We arrived in Québec City right on time at 8 a.m. and were excited to have an entire day to spend there before returning to the Eurodam for one last dinner prior to disembarkation the next day.

We had scheduled a shore excursion that included a 1 1/2-hour walking tour of the Old Town and a tasting of Québec wines at an atmospheric pub during the afternoon.

So we were on our own all morning, and after several hours of window shopping, we decided to eat lunch al fresco at a famous Old Town restaurant–Le Lapin Sauté–where the patio dining area overlooked a pumpkin-filled plaza.

Here’s the homey interior of Le Lapin Sauté, clearly being enjoyed by locals and tourists alike.

Our Planked Salmon Salads were among the best dishes on the entire trip!  The salmon had a light maple glaze and the greens were very fresh and clean. I’m not usually much of a fennel fan, but the layer of pickled fennel was surprisingly refreshing and formed a fitting contrast to the lovely fatty salmon.

I had a glass of Québec Vidal, a light white varietal that smells and tastes slightly of apples. As you might imagine (since it is so cold with such a short growing season in this new wine-growing region) it was a bit thin with there wasn’t much of a finish.

Québec winemakers might do better to stick to their famous ice wine and hard cider. There were more than half a dozen hard ciders on the menu!