Wednesday October 14th 2009 - Back on the Rails

We rose early and walked up the hill into the old town. One amusing incident occurred as we walked up the hill behind the hotel. Bryce stopped to check something in his bag and immediately I heard the click of a car’s door locks. We’d stopped next to a parked car with a nervous driver inside. Did we look that unkempt?
We walked all the way to the top of the Quebec City old fort – quite a climb. The views across the St Laurence Seaway and beyond were spectacular. We paused for a moment before heading back down to the hotel. We took back roads with quaint buildings probably dating back to the late 18th century. Eventually we came across the old town wall so we decided to walk along it as far as possible. It was accessed by a stone stairway. Once on top there was a pathway to walk along. This changed to the wall proper at one point. Again the views were quite something. As we went along there were boards displaying the history of each section of the wall. In one nook we saw a shelter for a homeless person, but there was no sign of anyone. Further down we came to the end of the wall and a restored factory building. This was also part of the historical tour route. We emerged near the road leading down to our hotel, so collected our bags and walked to the railway station. After waiting about an hour, we boarded the very comfortable train to Montreal. There were plenty of spare seats, so we moved to one side of the train or the other depending upon the scenery. But after our first stop, the train filled, forcing us back to our reserved seats. We ran alongside the Seaway for a few miles before crossing it over a long steel bridge. Mostly the terrain was flat with grain farms. At Montreal, we crossed a series of bridges over a canal and then the Seaway. It was getting dark as we pulled into the station.
Our next destination was the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts which had a J. W. Waterhouse exhibition. I’d seen the exhibition poster when we walked to Montreal station on our way to Quebec City and decided it was a must see. I’d admired his art for years and always wanted to visit the Tait in London. We thought about taking a train to the museum, but after walking what seemed like a mile along underground passageways and stairways we decided to exit and walk to the museum. When we arrived, the entrance fee was half price after 6 PM, so we waited half an our or so. The exhibition was superb. It was the largest collection of his work ever assembled. Everything was there. The crowning glory was probably “The Lady of Shalot”. Each painting was accompanied by a longish description of the work. I read most, but not all owing to limited time. As with all modern museums, the exit was through the museum shop. I bought the soft cover exhibition catalog, a sizable book in its own right. Bryce bought some postcards.
We had difficulty finding a station. In the end Bryce asked a cyclist and we were literally outside the entrance. Before catching a train, we got some supper in the form of gourmet sandwiches and ate in the small café. The train went about 2 miles to our bus station and hence our hotel. As on our previous visit, we didn’t have a booking, so we checked in upon arrival. We then ventured out to the local milk bar for a few snacks and drinks. It had been a long day.