Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Canadian Trip - May/June 2014



We began this adventure on May 22, 2014 with our American Airlines flight from Austin to first, Chicago O’Hare, and then another flight to Boston, arriving a bit late.  We checked into the Embassy Suites Hotel adjacent to Logan Airport and had a late dinner in the hotel restaurant.  It was just a day of travel.
The next day, Friday, we spent with old friends we first met in Hawaii 45 years ago, John and Zoe Ann Liepins.  They came to our hotel and picked us up for a day along the Boston coast.  First we headed north to the scenic fishing village of Rockport, Massachusetts.  The day was cool in the 50s and overcast with a few sprinkles from time to time.  We parked the car and walked around Rockport taking photos and trailing in and out of shops.  We had a nice lunch at My Place by the Sea with a window view of the coastline.  On the walk back to the car we stopped at Tuck’s Chocolates and purchased our dessert. 
We continued driving the scenic route along the coast south to Gloucester where we stopped for photos with the old fisherman statue looking out to sea.  Pressing further southward we drove a nice back road through Manchester-by-the-Sea, the campus of Endicott College, Beverly and into Salem where we stopped to tour the House of Seven Gables and Nathanial Hawthorne’s birthplace.  We drove into downtown Salem and found the old witch house, a witch statue, and several witch museums.  They know how to market a past mistake. 
Eventually we drove through Lynn and Revere into North Boston where we parked and walked with the crowds.  We stopped at Bricco’s Italian restaurant for a delicious dinner.  Afterwards we walked along Hanover Street looking at all the tempting Italian bakeries.  We saw the Old North Church where Paul Revere received his lantern signals and the large statue of Paul Revere.  Finally John and Zoe Ann took us back to our hotel where we said our goodbyes once more. 
Saturday we had breakfast in the hotel and arranged for a ride to the pier where our ship, Maasdam of the Holland America line, was docked.  In the waiting area we passed through security and found Rachel and Deana before boarding the ship.  We went to our cabin, number 822 on the lower deck, and unpacked our suitcases.  In a short while we all met Gretchen, Chris and Sophie-Claire in one of the many lounges for a drink.  We sailed at 4:00 pm and Rita and I stood on the forward deck as we sailed out of Boston Harbor.  The air was crisp but mostly sunny for a nice start to our cruise.  Soon we had the obligatory life boat drill which always seems chaotic but hopefully works in an emergency.
We all met in the nicer dining room about 6:00 pm for dinner.  Food and service were excellent throughout the trip.  We always ordered wine with each couple taking turns picking out the evening’s drink.  I began with a starter of scallops then a pork shank on Boston baked beans followed by devil’s food cake for dessert.  Sophie-Claire was always smartly dressed and usually well-behaved.  She ate most everything and the wait staff gave her top attention.
Sunday morning we woke up in Bar Harbor, Maine.  We all met for breakfast at 8:00 am and then caught tenders to the port about 9:30 am.  This was the only port where we had to use tenders.  First we all walked the Shore Path along the water where Sophie-Claire, her father and I jumped over rocks to a promontory.  We pressed on and ended up at a local farmer’s market adjacent to a playground where Sophie-Claire could run off some steam.  We walked along Main Street to Cottage Street where we had lunch at the Thirsty Whale Tavern.  I had an Atlantic Brewery brown ale with my lobster roll.  Rita had fish and chips and their home made root beer.  After lunch we walked to West Street and took an Oli’s Trolley tour through town and up Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park.  After the tour we had ice cream at Mt. Dessert Ice Cream shop before catching the tender back to the ship.
On board we had another nice dinner together.  It was formal night which just meant, for me, a tie and jacket.  First I had beef carpaccio for a starter and then surf and turf (steak and shrimp) for the main course.  Rita and I were presented with a cake for our 50th anniversary which happened last February but was celebrated tonight.  We saw whales breaking the surface on the port side of the ship.  In the evening we went to a floor show of Broadway songs.  We sailed at night as was the custom.
Monday was Memorial Day and we docked in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  The weather was cool in the 40s with occasional rain and a brisk wind.  We had a group breakfast then met at 8:30 am for an excursion tour we had all signed up for.  First the bus tour drove around the city showing us one street that was almost completely old Sears and Roebuck houses.  We saw graveyards where victims of the Titanic sinking were buried.  Then we took highway 333 south to Peggy’s Cove where we had a stop to explore the village on our own.  It is a very picturesque village sometimes called the most photographed town in Canada.  The trip back to Halifax was along a pretty coastline and in Halifax we stopped for a short visit at the Citadel overlooking the city.  It began to rain harder so Rita and I returned to the ship while the rest of our group had lunch in Halifax.
