OUr adventure to Canada began last Wednesday night. We flew from Chicago to Toronto. (Martin had a meeting on Thursday morning). We had a lovely room near the airport at the Hilton and I decided that three hours wasn't really worth trying to go and do something nearby or in downtwon Toronto so I just hung around the hotel, read the paper and tried to make my sciatic nerve stop hurting.

We made it on to the 1Pm-ish flight to Quebec City. We were using paper tickets, which are somewhat of a dying breed, but the Air Canada check-in machines had no problem with that. I noticed a breach of security at the airport, which was interesting but ultimately didn't make a difference. We also didn't have to take our shoes off while flying within Canada. I often wonder about the necessity of this anywhere. Especially since we didn't have to take our shoes off in Israel and if you don't take it off in Israel you shouldn't have to take it off anywhere else! That sounded a bit naughty. Small place to Quebec City to the very small airport. They are building a new one but that won't be finished until next year. Air Canada serves rice crackers, very Asian and no peanuts they claimed. They were yummy but I was half expecting to get a little salted fish in the bag.

Taxi into the heart of the old city was fast and the French language goes from second on street signs in the rest of Canada to first in Quebec. The old city is a sight. It is like an older Canadian version of the French Quarter without the homeless people and the smell of pee. That doesn't quite do it justice. A lot of times when cities make big deals about historic districts they aren't very large, maybe two or three streets. The Old City of Quebec is huge! It surrounds the Chateau Frontenac in the Upper Town and then continues down the Escalier Casse Cou (Breakneck stairs)to the Lower Town along the St. Lawrence River.

The Old City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These sites seem to be growing more prolific as th days go by and I often wonder if the list is growing too big. This somehow relates to my disappointment over the new Seven Wonders of the World and the huge commerical weirdness that that was. I have visited several UNESCO World Heritage sites and have found them interesting and full of history. However, the list is awfully long. There is some guy on the internet that is trying to see every site on the list. I wish him luck.