Jean again went for a swim this morning, but it turned out to be an aqua-aerobics class! She joined in, even though it was in French, and enjoyed it.

Somewhat hasty buffet breakfast, then checked out before departing on an official tour of the Château Frontenac, led by a guide affecting to be William Maxwell, one of the architects of this truly iconic hotel.

The hotel was commissioned in 1893 by the Canadian Pacific Rail Company as part of their project to link west and east Canada. Some of the hotels we’ve stayed in have been part of the same project – the Fairmonts in Banff, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. It’s been added to over the years, of course, but Maxwell and his brother Edward were responsible for the central tower. The hotel was finally completed in 1993 – its 100th anniversary – and had a major refurb in 2014. It’s the most photographed hotel in the world.

During its time, it has housed very many famous people, suffered a fire and increased in room numbers from around 170 rooms initially to over 600 today.

A truly fitting way to finish our time in Québec. Really interesting and well presented.

So, sadly, we called the car and had our bags loaded thereinto, setting off for our next stop in Riviére-du-Loup. No, I don’t know (yet) why it’s called Wolf River….

Apart from a short contretemps when we stopped for petrol and I’d forgotten which side of the car the filler cap was, the journey was again incident-free, flat and boring, with a bit of rain to enliven proceedings. Two and a half hours later, we arrived at our destination, the Auberge de la Pointe.

At first glance, to be honest, we wondered what we’d let ourselves in for. It all looked a bit shabby and downmarket. However, we were checked in efficiently and made our way to our room. A queen bed each and a great view.

Good start. Although we had to unload our bags ourselves! 😱 Still, it saved me a tip…

Spirits rose when we had a brief walk round and got our bearings to some extent. We only have one full day here.

Having booked a table at the main restaurant for dinner, we weren’t expecting much, but the meal was a revelation. The roles were reversed after last night’s meal – I had the filet mignon, which was outstandingly tasty, and Jean had trout ravioli. All accompanied by a super rosé. The dessert was self-service and was OK.

We have an outline plan for tomorrow, but you’ll have to wait until I tell you about it then.

In the meantime, good night.