Well, whenever I get a week away with Tom, I just plan on laughing a lot because he is so much fun to be with. Of course, we didn't wait until we got to our destination to start being silly . . . Tom had to go over and act like he was taking a leak by the fire hydrant ha ha! I love that he has no shame!
We had about a 6-7 hour layover in Pittsburgh and knowing that the temple there was having their open house, we called Megan Roundy Schramm to see if we could meet up with her and take a tour. She was so sweet and drove for several hours to meet us. She looked so good and so happy!
The infamous Liberty Bell. It was pretty cool to see it in real life.
This is the room where the declaration of Independence was signed. They restored the room to what it looked like at that time. That chair on the rostrum is the chair with the sun on its back. It was the chair that Ben Franklin pondered whether it was a rising sun or a setting sun. He believed it was a rising sun...and so do I.
This beautiful park was out the back of constitution hall. We walked down through the park to the restaurant of the original Philly Cheesesteak. It was really, really greasy! They made it with cheese whiz! I felt like it had coated my stomach for the next two days.
Tamara in front of Constitution Hall. The building housing the liberty bell is on the right.
There it is...the original Philly Cheesesteak
This guy told me that I should get the sandwich with the Cheese Wiz because, "The Wiz is Wut it Is!!" So, we got the cheesesteak with the cheese wiz!
Quebec
Such a fun outdoor restaurant close to the Chateau Frontenac. It was the first time I tried Putine with sliced steak on the top. Delicious!
The steps into lower part of old town. So much fun shopping!
We crossed the St. Lawrence river on a ferry and walked a bit in a nice park with views of Quebec across the river. They had some relaxing Adirondack chairs that we enjoyed. We fell asleep for an hour in the warm sun. It was so nice!
We were well rested from a nap and were looking to find a yummy place to eat dinner. There were so many choices.
Later, I found a quaint hat store and I was a sucker for this hat made in the Czech Republic. It just felt right on my head and has been a nice momento of our trip ever since.
At night the town came alive with lights and music. It was just magical.
We went to church on Sunday. It was difficult to find. The address on LDS.org was of the Bishops house. After figuring that out we kept looking and finally found the place. The service was in French...so cool! The missionaries were nice.
These cathedrals along the St. Lawrence river would rival any of the cathedrals in Europe or the states. This one was particularly amazing...Saint-Anne-de-Beaupre'. The gold leafing was everywhere!
We stumbled upon a small ski resort called Mont Ste-Anne. They had mountain bikers going up and down the gondola. We took the ride up to the top of the mountain. It's nothing like a Utah mountain...really just a small mound, but better than nothing...and in the winter they never have to worry about a bad snow year. We hiked around the forests at the top of the mountain. We came upon a woman taking a hang-gliding lesson and watched her take off from the mountain with her guide on her back. It was way cool to watch.
We continued our journey east along the St. Lawrence river and found a cute art town called, Baie Saint-Paul. We could have stayed longer but stores were closing. We ate at a local restaurant and made our way back home.
Our last night in Quebec we traveled to the Ile d'Orleans...an island in the middle of the St. Lawrence. The homes were so quaint and beautiful. Near the western tip of the island was this cute shop and inn. They served ice cream cones with real milk chocolate shell. I've never tasted something so decadent in my life! We watched the sunset on the island and reminisced about our adventure to Quebec and its surrounding towns.
One of the cute homes on the Ile d'Orleans.
We did a day hike in the picturesque Parc National de la Jacques-Cartier. It was a gorgeous hike and more vertical than we expected. It felt good to work off about 1/2 of a crepe!
REALLY! How much more can I eat! It's just too good to turn away!
This is the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal and it is spectacular. We sat and listened to the majestic organ play for over an hour. I have never heard an organ sound like that before. It was incredible. This is a famous cathedral because Celine Dion was married here :)
The pipe organ in the back of the cathedral.
How cute is my little Frenchman?!
This was another cathedral that took a bus ride to get to but it was so worth it to see the incredible view of the city. You can see the arena where the Olympics were held years ago.
Underground there is an entire city! Miles and miles of subways and corridors connect the city because of the extreme cold during the winter. There is the most amazing underground mall I have ever seen. It goes for several stories underground and has some of the finest shops in the world! It was unbelievable!!
Everywhere we go, we try to visit the local temple. It's become sort of a collection for us now to see how many temples we can visit! We loved coming and visiting this temple. It is very small and the grounds are extremely tiny, but we felt the spirit there and knew that this was the House of the Lord. There was a stake center next to the temple as well.
After the temple, we explored that side of the city and found some beautiful botanical gardens. Anything seems to grow well in Canada.
Here are some more snaps of the underground mall. One thing Tom and I noticed was how fashionable everyone dressed in Montreal. They were not casual, but took thought to match shoes with handbags, scarves, suits, etc. Hardly anyone was wearing sweats or super casual clothes. It was really interesting.
This was one of the most amazing candy stores I have ever seen! It really sums up our Quebec trip in that it was oh, soooooo SWEET!
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