February 9, 2016 - Tanya's Trip to Quebec - Day 6

Tanya's Daily Scoop
CURRENTLY TRAVELING IN:
QUEBEC CITY, CANADA

Bon Jour!

GREETINGS once again from the beautiful Quebec City!

First off, let me apologize to our subscribers who may not have received yesterdays prescription of the Daily Scoop -  I didn't either! Something was obviously a bit wonky in the technical department. Hopefully it is all straighten out now. But just to catch you up - here is a LINK to yesterdays SCOOP.

Being that it was so darn windy yesterday, I decided to change things around a bit in attempt to keep us from being outdoors very much.
So instead of spending time at the Carnaval and strolling Quebec City, we went for a little drive out to see the Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Basilica

​Dedicated to Saint Anne, the grandmother of Jesus.

This Basilica is known as one of the oldest pilgrimage sites in North America!

The first chapel was built on this site by early settlers in 1658 to house a miraculous statue of St. Anne. By 1688 it had become a site of local pilgrimage, and by 1707, Native Americans (who in Canada are called the First Nations) were coming to venerate the saint they called "Grandmother in the Faith."

A second church of St. Anne was constructed of wood and stone between 1661 and 1676.
It was located on the present site of the old cemetery.
A third church was built of stone in 1676, and remained in use until it was replaced by a basilica in 1876. The old church was demolished in 1878, but the Memorial Chapel was constructed on the foundations of its transept.

In 1876, Saint Anne was proclaimed the patron saint of Québec.

The same year, the first Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, much larger than the previous church, was opened for worship.

The first basilica was tragically destroyed by fire on March 29, 1922. It was replaced by the present basilica, which was completed in 1926. 
Credit: Sacred-Destinations.com

St. Anne is believed, by the pious, to obtain miracles through her intercession.
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LEGAND HAS IT: People from all around the world come to visit the basilica. Pillars in the front entrance are covered in crutches from people who are said by the parishioners to have been miraculously cured and saved.

It is an important Catholic sanctuary which receives about a half-million pilgrims each year and the shrine has been welcoming people for over 350 years!

Having 240 stained glass windows it was all quite impressive and very beautiful, as I'm sure you could imagine. An expert had even once said that these windows were "the most beautiful since the Middle Ages!"

Something that might typically go unnoticed,
the Pews are also something definitely worth mentioning. From Bats, to Iguanas, and Llamas to Butterflies. There are 260 plants and animals sculpted into each of the benches!

Following our lovely visit, it was our intention to go tour the Hotel de Glace (Ice Hotel).  

However the auto GPS had other plans for us...as we followed the directions for a little more than an hour and wound up no where near our goal destination. Frustrated and tired of being in the car, we opted to bump this visit over to another day, and instead took Cosette to her favorite Equestrian Tack Store - Greenhawk.

After shopping for horse supplies, we went to grab a bite of local grub over at Poutineville. 
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For those of you who do not know what Poutine is:
​​Poutine is a Canadian dish, originating in the province of Quebec, made with french fries and cheese curds topped with a light brown gravy.

We then had a bit of shopping to do, had a bit of tea time and then finally called it a night.

Much more to see and do today and the rest of the week - something new and exciting has been added to this coming weekends events - I'll share this with you tomorrow on W2GW!

Until then,
​-T

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 39 DAYS
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Most Romantic Cruises

HOWDY!! Another gray day here on Long Island.

We were hit with a bit of a dusting of snow last night, but the real thing is going to hit later today and through tomorrow.

I'm pretty sure that tomorrow will be a snow day.  These poor kids follow the weather report so closely, in hopes that school will be cancelled.  So far, this week, it's been classes, as usual here in Nassau County.

However, Suffolk County, Long Island was hit pretty bad in the past day, and their friends from the barn were off yesterday.  They certainly have their fingers crossed for tomorrow!

Wow, can you believe that this coming Sunday is Valentine's Day? Yup, only 5 days left! And that means, 5 more days of my ​February Love-Travel Talk...
Today, let's take a look at the Most Romantic Destinations to Cruise!!

Okay, after doing my research, I found, what I agree to be the most romantic of places to go on a cruise.

According to Howard Hillman, of Hillman's Wonders of the World and the world's leading wonder authority, he has set forth Five Top cruise destinations based on the criteria that the cruise destination must be romantic and, at the same time, have a well-developed cruise tourism infrastructure.

Let's take a look...

1)French Polynesia
French Polynesia boasts the beautiful and romantic islands of Bora Bora and Moorea. It's also home to the world's most romantic cruise ship, the Paul Gauguin. Interestingly enough, Hillman believes that French Polynesia's most famous island - Tahiti - is overrated. Read more about the wonders of French Polynesia.

2. Mediterranean
Hillman lists the most romantic ports as
- Capri (Italy)
- Dubrovnik (Croatia), and
- Venice (Italy) 
Barcelona (Spain), Monte Carlo (Monaco), and Saint Tropez (France) are also quite romantic.
Read more about Hillman's picks for top Mediterranean Cruises.

3. Hawaii
Hawaii is a combination of volcanic origin and lush tropical greenery. Most romantic standouts according to Hillman, are Kauai and Maui. 
Read more about Hillman's picks for top Hawaiian Cruises.

4. Greek Islands
Most romantic are Santorini, Mykonos, and Corfu Islands.
Read more about the wonders of Greece.

5. Caribbean
With so many islands, Hillman's picks for the best include:
- Barbados
- British Virgin Islands
- Jamaica
- St Barts,
- St Lucia
Read more about the Caribbean Islands

If you missed my Top Ten Most Romantic Hotels around the world yesterday, as featured in Fodors, CLICK HERE.

DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT TANYA'S SCOOP ALL ABOUT HER CONTINUED ADVENTURES IN QUEBEC CITY, CANADA!!!
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CHEERS!!
-E
XOXO