Gaspé Road trip - North shore of the St. Lawrence

 It was a two hour ferry ride to the north shore of the St. Lawrence from Rivière-du-Loup.  I had hoped that there would be lots to see (like whales? seals?) along the way but it was completely uneventful except for some mew gulls following in the wake of the boat.  Maybe it was the time of year, maybe it was the time of day...?

 The north shore though was quite scenic and we stopped at the picturesque town of Baie St. Paul after lunch.  The town was very busy as it was a Saturday.  I managed to go on a chocolate high after I gobbled down a french crèpe drowning in dark chocolate.  But it kept me awake all afternoon for the drive to St. Anne de Beaupré and the Montmorency Falls just outside of Quebec City.  

 

Ferry from Rivière-du-Loup to St. Simeon on the north shore

 

Baie St. Paul and its many picturesque buildings

 

 

Quebec City in the distance

The Cathedral St. Anne de Beaupré was an unexpected stop as I did not have it on my itinerary.  It turned out to be a worthwhile stop and I got to try out the image stabilization on my camera. I wish I had done some research before stopping there as it's only after I got home that I read that it has a replica of the La Pièta sculpture which I had probably walked right by and completely missed when I was in the church.  I had seen the gorgeous original in Europe but would have loved to see it again even if in replica.  

All images inside the cathedral were taken handheld.

The Montmorency falls were impressive but the setting was disappointing.

 

   It was dark by the time we got to Trois Rivières, where we spent the night.  I had chosen the hotel because of its proximity to the Laviolette Bridge and so was able to get some shots of the bridge before doing a quick tour of the town, our last stop before heading home. 

 

The waterfront park in Trois Rivières

Monument to the founding of Trois Rivières

Colourful mural in downtown Trois Rivières

 

The beautiful Ursuline St. with its Ursuline Convent and Museum

And so we wrapped up our Gaspé Road Trip. It was an amazing 10 day trip with wondrous natural landscapes throughout so it was appropriate to ease us slowly back to city life with a quiet morning in the historical part of Trois Rivières.