250 kilometers; 2:32 hours
Our drive from Montreal to Quebec City was characterized by a lot of traffic, a lot of roadwork (travaux), and a lot of healthy corn fields—a familiar story. We carefully choreographed our exit from the hotel in Montreal and our entrance to the Best Western Centre-Ville in Quebec so that we retained all of our possessions. We were shocked upon arriving mid-afternoon to encounter hot wind, quite enervating.
After settling in and resting a bit we explored our local neighborhood. Our hotel, though quite a stylish place with its own restaurant and coffee bar, is located in a very low-key Vietnamese neighborhood with two Vietnamese restaurants, a couple of convenience stores, and rows of rather basic two-story apartment buildings. Characters on the street are odd-looking but non-threatening. The night was warm and pleasant.
Dan bought a half-bottle of wine and took it to the cheaper Vietnamese restaurant. I had a salad and perfect vegetable soup at the restaurant in the hotel. We met for a beer at a dark pub, where the drunks were hanging about in a back yard that I dared not investigate.
