Québec City is undeniably impressive, an old walled city with scads of ancient (fine, 17th century and 18th century) buildings. It's also swarmed with tourists in the summer and full of little shops oriented entirely toward said tourists. And don't forget the artists drawing those grotesque caricatures of children, giving them oversize and frankly demonic smiling faces that barely resemble the people they purport to represent. You know what we're talking about here.
Thankfully, there are tons of great things to see in Québec City beyond the throngs of tourists. Outside of the old city walls, Rue Saint-Jean becomes alternately hip and crunchy, with vegetarian restaurants, two upscale ice cream shops, gay bars, and, best of all, actual residents enjoying the city.
Québec City's farmers market is another find. During the summer, fresh farm loot includes honey, cheese, flowers, pickled vegetables, jellies, and fresh vegetables. We were especially taken by black current jellies and wines by Bernard Monna of St-Pierre de I'Île D'Orléans, close to Québec City.
At the farmers market and at specialty shops throughout the province of Québec, one gets a sense of the high quality of local artisanal food products as well as the high esteem in which they are held.]]>