In the afternoon we began participating in trivia contests.  We usually ended up near the top and won the contest a couple of times.  For dinner this evening I had duck pate, lobster and potato soup, baked cod, and a brownie dessert.  Entertainment tonight was a fiddler and bag pipe concert of typical Cape Breton music.  
Tuesday we had docked in Sydney, at the top of Nova Scotia which is known as the Cape Breton Highlands.  We all met on the Lido Deck (open air) where the bag pipe and fiddler were entertaining everyone who joined the special crepe and pancake breakfast.  At 10:00 am we all met for another excursion tour of Fortress Louisburg which was built by the French.  The weather was cold and windy but we persevered and first watched a soldier’s loading and firing of a flint lock musket.  We were a bit early in the season so there weren’t many park employees in period costumes.  One welcome stop was in an old tavern where a lady demonstrated, and served, the art of making hot chocolate.  About 1:30 pm the tour ended back at the ship.  Everyone except Chris and I returned on board.  We walked to the Governor’s Pub where live entertainment was more Cape Breton music with a keyboard and fiddler group.  Chris and I had local Spruce red ale while Chris had chowder and I had a nice poutine, a Canadian dish of fried potatoes with gravy and various toppings – this one having cheese curds and bacon.  Our ship sailed about 5:00 pm.
This is Wednesday so we must be in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.  And we are!  We all had breakfast together and departed the ship about 10:00 am – no excursions today.  It was cloudy at first but soon the sun came out to help with the brisk, cool wind.  We walked to St. Dunstan’s Basilica first then Confederation Hall where we toured the inside.  Then we each went our separate ways.  Rita and I walked around the downtown shopping area and went into the Green Gables Store where we bought a small doll (Anne of Green Gables) for Sophie-Claire.  We also walked into the Cows Chocolate store where we saw them making chocolate-covered potato chips.  We didn’t try one. 
We all met again at 12:30 pm for lunch at the Row House restaurant which turned out very nice.  I had local red ale and a half lobster in the shell.  Rita had fish and chips.  The service was very good as was the food.  We walked back to the ship but first stopped at a Cow Ice Cream store for dessert. 
We departed PEI and sailed under the new Confederation Bridge which links PEI with Nova Scotia.  Many people were up on the decks photographing the bridge as we sailed under it.  Later on Rita played the slot machines in the casino where she won about $8 overall.  We also watched the movie “Monuments Men” at the theater.
Thursday was the only day at sea with no port visits.  We took it easy as we rounded the Gaspe Peninsula and entered into the St. Lawrence River.  I finished reading my book in the library and then played in a trivia quiz game.  This evening was formal night again so we dressed up and had photos taken by the ship’s photographer before dinner.
We arrived in Quebec City early on Friday and after breakfast on board we departed and toured the lower old city, going inside the oldest stone church in North America, Notre Dame des Victories.  We took the funicular to the upper city and walked along the ramparts by the famous Chateau Frontenac Hotel.  The rest toured the Citadel but Rita and I walked up Avenue Saint Denis to Ruelle des Ursulines where we found the hotel, Au Petit Hotel, where we stay next week.  Next we walked down Avenue Saint Louis to the Chateau Frontenac and went inside to wait for the others.  They arrived after a while and wanted to ride a horse drawn buggy called a caliche in French.  While they did that Rita and I went into a Starbucks for a cold mocha drink.  After their ride we walked to the Place d’Armes, to Place de l’Hotel de Ville, and had lunch at a nice restaurant, Chez Boulay.  After lunch Rita returned to the ship with Gretchen, Chris and Sophie-Claire.  Rachel and Deana did a bit of shopping and I walked alone to St. Jean’s Gate and Artillery Park.  I walked down to the lower city and did a bit of sightseeing there.
We all met for dinner again and this time there was a special birthday cake for Chris.  We were celebrating his 50th birthday tonight but it really was last January.  We all went for group photos then packed our bags and set them outside our door as we dock in the morning.
