TITO'S MEMORIAL

Tito's Memorial

After WW I Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia became known as Yugoslavia. Various countries were added until in 1946 Yugoslavia consisted of the original three countries plus Montenegro, Bosnia, Herzegovinian and Macedonia.           

Joseph Broz Tito, who spent a lifetime as a public servant, first in the army then politics, became president of Yugoslavia in1953.       After becoming president, Tito had a special train built for his exclusive use.  This rolling presidential palace was known as the Blue Train.  It allowed Tito to continue state business and to travel among the Yugoslav states.  Over the years he traveled more than 350,000 miles on his train.  The train interior was finished in mahogany, pear and walnut woods and was refurbished in 1972 in anticipation of Queen Elizabeth’s visit.  Tito was much loved by his people.      

 While in Serbia, we visited Tito’s Memorial.  After his death a huge mausoleum was built. The whole complex is a good example of the personality cult, so widespread in Yugoslavia under Tito.  The name House of Flowers comes from the fact that many flowers surrounded the tomb until it was closed to the public. Today only white rocks are where the flowers used to be. It was internally called "flower shop" during Tito's life when it served as his auxiliary office with a covered garden.           

After the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the entire complex, including the tomb and the memorial museum, was closed and military guards removed. However, today it is again open to the public. Many visitors are from the former Yugoslavia. The museum houses an extensive collection of gifts presented to Tito from his many visits with foreign dignitaries.

He was given a symbolic Olympic sword after every set of games and one room of the museum was devoted to displaying them. Each one was different. Another room displayed gowns, uniforms, swords etc. The grounds were well kept as were all the grounds we saw. The grass was cut everywhere which was not the case in Romania and Bulgaria. In fact we wondered if those countries even had mowers.                                                     

 After Tito’s death among the rulers was the hateful dictator, Milosevic. After the elections of 2000, major street protests occurred resulting in the ouster of President Milosevic.

QUEBEC CITY HIGHLIGHTS

Quaint Canadian City

Quebec City, built in 1608 on the St. Lawrence River,  is the only fortified city, north of Mexico, left in North America. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage City in 1985, Canada’s oldest city is known and loved for its European charms. Centuries-old homes line narrow, cobblestone streets of the exuberant, romantic city.

Ninety-five percent of the nearly 650,000 population in the provincial capitol speak French. The city is one of the safest places in North America. It enjoys a healthy environment with clean air and plenty of green space. Flowing from the Great Lakes to the sea, the mighty St. Lawrence is a gateway to a continent. It is also the heart-line of a province, the soul of a people and the jewel of Quebec City.

The well-preserved Vieux Quebec, Old Quebec, is small and dense, covering only four square miles. It is well  steeped in four centuries of history and French tradition. The ramparts that once protected the 17^th and 18^th century city remain in place and stretch nearly three mile. They are 20-feet high and 49-feet thick.

The park in front of the Frontenac Hotel is the Place d’ Armes. For centuries the square atop the cliff was used for parades and military events. Upper Town’s most central location is bordered by government buildings, including the Renaissance-style Old Courthouse, 1887. The Funicular entrance/exit that connects Upper and Lower Towns is located here.

The Gothic fountain, 1650, at the center pays tribute to the arrival in 1615 of Franciscan monks of the Recollet order. The monk holds an ear of corn in one hand and a cross in the other.

Across the street is a larger-than-life stature of Champlain, 1567-1635, who eventually became Governor of New France.

Quebec City is much smaller than Montreal, so we were able to see several things in a short period of time. Holy Trinity Anglican Church, a stone church dating back to 1804 was one of the first Anglican cathedrals to be built outside the British Isles. It has a simple dignified façade modeled after London’s Saint-Martin-in-the-Fields. The land was given in 1681 to French Franciscan monks by the king of France. When Quebec came under British rule the monks made the church available for Anglicans services.  The church houses precious objects donated by King George III. The wood for the oak benches was imported from the Royal Forest at Windsor. The impressive organ has 3,058 pipes.  The eight bells in the bell tower date to 1804.

The oldest parish in North America is Notre Dame Basilica, 1647, also known as Our Lady of Quebec Basilica. In 1759 cannons from Levis, across the river, damaged the church during the siege of Quebec. In 1922 fire destroyed the second church, but each time it was rebuilt on its original foundation. The façade is classical-style. The large and famous crypt holding 900 bodies, including 20 bishops and four governors, was the city’s first cemetery. Champlain is believed to be buried near the Basilica. The church has only one tower as the ground was not solid enough to support a tower on the left side. The ornate interior includes a ceiling of clouds decorated with gold leaf and richly colored stain glass. The oldest piece in the Cathedral is a sanctuary lamp, a gift from Louis XIV.

Masion Maillou, the colony’s former treasury building  was built between 1736- 1753. Its sharply slanted roof, dormer windows, concrete chimneys, shutters with iron hinges, and limestone walls typifies the architecture of New France. Now housing the chamber of commerce, the green roof and turquoise shutters are hard to miss.

            The Terrasse Dufferin boardwalk offers a wonderful respite from sight-seeing and should not be missed. From here the rooftops of Lower Town can be seen directly below. Constructed in 1878, this wide walkway has an intricate wrought-iron rail. The walkway offers a panoramic view of the St. Lawrence River and the town of Levis on the opposite shore. It extends from Place d’ Armes to the Citadel

            Late one afternoon as we were heading back to our hotel we stopped to ask a couple standing on a street corner, who looked a bit lost, if we could help them find something. We got to chatting and the point of this tale is the fellow asked where we were going to eat that evening. We didn’t know. He told us, “If you follow this street down the hill, there is a restaurant called Portofino Bistro. They have excellent food. You’ll really enjoy it.”

            We did walk down the hill and when we saw the restaurant we decided to give it a try. Portofino Bistro is located in a house dating back to 1760. We enjoyed the warm friendly atmosphere and the friendly people. But most of all we enjoyed the superb lasagna. It was, indeed, a good choice!---thanks to a chance Canadian encounter!