Planning a road trip to Gaspe and Nova Scotia so this has been immensely helpful
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I do not think I mentioned my tour of the Citadel in Halifax. Very cool bunch of re-enactors and a stunning fortress, plus great views of the city and a huge kite war on sunny days with any wind. Which is any sunny day.
Then I walked back to the Lord Nelson Hotel via the Public Garden, they put a lot of effort into making it shine.
Hit McKelvie’s for Halibut and Chowder. Both were really good and the waitress, Emma, was outstanding. Plus a very good hazy Galaxy IPA from Propellor.
More fog in Halifax.
Next morning i had a quick bite at Annie’s. My “jammy poached eggs” were rock solid but the bacon was good and my cappuccino was super sized so I was ok with it.
Next I was off to the car rental place to get my… KIA FORTE?
90 horsepower and a CVT, so it was like listening to squirrels arguing when I floored it. Ok, it was not that bad, but it was bad. Bicyclists were close to passing me on the feeder streets.
First stop was for a shawarma bowl at Grape Leaves in Antigonish. He handed me the to go bag and I swear it weighed 2 pounds, or more! It was mildly spicy and I saved a good bit for later. The strawberry slushy was pre-made which is a bugaboo for me. First the Pho places started pre-making their Vietnamese Iced Coffees and standards fell worldwide…
Then I sat in sat in traffic for 80 minutes trying to get to the causeway. 80 minutes. 10 minutes in a police car had come zipping by, figured they would get it sorted. 70 minutes later I caught up to the police car. Argh. It was at the slowdown spot, a car had some bumper damage where it had ran into the back of an RV. And the police car was blocking the other lane of traffic, so only one lane got through in the middle. Face palm. I finished the shawarma around a hour in…
Couple hours later I hit Louisburg Fortress and if the Halifax citadel was impressive up above the city, then Louisburg is just a “What were they thinking?” experience. This huge fortified city in the seeming middle of no where…
All for king, country, cod, and a continent.
The re-enactors flowed in and out of character and were a lot of fun, and a great source of info. My favorite part of the tour may have been when 4 of the Governors chickens made a breakout from the chicken coop and took off for the gate. They have these large feather tufts on the tops of their heads and they looked like they were wearing some sort of hats.
Then I visited the 7x7 Restaurant in Sydney on my way to my Inn. Not a great meal. The first warning was when they 86’ed all the risotto items. Ok, I will have the halibut. Then the waitress came back and said that they were out of vegies too. So I had halibut with rice (not arborio) and when I asked for an iced tea she brought me a can of Brisk Tea.
It is funny, now. But then? Confusing.
Then I was off to Isle Madam and the Groundswell Inn. Very chill spot, tide was rolling in and I felt like I was murdering the sea grass as I walked over it to get down closer to the water. Pop-pop-pop-pop… Not sure what type of sea grass it was or why it made so much noise but I do not think I will ever walk on that sort of plant life again.
The next day I left the Inn and I did something for 9 hours and I am not sure where i went because I took no photos. I may have been kidnapped by aliens because me NOT breaking out my camera from breakfast until late afternoon is a very rare occurrence. The weekly concert in Arichat got cancelled but that was not a huge part of the day. I eventually went home and had a dinner at Groundswell of bacon wrapped scallops that were really good and Thai halibut that was only ok.
Went down to walk by the water again as the sun went down. Long days this far north. Very peaceful.
Packed up early, threw the bag into the car, but walked up to the NE end of the bay and got a shot of the marina before I left.
Then I was off like a herd of turtles!
Though my car still sounds like angry squirrels…
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My worst meal in Nova Scotia was a meal in Louisburg.
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Tourist trap cafes may be universal?
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My last legs of my Canadian Odyssey were just as enjoyable as the first few. I drove North from Isle Madam to Cape Breton and stopped in a touristy market/cafe called The Farmer’s Daughter, which kind of resembled east coast Amish Markets in Pennsylvania or Maryland. Lots of bread products, knick knacks, sandwiches, wooden furniture, but in a nice homey way. I saw some sort of empanada clone they call a Flora Bun. Sweet bread pouch with a meat filling. Tried two, cheeseburger and Philly Cheesesteak and the Cheeseburger was outstanding, the Philly Cheesesteak only ok.
