Montmorency Falls, and Musee de la Civilisation

Friday 1st May 2009

Breakfast was a more diverse party from the day before. In addition to the French Couple there was also this American family who joined their son who is also on exchange to some University in Canada, probably in Quebec. The mother was also from Sarawak and was clearly well travelled and had plenty of stories to dazzle us.

Thank you Andrew for being such a pleasant host and sending us to the top of Montmorency Falls. It happens to be the highest falls in Quebec at 84m, ie 30m higher than Niagara Falls. The clouds were threatening to rain and maybe because of that the river roared more ferociously. Despite the short and hurried timeframe that we were given, elements of that visit are still fresh in my head.

Hotel du Parliament. So is it a hotel or parliament building? From wikipedia: it is a parliament in the second empire architectural style which was popular during Victorian Era. The statues adorning the building is like a who's who to Quebec. I'll try to describe in chronological order of appearance. The centre most bottom are the aborigines aka 'Six Nations' people. I don't know why but Jacques Cartier's name is there in gold but has no statue depicted. He was the French explorer who discovered Canada and claimed it as New France in 1500s. On the left are the First Governor and Bishop of New France- Samuel de Champlain (appointed from 1608), François de Laval (appointed from 1658). Just under him is Comte de Frontenac the Governor General of New France from 1672-1682. Find rivals Montcalm and Wolfe above the Aborigines. Set during the Seven Years' War beginning 1756, Montcalm was defeated in 1759 and more on this in the Citadelle post. On his right, Montcalm's second in command, Chevalier de Levis after being driven out of Quebec would attempt to recover Quebec. Unfortunately, his only victory being the Battle of Sainte-Foy in 1760. Below him is British officer Charles de Salaberry who served in the War of 1812 and defended Montreal against the Americans. The other people probably not as prominent. Around the Parliament were many more statues of more modern leaders.

Musee de la Civilisation, and again no photos allowed but I did sneak this shot with my camera phone. Best exhibit was the Fascinating Egyptian Mummies. All the customs and lore which I have now forgotten was really exciting when accompanied by real relics, most notable the Mummified Ankhar in the exhibit. A weird take on explaining the Universe is the exhibit 'Extraterrestrials: what if?' which instead of presenting the history of outerspace, displays the representation of extraterrestrial beings in popular culture and the strange creatures on Earth which have shaped to a certain extent our perception of what these being might look like. The above photo is part of the Territories exhibit which depicts a geographical perspective on history of Canada. I was quite tired and I even took a nap in one of the exhibits pertaining to 'Time'.

Outside the Chateau, there was this trio of singers who absolutely added to the ambience of the evening. One of Champlain's statues in Quebec.

Inside the Chateau where we hung around to explore any hidden mysteries. After that, a short walk around the promenade facing the Saint Lawrence River before ending the day with a DVD movie at the B&B.