Quebec Christmas Day

It was a bit strange today, waking up as I have done during the past 12 days, to a quiet house without any bustle, knowing it was cold outside...but it was Christmas Day!!

So yes, we slowly arose, sending our Christmas Wishes from one bedroom to the other. I prepared a platter of fresh fruit ( without strawberries, kiwi fruit, cantaloup. mango...) which we followed with croissants. Heather had left a small wrapped gift on the plates of Chris and I.  They were bright "Happy Socks" that I wore for the day!

The usual ritual of rugging-up and the bus to downtown. On a revised schedule, the bus was still coming every 15 minutes. It was definitely colder today due to a soft breeze. I think for the first time in my life, I had really cold nose.  
Our destination was the Hotel Frontenac, one of those massive things built by the railway companies in their heyday. We were delighted with our location and reservation. All afternoon there was a queue of hopefuls at the reception desk. But we were going to linger longer, as one does over a Christmas Lunch.
The view from our window was special. The semi-frozen St Lawrence river was flowing past with the occasional cargo ship edging by. A little different from green lawns and sandy shores.  Our hostess was very attentive and we were happy with our 3 courses, but I had issues with the wine. Despite 3 tries, including prosecco  and champagne, the wine appeared "flat." Effervescence when poured but basically flat in the glass. I resorted to a grigio. More bizarre, the bottle of sparkling that we had bought the day before to drink with the Bûche de Noël was also flat. An odd phenomenon.

We watched the light fade and finally darkness set in. At 4.45 it was time to leave. There were still people lining up. We were surprised at the amount of people wandering the streets, but this is the tourist area.  There was a soft buzz in the hotel foyer with guests and visitors moving about and also admiring the remarkable line of Christmas Trees created by companies and organisations. In the Gallery we gaped at a few Salvador Dali limited editions.

Back to our warm home and the cake. Actually, I have kept my portion for tomorrow. I was happy with a piece of toast.

Christmas Breakfast. I wore a Ho Ho Ho shirt.

Approx half of the trees arranged in the hotel foyer.

Part of our view.

I am fascinated by the sight of so many heavily clad people. A total necessity.

Totally enjoying ourselves. 

In the hotel courtyard. Note the laser display on the roof.

Heather and Chris finishing with La Bûche de Noël. I was a little disappointed with the  decorations on the cakes we saw in the shops. This replica of a log of wood for the fire, had obscure adornments. I really preferred the ones made by my senior students at Willow Grove, where we made the cakes look like real logs, complete with encroaching vines and berries. Just my thoughts!