[travel] Quebec City - La Citadelle

One thing I was really excited about Quebec was the history.

The narrowing of the Saint Lawrence River approximate to Quebec City and Lévis, on the opposite bank, provided the name given to the city, Kébec, an Algonquin word meaning "where the river narrows". Founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, Quebec City is one of the oldest cities in North America. The ramparts surrounding Old Quebec (Vieux-Québec) are the only remaining fortified city walls that still exist in the Americas north of Mexico, and were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985 as the 'Historic District of Old Québec'. (source Wikipedia)

We walked through the ramparts to Old Town:





We walked up to La Citadelle de Quebec:



We bought tickets for a guided tour. You're not allowed to walk around unescorted since the fort is still an active military base. We actually saw some training exercises take place while the group was walking around.

Some basic history was covered- French arriving for trade and business, British arriving to expand their empire, Canada becoming it's own Province. I like that one of Canada's national symbols is a beaver- to signify the early pelt/fur and lumber trade that made the land so desirable, as well as their hardworking nature. The beaver is on Canada's nickle and various national emblems.

We walked around, visited buildings and on-site museums, seeing old buildings and cannons.







The museum had some pretty crazy 3-D dioramas depicting relevant historical events. Battle of Quebec (1690):


Frontenac famously rebuffs the English envoys. "I have no reply to make to your general other than from the mouth of my cannons and muskets." Oh snap!

Battle of Carillon:





Battle of Sainte-Foy:



Lots of stuff on the 78th Fraser Highlanders, which are Dollar's ancestors.




A future knitting project, perhaps?

An example of a soldier in the 22nd Royal Regiment and the goat Batisse...

The Royal 22e Régiment is an infantry regiment and the most famous francophone organization of the Canadian Forces. The regiment comprises three Regular Force battalions, two Primary Reserve battalions, and a band, making it the largest regiment in the Canadian Army. (source Wikipedia)



The first goat was given to the Regiment by the Queen, I think. There has always been a goat since and it's name is always Batisse. I think they are currently using Batisse X. The goat is always from the original lineage that the Queen gave. It is like a mascot but the guide stressed that it is NOT a mascot, which kind of plays down the goat's meaning and importance. Since this type of goat is fiercely loyal and will defend it's family and land to the death, they think of the goat more as a representation of their heart and mindset.

We went back outside to look out over the water and Old Town:









As we were leaving, we saw...



A beaver! It's the animal of Canada! A beaver!



No. I think that's just a woodchuck. Oh well.