Québec City, Québec

I try to travel as much as possible during holidays to avoid taking too many vacation days off work. In fact, as I sit here writing this blog, I am in the United Club at SFO awaiting my flight to New Zealand! Thanksgiving week is a great week to travel (if you don't have a family celebration you must attend) because a lot of employers give both Thanksgiving day and Black Friday off. Which means you only have to use three vacation days for a whole week off work! 

In 2014, I spent Thanksgiving in Québec City and it was absolutely beautiful! My mom and I went on a mother-daughter trip and we had such a lovely time. It was nice to spend the holiday with family, even if we weren't in the United States for the actual day. What follows is a highlight reel of where we stayed, what we saw, and what we did while in Québec. I can't recommend visiting Québec enough! Not only is it a short flight from most of the US (sorry West Coasters!), but the official language in Québec is French, which makes it feel like you've flown to Europe without having to fly overnight or jump hours ahead!

Accommodation -Le Château Frontenac

I could dedicate a whole blog post just to this hotel if I had the time! It was one of the most magical places I've ever stayed. I had seen pictures of this hotel for years and admired its castle-like architecture, but seeing it in person blew me away. It sits high above the Old Town area of Québec overlooking a boardwalk lined with old canons and out on to the St. Lawrence River. While we were in Québec it snowed and the dusting of snow on the hotel made it even more beautiful. Just look at this gorgeousness:

The interior was classic and chic and because of the time of year, was decorated for Christmas. With trees and garland and Christmas floral arrangements, it added that much more to the magical feel of the hotel. The rooms were classically decorated and very large! I was pleasantly surprised with the size of our room considering we booked the standard rate room with two Queen beds. The bathroom was marble and had a great bathtub (side note: I have lived in apartments for so long with shallow or no tubs, so hotel bathtubs are my weakness!). 

At night, for what I can only assume was for Christmas, the exterior was lit up with stars. I'm not sure if I love this hotel more at night or during the day, both are gorgeous! Oh and one last thing before I stop myself from writing more, they have a "Canine Ambassador" in the lobby! This cutie (named Lenox) would lay in his bed in the lobby and greet everyone that came into the hotel. How cute is that?!

Needless to say, if you're going to Québec, stay at Fairmont Le Château Frontenac!

Old  Québec

If you visit Québec, you have to visit Old Québec. Québec itself is a very large city with new modern buildings, a large city center, and lots of shopping and restaurants. Old Québec is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, comprising of an Upper Town and a Lower Town. My absolute favorite part of this trip was walking around the Lower Town part of Old Québec. If you go to the boardwalk in front of Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, you can take a funicular down to the Lower Town. Here you will feel like you stepped into a storybook town right in the heart of France. Just look at how picturesque this place is:

And just like with the hotel, it is even more amazing at night during this time of year with all of the holiday lights! 

Holiday Markets 

If you visit at any time during mid to late November through the end of the year, there are Holiday Markets galore. We went to a few, had some delicious food and drink, bought one too many souvenirs, and there were even more cute dogs! There is even a pretty large ice rink in the city center!

Food 

Last, but not least, food! If you go to Canada you have to have Poutine right?! It's only fitting to try a delicacy when in Rome :) Of course, there are plenty of other amazing restaurants in Québec including some delicious French cuisine and believe it or not, Chinese food! We ate at this adorable little Chinese restaurant called Restaurant Wong and it was so good! We felt like we were in The Christmas Story with all of the Christmas decor! haha It was a great option that I wouldn't have expected we'd eat while in Québec. 

Bon voyage!