I love Canada and after several years of trying to arrange a trip to Quebec, it finally panned out. We even had a bit of extra time to go down into the Adirondacks (Lake Placid) and Vermont. Here’s the Quebec-City, Montreal and Adirondacks Itinerary for five days during the summer.
“You’re from the US, but you’re driving a rental car from Quebec?” the border agent asked us.
“Yes – long story but we’re visiting Montreal and missed the US. We’re here just for the day to see the Adirondacks,” my husband replied. Chuckling, the agent waved us through. Gone were the signs in French. We stopped at a McDonald’s pleased to find the menu in English. After a crowded day in Montreal, we decided to see Lake Placid – just 90 miles south of Montreal.
At the Visitor Center, the agent suggested a gorgeous and scenic drive. It didn’t disappoint. Trees, greenery everywhere – very much like North Georgia but different. More sophisticated? Older?
We took the Whiteface Veterans Memorial Highway to the summit. For $11 fee (which was worth it) we drove on this road opened by FDR 1936. A stone elevator could take people from the parking lot directly to the observatory, but it wasn’t working that day. No matter. We wanted to take the hike up to the top.
Stumbling on roots and rocks, I didn’t think this would be a fun path. However, mid-way through the path smoothed out (although still climbing). We had gorgeous views of many of the lakes that dotted the Adirondacks. At the top, we did the usual checking out of all the vantage points. But the fun thing was to go inside the stone building that holds a weather center. Inside this small museum was information regarding the dedication of the center and a time-lapse picture of the same view from each day in the previous years. So you could look at the view today, see what it was last March, the previous December, even the previous same day in June to see the changes – from knife-cold snow to brilliant oranges to budding springtime. (more…)
You can’t visit New York without going into the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The architecture alone is something to see.
A school orchestra serenaded us on the balcony above the large lobby. Going up the stairs, we walked quickly through the Greek and Roman art to get to the Impressionist paintings. Rooms filled with glorious paintings of my favorites – Monet, Cezanne, Pissarro, Renoir delighted my visual senses!
“Can we go now?” she said. (more…)
Since we had to wait a few hours until check-in began at our hotel, we ate lunch in Times Square after storing our bags with the hotel bellman.
From there, we walked along 42nd to see Grand Central Terminal, then up Madison to walk into the lobby at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Afterwards, we walked into St. Patrick’s Cathedral.