Time to go home!
We started the day with another delicious breakfast at the hotel, then returned to our room at 9:30 to pack for the 1:35PM flight home.
At 10:15 we checked out of the hotel, and the ever-efficient Philip at Reception called a cab to take us to the airport. Just as we were getting into the cab Phillip came rushing out of the hotel to give us a complimentary bottle of maple syrup – what a nice gesture! The cab driver did not speak much English but was friendly nonetheless.
We reached Jean-Lesage International Airport (YQB) at 10:45:
The Porter check-in gates did not open until 11:35AM and there was no staff to be found anywhere, so we got comfortable and waited until they showed up. We checked in around Noon after what seemed a lifetime of waiting for the people ahead of us, who seemed to have several types of check-in problems requiring resolution.
After passing through Security we found our boarding gate – #29 – the same one we arrived at when we landed in Québec City a few days ago:
Just opposite the gate was a small food shop called Pidz, which served mostly Panini. It was past lunchtime at this point and we were getting hungry, so we ordered a Panini and hoped for the best, bracing for the usual gastronomic assault of nasty and overpriced airport food, but…
… amazingly the Paninis were absolutely delicious! – so fresh, tasty and spicy. How could one expect any less from the food in Québec City, even the fast food at the airport!?
We finished lunch at 1:00 and moved over to our boarding gate, awaiting the boarding call: Porter airline, flight PD514 to Toronto, departing at 1:35PM.
Our boarding call came at about 1:20 and, after boarding, the plane pushed back at 1:50 (15 minutes late). The weather was clear and sunny with a temperature of 12 degrees which made for a good aerial view of Québec City as we ascended:
It was an uneventful and pleasant flight home (albeit just slightly bumpy over Lake Ontario of course) and we landed at Billy Bishop at roughly 3:40PM.
We made our way to the waiting shuttle bus for the ride back to the Royal York hotel. Disembarking from the shuttle bus, we suddenly realized we were no longer in quiet, calm, subdued Québec City – the Toronto rush hour commuting masses were in full force and it was the usual aggressive, frantic afternoon mayhem in the Union Station area. Getting on the subway, we arrived home at 4:45PM.
And… that’s basically it! Another successful trip is now behind us. It’s a shame we never saw the sun during the entire time we were there, except for the few hours prior to our flight home. Regardless, we really enjoyed this brief getaway to Québec City, and plan to visit there again when we’re able – hopefully later in the season when the weather is warmer. Clearly, Québec has a late spring (who knew?); during this visit the trees and greenery had not yet started to bloom and it was generally pretty cold for the time of the year (we also actually saw a couple of stubborn snow banks still remaining).
Now… it’s time to rest up and prepare for the next trip.
Lovely! Quebec City is a fabulous place to visit!