I spent the day today surrounded by farmlands, vineyards, and waterfalls. Just a 15-minute drive from downtown Québec lies Île d’Orléans, a 74 square mile island in the St. Lawrence River that feels worlds away from the crowds of Old Québec.
But first, breakfast. Every single time I googled “best breakfast in Québec”, Le Buffet de L’Antiquaire came up on the list. So I did what every dedicated breakfast eater does. I went to check it out. It was a 15-minute downhill walk from my hotel, so you know what that meant going back. I considered it a warmup for the climbing I would be doing later on. I settled into a table on the outdoor patio and ordered eggs Benedict with Black Forest ham. It was actually very good and the hollandaise sauce was rich and thick.
It feels really strange to me to be in a different country and yet have my own car with me. I don’t know why that feels so strange because I’ve driven my own car to Canada before, but it does. Anyway, I hopped in my car and headed to Montmorency Falls on the way to Île d’Orléans. At 272 feet high, Montmorency Falls is actually taller than Niagara Falls. I got there before the crowds arrived and walked around the base of the falls before climbing the 487 steps to the suspension bridge over the falls. From the top of the falls, you can see downtown Québec as well as the bridge to Île d’Orléans, though the skies were quite hazy today.
My visit to Île d’Orléans didn’t quite live up to my expectations. The main road makes a loop of the island and is about 45 miles long. Along the way, there are various farm stands, wineries, cideries, and villages. 95% of the land on Île d’Orléans is agricultural. I stopped to climb the observation tower in Saint-François de-Île d’Orléans on the western end of the island and at a couple of the farm stands, but mostly I just drove the loop road. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting; this just kind of fell flat compared to what I pictured in my head for the day.
The redeeming part of my visit to Île d’Orléans was the cider. I stopped at two cideries on the north side of the island and sampled 10 different ciders. First up was Domaine Steinbach, with a gorgeous view over the orchard and St. Lawrence River. Here, I had a flight of six ciders. These were very small tastes so my worry about drinking on an empty stomach went out the window. I got a bag of potato chips to have with the cider and sat at a picnic table on the lawn. The glasses might have been small, but the last two were each 17% alcohol!
Next, I drove across the street to Cidrerie Verger Bilodeau where you can have a complimentary tasting of four ciders. They were all good, but after a while they started to blend together.
On my drive earlier in the day I had stopped at one of the farm stands and marveled at their ice cream contraption that blends hard ice cream with frozen strawberries and deposits out strawberry soft serve. But it was only 11:00 in the morning and I wasn’t ready for ice cream. Obviously, I needed to go back there and try it before I left the island. It was just as good as it sounds. Rich vanilla ice cream mixed with fresh strawberries. Summer perfection!
After leaving the island, I stopped at Walmart and Metro (a grocery store) to pick up a few crackers, cookies, and candies to bring home with me. A couple of 4-packs of Quebec cider may also have made their way to my car 😄.
I didn’t have a particular place in mind for dinner tonight, so when the concierge at my hotel suggested an Italian/pizza restaurant nearby, I knew I would be eating there. La Piazzetta has a couple of locations in Québec and has a menu filled with pizza, rolled pizza, pasta, and salads. The one that stood out to me on the menu was the buffalo mozzarella pizza with dill, cilantro, and basil. It wasn’t my favorite pizza, but the fresh herbs gave it a unique flavor. The white chocolate crème brûlée for dessert was one of the best I’ve ever had!
Traveling with Laura 