Tour of Quebec City and visit to Ice Hotel

Well, today was breathtakingly beautiful, but very cold!  Bundled though we were, after 3 hours of a walking tour of the old city, my toes were numb!  Basically, our hands and feet got cold, but it was so worth it!  We had a wonderful guide, Francois Vidal, who explained in thumbnail sketches, the centuries of history that surround this French Canadian city.  It is really a tale of three cultures--French, British, and the eventual merging of the French who lived here to Canadians!  The architecture is French and British and sometimes, a combination of the two .  I wish I could remember all of the fascinating details.  Suffice it to say, if you ever come to Quebec, do the historic walking tour!!

After a lovely lunch at our "jewel" of a hotel, Auberge St. Antoine , we ventured out once again to the Hotel Glacé -- the Ice Hotel!! Our friend, Arlene Feen, treated us to an amazing "behind the scenes" tour of this fabulously interesting hotel - only open from Jan. 3rd until sometime in March when the warm winds come.  They tear down the hotel, they do not let it "melt"!  The ice is pristine and made from very pure water so that it is totally see through.  This is accomplished by taking all the air out of the ice.  They use a snow machine to make snow and put it over forms to make the hotel.  They "churn" the snow to remove air so it is very dense.  Last year they experimented in taking the hotel down by trying to use a 16 ton bulldozer on top of the hotel- to no avail... It was a disastrous experiment and not successful because the ice and snow are so strong and substantial! 

 There is a new theme chosen each year-- the first opening was 2001.  This year the theme was "Myths and Legends".  Students compete designing the suites for a prize.  The suites are quite amazing!  There are fireplaces in some of the suites, but not for heat.  All the heat goes out the top of the hotel and it is only for light in the room. Guests are given a training session in the evening on what to do when you spend the night.  You are given a "mummy type" sleeping bag (large at the top and narrower at the bottom).  And you are given specific instructions on how to get in, roll up your clothes for the morning and put them in the bottom of the sleeping bag.  The bags are good to 36 degrees below zero.  He tried to convince me that sometimes people are so warm they have to unzip the "vents" that are on the sides of the sleeping bag!  The ice beds have a sheet of plywood on them topped with a foam mattress that resists freezing and doesn't transmit heat to the ice..  There is a "spa" of sorts -- an outside hot tub and a sauna!  When you are in the hot tub, the steam rises to a certain height and then produces ice crystals that fall.  They are quite small, but there are special lights installed next to the hot tubs so you can see the crystals.  Our wonderful guide, Pierre Houle, told us it is quite amazing to see!

  We went "behind the scenes" to make our own "ice glasses" with a drill press.  We took our ice glasses into the bar where a lovely bartender fills your glass with orange or cranberry juice (and vodka if you choose)!  There is an ice discotheque that rocks with music!    The hotel has 44 rooms, many of them totally different because of the carved themes by the students.  There was even a room from the new Disney Movie, Frozen!  We saw the Queen's bed, snow sculptures in the walls of some of the characters and the adorable snowman, Olaf, built next to an ice slide that children and adults were going down!  Disney came with their cameras to do publicity shots for the upcoming release of the DVD.  It was an amazing adventure and I encourage all who come to Quebec between Jan and March to go do the tour, or if you're brave enough, spend the night!  It will be the adventure of a lifetime!!  But wear at least two pairs of wool socks!  

Tomorrow we go snowmobiling and tomorrow evening is the winter Carnival parade which we are told is quite amazing!

Our wonderful walking tour guide, Francois.  Note ice sculpture of ship behind us!

The mural depicts the history of the city.

Riding up the funicular .

Hotel Frontenac currently under major renovation .

Entrance to the Hotel Glacé !

The Lobby!

Thor!

The wedding chapel.  They average 25 weddings a season.  The record was 43 one year!

Easter Island theme.

Egyptian themed suite. 

The Flying Dutchman suite!

This is an "ice box" used to hold the rings for the weddings!

Making our "ice glasses" with the drill press!

Felt just like you were in the Disney movie, Frozen, with Olaf!  Waiting for him to say hello!

The scary snow monster from the movie, Frozen!

The bar in the disco!

Filling my ice glass!

One of the sponsors has this bottle encased in ice!

View out the window of our hotel!  Amazing adventure!! So cool!  Literally!! :)))

PS. I have been informed that "the Bottle" (refer to the Catch Up Blog from last evening) has arrived and will soon be on its way to Florida!