (Did I mention the people here are nice?) We started walking back to his place and, as seems to be the theme of my trip, we stumbled upon a real live "big budget" movie being filmed on one of the streets. The people in it are famous Canada people. I don't know who the heck they are, but everyone else was very impressed and there was a big crowd. The actors just looked like normal people to me.

I didn't complain, of course, but because I was cold, I'd already walked at least seven miles that day, and my bag was starting to feel really heavy after carrying it all day long, I convinced Fred that we could spend 2.60$ each to take a bus the rest of the way. Once we got back to the apartment, Fred showed me his room (where I'd be staying; he'd take the couch in the living room), and he proudly informed me that he "saved up to buy sheets" before my arrival. I suddenly felt guilty about having asked him to splurge on the bus. In any case, I sincerely appreciated his thoughtfulness and generosity.

We hung out with Barbie (my friend with pink hair) and Ashli, their other roommate from St. Johns, Newfoundland. Ashli is a self-described "hippy hipster" -- and although it's becoming a cliche, she is one of the nicest people I've ever met. Ashli had never met me, of course, yet she took it upon herself to make a HUGE meal for all of us to "celebrate my arrival." For those of you who know me well, here's your chance to be very proud: I ate (and totally enjoyed) tofu cakes along with one of the spiciest things I've ever eaten, called "Julie Girls Carrot Ginger Soupy Soup Soup." It nearly made my head explode, but that would have been rude of me. On the bright side, it totally knocked out the cold I was fighting. Thank you, cayenne flakes and turmeric! (If anyone wants the recipe, let me know -- it was really delicious.) Not to focus on the food too much, but Ashli also "made up" a dessert on the spot -- another apple-y thing similar to what Anne-Jo made -- and I went back for thirds. Proud?

I woke up around 10 today with my borrowed screenwriting book by side, left a thank-you note on the kitchen table (no one else was up yet), and proceeded to explore the rest of Quebec City. My legs are logging a LOT of miles these days. It feels wonderful. I boarded my Montreal-bound bus late this afternoon, exactly as the sky opened up and it began pouring rain. Perfect timing, although even the rain would have had a hard time watering down my mood. I am so genuinely happy here.

Would you care to join me on my Quebec City walking tour? Here are my pictures -- along with captions so you know where we are together.