Episode CXXIX: Quebec City

I am in the third year of my postdoctoral fellowship, and each year I have traveled to the International RNA Society Conference. My first year it was held in Ann Arbor, Michigan; my second year it was held in Davos, Switzerland; and this year, it was held in beautiful Quebec City, Canada.

The purpose of the trip was to present the work I've been doing, and to learn about the work that others around me are doing. For example, here's my lab-mate giving a talk:

 The official itinerary consisted of sitting for talks, then eating, then sitting for more talks, then snacking, then more talks, then more eating. The food was quite good, including- yes- poutine:

Of course I also took a number of strategically-placed breaks from the meeting to do some exploring of the city. Conveniently enough, the convention center was located right across the street from Quebec's Parliament building:

 

Then right across from the Parliament building you reach the old town. You know when you've reached the old town because the walls and fortifications are still in place from hundreds of years ago. Thus in order to enter old town you must pass through imposing stone-hewn castle gates.

  

The following angle gives you an idea of how high the fortifications get. This part of the city looks out onto the St. Lawrence river (and thus is the part most likely to be attacked [as indeed it was, by the British]).

Inside the old city, it's like being in Europe (except cleaner). Charming old edifices, cute cobblestone lanes, small al fresco dining establishments, and- importantly- everything is French. All the street signs and shop signs are in French, all business is conducted in French, restaurant menus are in French, etc. It's easy to forget that you are in North America (and a dominion of the British Commonwealth at that!)

 

Nor is Quebec lacking in natural beauty. Shortly upstream on the St. Lawrence lies Montmorency Falls, a large waterfall (taller than Niagara) set in a lovely little park, where one can walk a bridge over the falls, then take a staircase down to the bottom.

 

This  was my second visit to a Francophone city (the first being Paris), and I must confess- for the second straight time- the experience far-exceeded my expectations. Charming, peaceful, imminently walkable and full of history, it was like a little bit of Europe here in our own backyard.

[The city, from afar (from the waterfall, to be precise)]