Page 58 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2023 SPECIAL CRUISE EDTION

faster rail service along the corridor we were travel- Nothing to do, but sit back and relax, and enjoy an-
ing ---- from Windsor, Ontario to Quebec City. For other round of wine thoughtfully offered by the at-
us, the station at the airport was a disguised gem, tendants. Thanks for Kindle and books!
giving us easy access if we wanted to Montreal, Finally, we were under way again, and made up a
Toronto, Ottawa as well as Quebec City. bit of time.
After about 30 minutes, we arrived at Central Sta- We pulled into Quebec's downtown train station,
tion in Montreal, where we waited onboard for picked up our luggage from the baggage car, and pro-
about 30 minutes before truly getting under way. A ceeded outside to hail a cab – three hours late. For a
few minutes later and we were crossing the mighty few minutes, we were standing alone in front of the
St. Lawrence River. It would station, and I worried on
be he the first of two cross- what to do next. But then, a
ings of the river on this parade of cabs arrived, with
route. our driver telling us it had
An attendant appeared been a busy night.
and began pouring drinks Awaiting us was our Que-
and took orders for lunch, bec hotel --- the full-service
served in airline-style fash- Le Concorde high-rise. We
ion. This was much better chose that hotel because of
than sitting scrunched up in its distinctive revolving
those economy class air- restaurant, an architectural
plane seats. relic from the '70s, one of
It was clear we weren't in few such places left. And the
Kansas anymore as we restaurant, Ciel, earns great
passed through towns with reviews, but book ahead, es-
French names and a distinc- pecially as the sun goes
tive style of architecture down.
with many flats having front- We then had a day to ex-
side balconies, like the plore Quebec's old city, a
French Quarter of New Or- warren of narrow streets go-
leans. ing back centuries with
“I could get used to this,” I tourist-themed shops, bars
said to my wife as we glided through fields and past and restaurants.
fast-flowing streams and after a stop in the clean On checking out, we found a cab outside to take us
lavatory and snack-bar car. to our waiting ship. But there were two piers in this
Then, the trip took a different twist as we stopped busy cruise port --- and the first, where we nearly
next to a newly plowed field. Not a house in sight. were left, was not ours. A few blocks further, and
A few minutes passed and the announcement things were sorted out and we were welcomed
came: “Ladies and gentlemen, we are being delayed aboard our ship, Holland America's Nieuw Amster-
because we have hit a tractor. The police are here to dam, leaving that afternoon, just as the fall leaves
do a report.” We had felt no lurch, nothing as much as were their most vibrant and colorful.
a slow braking, and decided that we must have given Once underway on a brisk fall day and settled in
the errant tractor a slight glancing blow. our cabin, we saw the first of many amazing sights ---
A few minutes later came the second announce- Montmorency Falls just eight miles outside of Que-
ment. “Ladies and gentlemen, no one was hurt. We bec City.
will need to change crews here because our crew has Thanks to Wikipedia, I quickly learned they are a
exceeded their slotted time. The new crew will be ar- full 99 feet higher than Niagara Falls, pouring the
riving from Montreal by road.” water into the St. Lawrence River.

58 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SPRING 2023