So, I came on the trip with Georgina who departed from Kingston with me after half a day of lessons at Queen's. I was later joined by Matilda, a friend of ours from Singapore as well who was on exchange at Queen's from SMU.
Matilda told us her friend, Clara, who's a local could bring us around Quebec City. So, it was perfect timing!! :) We later got to know Clara 's brother Vincent too during dinner. The places we went to wasn't touristy and it was nice just getting to see Quebec from the eyes of a local.
Clara picked us up from the stretch outside Roots in Upper Town, Old Quebec City and drove us out to have bagels, to a place she and her family dines at. Driving out of Old Quebec City was a pain because we couldn't get around horse carriages in the small cobblestoned streets. Once we were out, it was just regular traffic, with traffic lights (haven't seen traffic lights in awhile!).
We drove past the Plains of Abraham, another touristy site and it was basking in the glorious sun light! It was then I realised there's more to Quebec City than Old Quebec City. There's much more of the city to explore. An exciting day awaits!
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| Leaving 'finger-pinch' marks.. |
The Bagelwich here is the most awesome bagelwich I have ever had!! Even after trying the highly raved bagels in Montreal (read about it here) and in New York (read about it here), my opinion hasn't changed. This is the best bagelwich ever!!
The bagel is soft and fluffy! What bagel is soft and fluffy guys!! It felt like I was eating the soft warm fluffy insides of a freshly baked baguette. :O And those sesame seeds complemented the sweet dough very well! They kept dropping off my bagel and I could just spend the entire day picking and eating all of them!
A photo of Clara. :) It was really sweet of her to take us out today. She took us to her home just a couple minutes drive from the bagel cafe. We got some bagels home and Clara found Apple sauce that her grandmother made in the fridge. It became the best ever sauce you could have with Bagels!
Gently handling these bagels leave finger mark indentations :/ NOMS. So soft and yummy!
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| Clara's grandma's apple sauce :) |
A sauce made with love :) Sweetest ever (not as in sugar level!)! The most naturally tasting apple sauce I've ever tasted and it was so smooth, and not artificially sweet. The best tasting sauce ever. :) And it was chilled.. So it was kinda like. Apple-ice-cream-sauce! Does that make sense? I'm a fan girl. :O
To remember our day out :)
We went to a mall because Clara wanted to get a gift for her great grandma's birthday :) When I first arrived Kingston, people told me to get necessities telling me there's a 'mall' at the Kingston centre. When I arrived, its this huge open area with tonnes of empty carpark lots and short broad squares were everywhere.
Apparently, everyone's definition of a mall is what we might think of as factory outlets. In Singapore, malls are tall buildings with tonnes of shopping. But in North American because of the availability of space, malls are built sidewards instead of upwards. Gotta get used to this definition of a 'mall'.
Some scenes of the houses in Quebec City. It looks so peaceful and lovely here bathing in those warm fall colours.
We picked Vincent, Clara's brother from his dorm at school. His school has this straight drive way in and ends at a porch in the end :) This might not be anything out of the ordinary for Canadians but Singapore schools don't have the luxury of space for a pretty drive between tall trees.
Later in the evening, we went for dinner along with 4 other Queen's exchange students from Europe at Piazetta. Piazetta is a chain of restaurants selling pizza. I saw some in Montreal as well and the ambience varies quite abit between branches. This one on Rue Saint-Jean had a classy ambience :) But because everyone's so tightly packed in the small space, it isn't the quietest night out.
Fancy pizza in a fancy restaurant but it was really affordable with each pizza costing between $16 - $24 in general. Pizzas are thin crusted and they go really well with the chilli infused olive oil :O Too much good food in a day!
Just beside La Piazetta is a hostel/deli called Epicerie J. A. Moisan. This shop sells the loveliest bottle tea, jam, maple syrup, coffee! Do check it out if you're there! I liked it so much I went back twice to search for an Apple Cider Jam. :) They also sell stuff you can get along Le Petite Champlain at non-inflated prices.
The cashier was so nice here they took the time to educate us about how to buy maple syrup. Obviously there wasn't a need to because they aren't a speciality store but they were super excited that we were Singaporeans. They said we remind them of a Singaporean student who once lived in the hostel above the shop. :) You just feel so welcomed when people know abit about your country, and every so proud. :)
This crepe cafe is ALWAYS crazy packed with people! On some days, before they even begin, there's already a queue waiting outside. And at any time of the day, there's a queue. The queue gets longer and longer after dinner :O Anyway, this place is unmissable because of the queue, its also opposite Mcdonalds.
They serve savoury crepes and dessert crepes that explains its popularity at all hours of the day!
We arrived 5 minutes to 11pm and there was still a queue. It didn't get much longer after us though. It could be cos' this place closes at 11. I'm not too sure. Some staff were already preparing batter for the next day.
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| Having Crepes with my travel buds :) |
Dessert crepe with chocolate filling and fresh strawberries. A very generously filled crepe :O NOMS.
A very fulfilling supper after a very enjoyable day out with the girls :)
