Quebec City Trip, Maybe

So for some reason I do not mix well with airplanes.  Apparently, I am unable to take a trip without there being some sort of delay.  Even our Mexico trip which for me was as smooth as they come, had a small delay on the return flight.  So, we arrive at the airport, the very civilized Billy Bishop Airport on the Toronto Islands and check in smoothly without problems.  I get myself a cappucinno and small bowl of almonds which are gratis and sit in a very comfortable chair in the lovely lounge and enjoy the two free newspapers.  Lalalala everything is wonderful on this my birthday/anniversary gift trip to Quebec, until...........

My husband looks up and heads to the departures screen.  One of the flights has had its status turn red!  It looks like the destination is Quebec.  Sure enough, our flight has been cancelled.  It appears that the flight had to stop in Montreal with mechanical difficulties and now the only option is to wait until 10 pm in the evening.  The husband says, "Let's get a refund and drive."  DRIVE??  I had about 10 minutes of sleep last night and have a headache already, I am in no shape to drive the 10 minutes it would take to get home from here, nevermind to Quebec City, which without pee stops is a good 8 hour drive.  And then we would have to drive home.

Well we tried going to New York, all full; Montreal, not a seat to spare; anywhere?  Well Quebec City at 10 pm it is then.  But first it's back home.  Well I did finish a project for a wedding we're going to next week, so it wasn't all bad.

I am typing this entry while sitting in the terminal building.  I hope I get to leave it via a gate this time.

Changing of the Guard at the Citadelle

The view from the veranda of the Governor General's residence.

 Yay! We made it!  We went to the Citadelle, toured the Governor General's residence and saw the changing of the guards.  This was the first time we visited and it was awesome.  We had been to Quebec City plenty of times before, but the Citadelle had never been included before.  I highly recommend it!

Me at the Montmorency Falls.

The Montmorency Falls was also a first time visit.  From the walkway to the top are 478 steps and me and my just shy of three months post ACL surgery knee did them all with no problems.  I did not however go back down them as my hamstring was pretty much done by the top. 

We rented a car on our last day and drove up the St. Lawrence coast to Charlevoix and in particular the Fairmont La Manoir in Malbaie.  The smoke from the forest fires, hundreds of miles away, was so thick it was like fog and you could smell the wood burning.  Wild. 

All in all another great trip!