Off again on 395 North. Curving roads slicing through the hills of Cape Breton, beautiful and a bit hair raising. The speed limits varied but what it came down to was that the sight lines as you drove around forested curves were frequently just 2.5 seconds. You had just 2.5 seconds to recognize a problem, brake and avoid it. Thank God there were no bicyclists on that road! Beautiful road, though. Gillisdale Bridge was one of my favorite spots, my photo does not do it justice.
Then I grabbed an ice cream cone at Mr. Chicken and watched the fishing boat come in.
Then it was off to Cape Breton Highlands National Park, which is another beautiful stretch of land.
Visited Rusty Anchor for a very good lobster roll, then failed to get to visit Freya and Thor, twice. Finally found a meal at Le Gabriel, where I got a mundane seafood fry up and listened to Mr. Bojangles sung, badly.
I was kind of irritated, but then I saw a violin/keyboard duo in the park and sat and listened for quite a while. Very nice.
I am not sure if I mentioned Halls Harbour Lobster Pound and the tides there. The lobster was good, though slightly tough, but the tides! Holy crap! This is what I came to the Bay of Fundy for!
Amazing!
Crashed at an odd family hotel/cabin/frisbee golf resort called the Old Orchard Inn. I have to admit that I kind of like its quirky charm. But yet again, I dropped the backpack and jumped in the car to drive to a seafood place, this time in Port Williams. The Port Pub is kind of plastic’y, and the waitresses have that slightly off “we are all great friends!” vibe, but the food was fairly good and the Cornwallis River was at low tide, exposing acres of mud and just promising to carry you away if you went down to check out the muddy parts. LOL!
The halibut and chowder were decent, and the rice was actually well prepared. The food was pretty good but there was a 1972 Chrysler New Yorker in the parking lot, that looked like it really, really, needed a new home. Funny what things get your attention when you travel.
The next morning I again got in the car and drove an hour down to Digby, home of “the best scallops in Nova Scotia”. I got a seafood platter at the Crow’s Nest and it was a good sized plate of really good scallops and fried clams, pretty good pan fried halibut, decent shrimp and mash. Great waitress and view of the harbour. I am not sure if they are the best scallops in Nova Scotia, but they are the best that I have had in a long, long time.
Blue deck is where i ate.
Also got a mayo based (not drawn butter) lobster roll at Carla’s on the way out of town. Just $18CAN, not $28CAN, but it was only good, not really good.
Loved the clock/tide level in the center of town. Very appropriate.
Hit Lisa’s in Windsor as I was driving back to Halifax International. Lisa’s is an old school restaurant with fried food and waitresses that you hear laughing and singing along to Bon Jovi in the kitchen. I love it. And the food is as good as the atmosphere. It is not Fine Dining, but it is fine dining, if I am making sense. Loved my seafood platter of haddock, fried clams and scallops. Again. Love this trio.
I never found blueberry grunt but i did find Butterscotch pie. I am not a dessert guy but this is really, really good!
Walked by the brewery next door (Schoolhouse) and liked the wall art.
Arrived at my airport hotel and walked around for an hour, trying to burn off a few of the calories I accumulated over the past 12 days. This trip has been a very good time, but I feel, again, like I am just moving too fast, not staying long enough to really soak up the feel of the places I visit.
But I am off to the airport at 0530 tomorrow morning. Flying back to the Washington DC Metro area/Arlington Virginia.
My home from 1985 until 2021, with a few years spent away, but mostly there.
Eden Center? Padaek? Thai Square? Crisp and Juicy? A&J? Northside Social? Arlington Kabob? TECC? BKK 54 Grocery Store? Not sure where I will eat, because there are so many places I miss.
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Such a fun report and fabulous pictures, thanks for taking us along!!!
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Looks like a good time was had by all!! Thanks for this and the inspiration for my next trip(possibly)
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