Day 1
SHENANDOAH VALLEY • HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA:
This morning we begin our Canadian Adventure to Ottawa & Quebec. Our first day is spent traveling through Virginia's Shenandoah Valley as we make our way to the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area for an overnight stay.
Day 2
1000 ISLAND BOAT TOUR:
Today we travel through Pennsylvania into New York. Late afternoon we arrive in Alexandria Bay. We cruise through the waterways of the 1000 Islands National Park area of the St. Lawrence Seaway. After our cruise we check into our hotel for the evening.
Day 3
OTTAWA HIGHLIGHTS • RIDEAU HALL • DINNER:
We arrive in Ottawa
and this afternoon we meet our local guide for an Ottawa Highlights tour. See
the distinguished buildings of Parliament
Hill, Peace Tower, and the residence of Canada's Governor General with its beautiful parks & gardens. Next we tour Rideau Hall (if available) which has been the official home and workplace of every Canadian Governor General since the Confederation in 1867. We overnight in Ottawa. Dinner is included this evening. (D)
Day 4
QUEBEC CITY:
We follow the St. Lawrence River to Quebec City, the
first French settlement in North America, reminiscent of a medieval European village. Our accommodations are in Quebec City for the next two nights. Dinner is included this evening. (D)
Day 5
QUEBEC CITY TOUR • MONTMORENCY FALLS • SAINT ANNE DE BEAUPRÉ:
This morning we are joined by a knowledgeable local guide for a sightseeing tour of Quebec City. Nestled on a historic rampart, Quebec City is at once antique, medieval
and lofty, a place of mellowed stone buildings and weathered cannons, ancient trees and narrow, steeply angled
streets. See the Old City, the Place
Royale, Plaines of Abraham, the Citadel,
and breathtaking Montmorency Falls, which drops 84 meters into the St. Lawrence River. Tour the Basilica of
Saint Anne de Beaupré, noted as the
oldest pilgrimage site in North America. This evening is at leisure to enjoy this romantic city on foot or by horse-drawn carriage. You may want to have dinner on your own at a French Bistro inside the walled city of Old Town Quebec.
Day 6
MONTREAL CITY TOUR • MONTREAL
BOTANICAL GARDEN • DINNER:
Today we turn south toward Quebec's largest city, Montreal. Upon arrival to
the city we have time for shopping and
lunch on our own along the cobblestone
streets of Vieux Montreal. We
meet our local guide and admire the
grand mansions of Mount Royal and
the modern downtown area. Our tour
also includes the Basilica of Notre Dame
de Montreal (if open to the public) and
the site of the 1976 Olympics. After our
sightseeing tour have your cameras
ready as we visit Montreal Botanical
Gardens. This garden is known as one
of the world's most spectacular gardens!
This evening we overnight in Montreal
and enjoy an included dinner. (D)
Day 7
SPIRIT OF ETHAN ALLEN LUNCH
CRUISE • LAKE CHAMPLAIN •
SHELBURNE MUSEUM:
Operating as
Lake Champlain's only cruise ship and
floating restaurant, we climb aboard the
Spirit of Ethan Allen. Enjoy a relaxing
sail across Lake Champlain while feasting
on a grand lunch buffet. Lake Champlain
is a beautiful fresh water in-land sea
squeezed between New York, Vermont
and Canada. Cruising this deep water
lake, we view the beauty of the Adirondack
Mountains to the west and Vermont's
Green Mountains to the east. There is
never a dull view when plying the waters
here. When we disembark, we make our
way south to visit Shelburne Museum.
More than a museum, Shelburne boasts
thirty-nine distinct structures on fortyfive
acres, each filled with beautiful,
fascinating, and whimsical objects. The
owner, an avid collector, brought together
houses, barns, a meeting house, a oneroom
schoolhouse, a lighthouse, a jail,
a general store, a covered bridge, and
the 220-foot steamboat Ticonderoga to
house all of her collections. She worked
with a landscape design team to situate
them within a welcoming environment
that includes lush gardens and enticing
views. We travel on to Lake George, NY,
for our overnight. (L)
Day 8
OLANA MANSION • DINNER •
HARRISBURG, PA:
We begin our
final day of sightseeing at the magnificent
Olana home, studio, and designed
landscape of Hudson River School
painter, Frederic Edwin Church. The
centerpiece of Olana is an eclectic villa
which overlooks parkland and a working
farm designed by the artist. The residence
has a wide view of the Hudson River
Valley, the Catskill Mountains and the
Taconic Range. The main building is an
architectural masterpiece: a stone, brick,
and polychrome-stenciled villa. The
interior, exotically furnished and decorated
with objects from his global travels,
has some 40 paintings collected by
Church and his friends. The house is
intricately stenciled inside and out, the
stencils based by Church on his travels
in the Middle East. Photos are welcome
anywhere on the grounds and inside
the home, so have your cameras ready!
We enjoy an included dinner tonight
before settling into our hotel for the
evening. (D)
Day 9
HOME:
We arrive home early evening
with fond memories of all that we
have seen on our tour to Ottawa &
Quebec.