Turning 40 was a big milestone for my mom! She doesn’t look her age though, people who don’t know us think we’re sisters. 😂 My dad planned to celebrate on an island somewhere in the Indian Ocean, but with all the added COVID-19 testing, we decided not to go to a tropical island. My parents decided to celebrate it by going to Quebec City, and staying at the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac for five days. Quebec City is 429 miles (690 km) away from where I live, and that’s only 6 hours, 35 minutes driving. The last time we were in Quebec City was in July, but we only stopped there to have something to eat. Click here to read about my post.

The Chateau Frontenac is such a beautiful and iconic hotel, it is the most photographed hotel in the world! It’s a historic hotel built in 1893 by Canadian Pacific Railway, but it has been expanded over time and an added pool and a hot tub! After a long train ride, CPR wanted to treat their guest to the most luxurious stay ever. It was built to impress, and I loved it! It had just the right combination of modern design mixed in with a little medieval time. The Chateau Frontenac has 611 rooms, and each one is different! There are many politicians and actors that have stayed in this hotel too sooooo I was feeling a little feeling special.

• 

• 

The first day we arrived, we went to the mall and went shopping for fall clothes. It’s starting to get cold here in Canada. In Quebec, there are so many different brands and different styles of clothes so it’s fun to go shopping. There are many European and international brands to choose from. It was my mom’s 40th birthday so the plan was to shop, eat, and relax. Not a bad plan if you ask me! 😜 My Uncle Rob, from Ontario also joined us to celebrate so we picked him up at the train station. He had a six hour train ride to Quebec, and he’s looking forward to a good vacation.

On the morning of my moms birthday my dad surprised her with a dozen red roses delivered to our room! That was followed by a scrumptious breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant called, Place Dufferin which was included at our stay that my dad booked. The breakfast was filling! It started with bread, followed by a yogurt parfait, and then a meat and cheese plate! I was almost full by the time the main course arrived. I had some very delicious crêpes, but I only ate one. I was so stuffed with all the food.

• 

• 

• 

After a big breakfast, my dad signed us up for a two hour walking tour of Quebec City. We needed to walk off our big, big breakfast. Our guide was dressed up in the 1800s. You know, Quebec City is full of history. It was captured by the British army in 1759, but I will skip the history lesson because this is about my mom’s birthday! The pictures below are more pictures of Quebec City. From the hotel, we stopped along the way because our guide showed us some important landmarks, and she explained about the architecture in the neighbourhood. Then we made our way to Rue du Petit-Champlain is the cutest street in Canada. (Rue is the French word for street for those of y’all who don’t speak French). It’s featured in many movies because it looks like a small village in France.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

It was a long walk down, but it was a beautiful fall day and more history lesson from our tour guide. After the tour, we walk around for more pictures and more shopping for mom! Most of the products in this area are made in Canada or handcrafted in Quebec. Lots of good stuff! The way to go down or up is the Funiculare for only $ 3.75. It will lead you back up to the Chateau Frontenac Hotel.

• 

We had a light lunch after our walking tour, my mom and I had bubble tea, my favorite! My dad and uncle had some pastries from one of the café. The highlight of my mom’s birthday celebration was the dinner at Le Continental. It’s French cuisine and most of the entrees are flambé. Do you know what flambé is? Flambé is a cooking procedure in which alcohol is added to a hot pan to create a burst of flames. It was quite entertaining to watch my food being cooked. Even the Caesar salad was prepared right in front of us. I had flambé shrimp, and flambé peaches for dessert! It was really yummy! And I loved watching it go “POOF” into the flames! I include a link to my YouTube video below. My dad and Uncle Rob had a sirloin steak and it was also flambé. For my mom, she had a steam snow crab, her favourite. She enjoyed it so much!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

It was a lovely dinner and it was a beautiful night. We went for a walk around the hotel because it’s so nice with the night lights.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

That concludes our night for my mom’s birthday! I will write a part two about this post. I don’t want to bore you too much, but it will be more about the Chateau Frontenac and Champlain Restaurant! Stay tuned for more! Byeeeee! 😃