Saturday was the last day of the cruise.  Montreal greeted us with sunshine and temperatures in the 70s.  We left the ship about 9:30 am and caught taxis to the Marriott Chateau Champaign Hotel in Central Montreal.  Rita and I were put on the 31st floor with magnificent views of the city.  We all met downstairs and bought one-day metro passes.  One station was in the basement of our hotel and we took the metro three stops to Champ de Mars Station where we started our walk around Old Montreal.  First we saw the Hotel de Ville and Place Jacques Cartier with its monument to Admiral Nelson.  We had a nice lunch of crepes in an open-air restaurant called Jardine Nelson with a jazz band playing.  Then we walked to Chateau Ramezay.  Sophie-Claire was tired and crabby so Gretchen and Chris took her back to the hotel for a nap.  Rita and I walked with Rachel and Deana through the Bonsecours Market, along a major street called “The Main”, through the old port to the birthplace of Montreal in 1642, Place D’Youville to Place d’Armes with Norte Dame Basilica.  At every church we saw there were many weddings taking place – one after the other.  In the evening we met and walked to Beaver Hall for our last meal together as a group on this trip.  Rachel and Deana went to see Cirque Soleil which is headquartered in Montreal.  The rest of us walked back to the hotel and retired for the night.
Sunday morning our group broke up – Rachel and Deana rented a car and drove to Niagara Falls, Chris, Gretchen and Sophie-Claire flew back to Washington, DC, and Rita and I picked up a rental car to drive further northeast into the Gaspe Peninsula.  We rented a Chevrolet Cruze and decided to pay for a GPS too.  We made our way out of Montreal in heavy traffic and were directed to Motorway 20 arriving in Quebec City a few hours later.  We found our hotel easily and settled into our room.  We walked around Quebec a little and had dinner at Aux Ancien Canadiens, a famous restaurant with French-Canadian cuisine.  We really like the walled city of Quebec and think of it as the best European city in North America.
Monday a continental breakfast was brought to our room with the best croissant since France.  We checked out and found our way out of Quebec and headed further northeast on Motorway 20.  Soon we drove into the town of Levis where we switched to the scenic coast road 132.  It was pleasant driving this road with farms on the right side and the St. Lawrence River on the left.  We stopped in the pretty little town of Islet-sur-le-Mer to photograph a pretty church with silver roof.  We stopped to look at wood carvings in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli where we bought a carving 41 years ago.  We stopped in Kamouraska for lunch at Poissonnerie (fish restaurant) Lauzier.  We shared a large shrimp kebab with rice and salad.  I had a Boreal ale which tasted good. 
We arrived in Riviere-du-Loup about 3:00 pm and checked into our stay for the night, Hotel Levesque.  We were surprised and pleased at how nice a hotel it is with the most modern motif throughout.  It was one of the best bathroom showers we have ever had in a hotel.  We drove into and around town but there didn’t seem to be much to see.  We did watch some emergency in a tall church steeple but didn’t hang around to see the end results.  It appeared some repairman had an accident and had to be rescued by local fire trucks with long extension ladders.   Back at the hotel we ate dinner in their Le Griffe restaurant.  Another great surprise – some of the best food for a hotel restaurant.  I had magret de canard with vegetables and baked potato.  For dessert we shared a delicious chocolate fondant.
The next day we continued northeast on highway 132 with clouds overhead and fog on the river.  We drove through Trois Pistoles and Rimouski with occasional stops for coffee or to snap photos.  Again the scenery on the left was the St. Lawrence River and on the right were dairy farms and rolling hills.  Around Cap Chat the farmland turned into higher mountains full of forests and some timber businesses.  The road became curvier with beautiful views.  Signs along the road near St. Anne-des-Monts warned of rock slides and snow avalanches on the right and a sign that seemed to indicate that huge waves from the river on our left could sweep cars off the highway.  It was a perilous stretch of road.  Actually the body of water on our left was probably the Gulf of St. Lawrence at this point.  We didn’t see much wildlife with the exception of a fox and her two kits beside the highway.  We stopped to see the lighthouse at Le Marte and for gasoline at Riviere-au-Renaurd.  We eventually made it to the town of Gaspe and checked into our hotel.  We had dinner at Brise-Bise which was nice.  The maple syrup pie for dessert was nicer.
