After returning from Lévis on ferry, we were pretty hungry. We walked the lower town towards Rue St. Paul. Rue St. Paul is just below the ramparts of the upper town and runs alongside the Port of Quebec. We were on our way to a recommended eatery along Rue St. Paul.
We passed some neat little store fronts. There were a few antique shops along the way. Plus the florist with an amazing random wood chandalier above their front door. That was quite the piece of work.
Our destination for lunch was Brynd Smoked Meats. My coworker had already been here a few days ago, but she felt was worth a return visit. We all ordered some smoked meat sandwiches, but the pièce de resistance was the smoked meat poutine. There were extra portions of shaved smoked meat topping the poutine. It was SO good! You really do need all the walking in Quebec City to help you work off all the extra calories from all the poutine you’re going to try!
I also loved the decor of the eatery. There was a bicycle theme to parts of the restaurant. My other coworker, an avid, avid cyclist wanted a photo of the wall where an artist’s painting hung. There was also the doodle of a dog showing the way to the washrooms. Remember that “F” is femme for ladies and “H” is homme for the gents.
After packing lunch away, we made our way across the street to the Via Rail station. This station is the Gare Du Palais. It stands out as another giant example of Canadian Pacific Railway architecture that is so prevalent across Canada. The copper roofs and the palatial look really stand out and grab your attention.
Inside, the ceiling was just as impressive as the architecture outside. The huge ceiling vaulted high above and was complete with stained glass depiction of North America.
A little ways down from the Via Rail station was the Marché du Vieux-Port de Québec, or The Quebec Old Port Market as we would say in English. Because it was March, the market was empty in some parts. I can only imagine that more vendors from rural Quebec would descend upon this market during the growing and harvesting season. We found everything from maple syrup (of course) to honey to locally made foie gras.
I personally loved a store in the back of the market called La Routes des Indes. It was a like a mini-supermarket that specialized in all sorts of spices, teas, and exotic food stuff from around Asia and the Middle East. There were these little drawers full of pre-packaged spices that you could pick from. The shelves are tightly packed and the aisles are narrow. However, it was fun to go in and peruse the selection of dry goods.
It was in La Route des Indes that I also came across a brand of tea I had never seen before. It was Kusmi Tea from Paris. I’m a sucker for nice, colourful packaging. And boy, is Kusmi packaging every eye-catching. They had a whole shelf full of the Kusmi Tea products right at the entrance to the shop. I decided to buy a box of assorted teas to give to my wife.
So we made our way back to the Auberge-Saint-Antoine. The walk from the Port area can offer great views of the buildings on the ramparts of Quebec City. The different elevation off the tightly packed buildings, the city fortifications, and the steeple towers really add a unique feel that can only be described as Quebec City.
On that note, I’ll leave you with this photo from along Rue St Paul. You never know what you may encounter on your travels. If you didn’t have a car or bicycle and you needed to move a chair, wouldn’t you have done the same?
metro babel 
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