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Page 1 | 2 | 3. Last updated 20 September, 2009
Itinerary | Sights | Activities | Fine dining | Items purchased | Lessons learned
In many cases, click to see a larger version of the images.
The new condo is quite nice, with hardwood floors, large windows, a lot of storage, and very good use of space. But the building itself is still very much under construction, so it was mildly entertaining directing cab drivers to it. With all the scaffolding and workers around, it doesn't quite look like someone should be living there yet...
During our first Montreal weekend, many downtown streets were blocked off for live performances, as part of the annual Jazz Festival. If we'd had our camera with us at the time, we could have taken this cool picture of a large crowd under a brilliant blue sky, soaking their feet in a city fountain while looking down at a stage where Jazz musicians were performing live. Unfortunately, we did not have a camera, so you'll just have to imagine it.
Similarly, we didn't take our camera into the Lunenburg Fisheries Museum, but it was well worth the visit. It featured aquariums with various sea creatures, boats on the dock you could tour, demonstrations of boat building, sample of products made with fish parts (beyond the obvious), art... Well worth it even if you don't have a particular interest in fishing.
Annapolis Royal is a small town with big history. One of the events offered by the Historical Society there is a moonlight tour of the town graveyard. Our guide was an Acadian whose family was expelled at one point, but who made their way back to Canada. The graveyard here contains the oldest stones of English settlers to Canada.
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Where Annapolis Royal focuses on human history, Parrsboro is known for its geological riches. These fossil and mineral artifacts are featured in their small but well-presented Geological Centre.
We decided to give sailing a whirl on the windy yet controlled waters around the Île du Havre Aubert. The two-person boat we were in was designed for racing, and featured two sails, a steering mechanism, and a “braking” mechanism. After about a personal 20-minute land lesson and changing into wetsuits, we took off in the boat while our instructor followed along in a motorized rubber dingy.
Despite the fact that I was hopeless at steering, we experienced no major disasters: neither of us got hit in the head with the “bombe”, we didn't fall out of the boat, we didn't ram into anyone else. And it was kind of fun! The next day, however, I was surprised at the location of my sore muscles: I expected sore arms and shoulders, but it the front part of my thighs that were just killing me. Going down stairs became an absolute trial. (Thank goodness we weren't in the stair-filled Québec City yet.)
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We went to see On a jamais une deuxième chance de réussir sa première dépression (rough translation: You never get a second chance to make a success of your first depression), just one of many live plays and concerts available. We were very impressed at the quality of the comedic acting, and the writing which made such fun of someone feeling so down.
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next day, sore legs notwithstanding, we went sea kayaking. We were in a
tandem sea kayak, which proved to be a bit of a relationship test. (We did
argue, but not as much as the other couples on the tour. Does that mean
we win?) The highlight of the trip (apart from the really cute instructor
— see left) was getting a different view of the caves and dunes in
the area, although the waves were to big to allow us to go through them
safely. And speaking of waves, we were both soaked with sea water by the
end of this three-hour trip. |
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Jean did not experience the boredom he'd feared he would on the cruise from Îles-de-la-Madeleine to Montreal. I think it was short enough, and featured enough stops, to avoid that. It was kind of “light” version of the Alaska cruise we'd taken before: meals were reasonably good, but not the same quality (nor could you eat all the time); the live entertainment was OK but not great (and there wasn't as much of it); the bars were pleasant but none as outstanding as the Crow's Nest (and there were only 2, not 12). So it was all pleasant enough, but I'm not sure we'd repeat it.
One of the highlights, though, was seeing the Gaspé coast from the water. We'd been to Gaspé a few times, and had therefore driven on the coast. But you really don't appreciate how gorgeous it is from the car. You can only see that from the water.
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Continue to page 3 for more a few more pictures, restaurant reviews, travel tips, and more...
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and Catherine McNair
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