Wednesday we woke to a foggy morning, especially over the water.  It was cool, in the 50s, with occasional showers.  After breakfast we drove along the scenic coastline to the town of Perce.  If I were to return to this area I would stay in Perce instead of Gaspe – it appeared to be more interesting.  There are large offshore rocks but our views were limited by the fog.  We headed southwest along the bottom coast of the Gaspe Peninsula and stopped in Chandler and Port Daniel for pretty views of this area.  The sun came out and burned the fog away.  We stopped in New Richmond at a nice coffee shop and had a smoked meat sandwich which is the Canadian way of saying pastrami.  The drive was idyllic with mountainous forests giving way to farmlands once more and several road side produce stands.  We noticed more signs in English, more Anglican churches and more anglicized town names such as Chandler, New Richmond and Carleton.  While we were still in the province of Quebec I suspect this area was previously heavily occupied by the English.  We drove along Chaleur Bay to the town of Pointe-a-la-Croix where we crossed the bridge into New Brunswick and the town of Campbellton.   Here English was the first language and French secondary on road signs.  We made it to our motel in the town of Dalhousie and it started to rain harder.  The town was not very pretty, the motel was okay but a strange staff, and their restaurant was mediocre at best.  We washed a load of clothes and called it a night.
The next morning we returned through Campbellton and took highway 17, also known as the Appalachian Route, southwest through thick forests.  There were plenty of signs warning of moose but we didn’t see any.  This area in New Brunswick is the top of the Appalachian Mountain range.  We drove through Kedgwick and St. Quentin to St. Leonard where we took Motorway 2 northwards to Riviere Verte.  Here we left the motorway, filled up with gasoline and took back road highway 144 into Edmundston.  Back on Motorway 2 we re-entered Quebec once more and in the town of Notre-Dame-du-Lac we stopped at Fromagerie Le Detour, bought cheeses, pheasant pate, a fresh baguette, and some apple cider for a picnic.  Since the weather was still cool with off and on showers we parked by a planetarium and had our yummy picnic in the car. 
Back on the highway we drove through Riviere-du-Loup once more but continued east on Motorway 20.  The GPS directed us into the town of Levis and onto a ferry that crossed to Quebec City.  It was a surprise but turned out pleasant with good views of the city from the river.  We made it back to the Au Petite Hotel where we previously stayed and checked in once more.  It was nice and sunny so we started walking, first to the Parliament building with tulips in bloom then to St. Matthew Church, an old church now turned into a library.  Next we walked down St. Jean through the St. Jean Porte (St. John Gate) and stopped for beers at an outdoor restaurant called Sapristi.  Their menu looked good so we ordered three starters and made a meal of it.  A little further down St. Jean we stopped at a nice ice cream shop and indulged.  We walked back to the hotel and settled down for the night.
Friday we once more had a nice continental breakfast in our room then headed out for one last walk in the Old Town of Quebec City.  Then back to the hotel to check out and head out on our last leg of this trip.  This time we headed east towards Montreal on Motorway 40 but soon exited and took scenic highway 138, the King’s Highway, along the St. Lawrence River.  The view was of pretty villages, prosperous looking farms, and several produce stands with the first asparagus of the season.  At the town of Trois-Rivieres we stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant called Le Sacristain, housed in an old Wesleyan church.  Rita had a delicious quiche and my sandwich was equally delicious.  For dessert Rita had affogato while I had a rich brownie with ice cream and an espresso afterwards.  We re-entered Motorway 40 and somehow, with the help (?) of the GPS made it through Montreal and to the rental car office.  Their shuttle took us to the Marriott Hotel which is actually in the airport terminal building.  We checked in and started to repack our luggage for tomorrow’s flight.  We walked around in the airport terminal and had a nice dinner at Archibald, a microbrewery with lots of game on the menu.  I had a very good salmon fillet and their local amber ale. 
Saturday ended our trip.  We cleared US customs in Montreal then had an early flight on Delta Airline to Detroit with another flight to Austin.  We arrived in Austin about 2:00 pm, picked up our car and stopped at a restaurant for Tex-Mex and another stop at HEB for groceries.  All turned out well in regards to the car and our house.  The rain gauge indicates we had about 2.5 inches of rain sometime while we were gone so the plants fared well too. 
It was a great trip and a nice celebration for our 50th anniversary.  Rita and I had taken much of this same trip by car back in July of 1973 when we lived in New Jersey.  The girls were too young to remember much of that trip so they enjoyed seeing this part of Canada.  The best part of the trip was having leisurely meals on the ship together with Gretchen, Chris, Rachel, Deana, and especially Sophie-Claire.




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