Monday 14th May: we left the hotel at 7am this morning after getting a coffee at the Starbucks. We rented a car from Hertz and in a Nissan Tiida (called here Nissan Versa) we headed to Quebec City, a 3hrs drive from downtown Montreal. The drive itself was already worth it; many times I felt I had just stepped out of one of Bob Ross' paintings; the trees where so beautiful and the colors incredibly pure and fresh. (Ross' quote: If you did this with yellow, and you went over it with blue, you would end up with a .. with a translucent... green. And it's gorgeous. It is GORGEOUS) Although I took many pictures, it can never bring across what it really looked like. But I guess that's often the case..

Quebec City is absolutely amazing! You can see the French influences throughout the whole city and we were all captured by its charm. We explored the area within the walls of Fort Saint-Louis and walked over the 655 mt long promenade that was created to commemorate the 350th birthday of Quebec. The Canadian prime minister John Diefenbaker even declared that the promenades spectacular view was amongst the most beautiful in the world and that a visit to Quebec City was like "a pilgrimage to the cradle of your nation".

Also, my dad and I tried the world-famous Poutine! The Lonely Planet recommended a fast-food store in the center of the city which all the Quebecers praised to be the best in town. So we went for it. For someone who likes French fries, gravy and cheese, it can be heaven on earth. I definitely enjoyed it but also agreed that it's more of a winter-dish. But at least it's another thing I can tick off my "to-do/to-try" list. Tick!

After sitting in the grass on top of one of the Chateau's side-walls, we decided it was time to head back to Montreal. It was a lovely, sunny day and we are happy we decided to make this trip.

Tomorrow's program: meeting up with Roger, an old acquaintance of Philipp whom he met during his Vancouver studies.

Ps. Quote of the day: "Je ne pas pela pas"