Well, I took advantage of Porter Airline's sale and went to skate in Quebec City on Tuesday, December 29, 2009. I took a taxi right straight to the rink and got there late morning. What a lot of fun I had! It was minus 21 degrees, but the rink was sheltered by the wall and the sun was shining and it was quite pleasant. The rink at Le Palais Montcalm, is just outside Porte St. Jean, one of the three entrances into Vieux Quebec. The backdrop is Le Palais Montcalm, The Assembly and the Porte St. Jean. There were a lot of skaters and you can tell the tourists by their rental skates. My initial skate was with the flow and we were going counter-clockwise. I stopped to get someone to take my photo and later one of the locals took me by the elbow and suggested : "Madame, you must go the other way (clockwise)" The flow had changed mid-skate.
After skating, I did the tourist thing and walked around Vieux Quebec and and up to the Chateau Frontenac, taking photos all along. At the Chateau there were many more tourists in spite of the weather. This time of year the elevator is not working and the tour trips are limited. They did have a special toboggan ride, and the riders were of course whooping it up and trying to get the toboggan to run the longest course. You could see that someitmes they made it almost to the chateau itself. They were were having a great time in the freezing weather, all bundled up in their fabulous furs.
It was so cold and I was happy Bernie urged me to take my fur hat along. I was definitely warm enough though. I had lunch at the Chateau Frontenac and come home the same day a very happy skater!
Next stop; Regina and Winnipeg, January 12 and 13, 2010. See you there!
Your pictures are great! The skating rink at Palais Montcalm looks like a colourful place for a fun afternoon.
ReplyDeleteWonderful to see what you're doing. You are an inspiration to all that have ever felt the agony of arthritis! (and the rest of us as well).
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