QUEBEC CITY, GREAT FOR KIDS
Old world charm meets crazy water slides on an early Father’s Day adventure
QUEBEC CITY — The little exclamation rang softly in my ear, though it was emphatic from one so young.
It was day two of a quick visit to Canada’s second oldest city and granddaughter Harper May was impressed.
“Wow,” she gushed as I held her and she took in the imposing Chateau Frontenac Hotel over my shoulder. It loomed over the old town and the St. Lawrence River. At 17 months of age, wow was a new feature of her pithy communication skills.
The trip was a combined Mother’s Day gift to my daughter Kate and an early Father’s Day present to me, an example of the kind of multi-generational travel that forms a significant piece of the leisure industry.
The insurance company Ontario Blue Cross has identified multi-generational travel as the top industry trend and the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) in 2015 reported just shy of a third of its members anticipated vacationing with children and grandchildren in the near future.
Many baby boomers have the means, time and the energy to indulge themselves and family. But it is the energy bit that gets sorely tested on the road with a toddler. It was more than 30 years since I travelled with Kate at that age and I’d forgotten the mercurial mood swings and swift shifts from independence (the sudden sorties on surprisingly quick legs) to utter dependence, like being carried from the lower town up to the Chateau and Place d’Armes park.
So, Quebec City can be a challenge with its ups and downs and cobbled streets, particularly with Harper spurning the comfort of the stroller. But it was like a taste of Europe just a short flight away and we made it an old world/new world experience by staying at Hotel Valcartier, part of a family resort about 30 minutes from the city centre.
The new hotel is part of a massive development that was just preparing to swing into summer mode with its 35 heated waters slides, 100 water games and rafting on the Jacques-Cartier River.
But it’s indoor water paradise, Bora Parc, was running full tilt on the holiday weekend. The 15 waterslides, double surf wave and multi-activity adventure river were exploding with shouts and laughter as we slipped into the benign family pool, spared the craziness.
Getting to that point had been interrupted by some communication problems and misunderstanding about a flotation device, but soon Harper was bobbing and splashing with glee.
And any irritation was wiped away by the look in her eye as she observed bigger kids on the slides and river. You could see the promise of the future radiating in her, a precious holiday moment. The water theme extends to the hotel lobby, where large panels bubble and change colour, captivating children.
Valcartier, which also boasts a full winter program of snow slides and an ice hotel, Hotel de Glacé, is highly toddler friendly with staff well-schooled in kids’ table manners and wandering ways. And it features a spa Kate was able to get to for a massage while Poppa provided granddaddy daycare.
She was also able to get to the gym on our getaway morning while I negotiated the fine art of spreading peanut butter on toast while holding Harper. And
kudos to the serving staff for the cleanup following the carnage of a kid’s breakfast.
We tried to organize the pieces of the trip around nap and bed times and work in pure fun with an educational component. When you take a child on holiday, scientific researchers say you are supporting their explorative urge or “seeking system” and capacity to play.
The Aquarium du Quebec ticked off those boxes with the hands-on ray pavilion, where Harper tried to let her tiny fingers slide along passing rays, and the playful seal and walrus tanks. The jellyfish tanks were colourful bits of moving art as they pulsed rhythmically.
Then it was on to the Chateau Frontenac, a quick appreciation of the classic old world lobby and an amble down the Terrasse Dufferin, the broad boardwalk showcasing the glittering St. Lawrence and towering hotel. This produced Harper’s wow moment.
The trip to the lower town on the Funicular car on an incline rail line offered another panoramic view that impressed and the streets below provided some idle window shopping before the hard slog back to the hotel.
That’s where we hopped on one of the city’s classic horse-drawn carriages and got the abbreviated city history, a pricey primer at about $2 a minute but best for Harper at the midpoint watering spot, where she got to meet-and-greet with the other horses. The swaying of the carriage lulled her to sleep on the return trip.
After that, we loitered in Place d’Armes park, where her fascination with water continued in the fountain of a monument commemorating the arrival of the Recollet missionaries in 1615.
But we needed more green space than the tiny park overrun by tourists, so headed to the huge recreational area at Parc des Champs-deBataille, just east of the spot where Canada’s future was decided.
That’s where the English troops of General James Wolfe found a tiny trail up to the Plains of Abraham and surprised the French force led by the Marquis de Montcalm in 1759. It led to England taking control of Quebec and both commanders died of wounds sustained in the battle.
As Harper explored a huge sandbox, I wondered when she would learn that history lesson.
We learned a hard lesson in family travel the next day when Air Canada’s plane bound for home broke down and a one-hour delay was then announced at almost six hours.
That’s intolerable for a toddler and we jumped a WestJet flight thanks to a helpful gate attendant, the swift retrieval of checked baggage and understanding security staff which expedited the big bag. Don’t ask the price.
The three of us slept the entire flight. Priceless.