Lunenburg

my friend Susan McClung taking a photo of Lunenburg

I could probably do a hundred posts of the town of Lunenburg. That is how impressed I was with the place. Combine it with Mahone Bay down the road, and it is Heaven on Earth. We were there before season started, and it was quite chilly. Sometimes I had to stomp my foot up and down to shake off the cold before snapping a photo. Susan was braver than me. When she was taking this photo, I was on the bus where the heat was on.

Lunenburg on the water

Lunenburg is a town of sherbert color houses that are 200 years old and not only still standing, but meticulously kept up. It is a hilly town with friendly folks and a wonderful, calm ambience. We weren't there in the summer, but I have to believe it livens up a lot.

One of my favorite photos of Lunenburg

The photo above is engineering at its best. This appears to be a handmade boat ramp.

Another wonderful building is the old Lunenburg Academy, which used to be a school. Definitely a gargoyle-inspired building, I think it would be a great place to film a horror movie. Next to the Academy is the Lunenburg Cemetery.

Lunenburg Cemetery

I Love Montreal Part 1

Statue near the Port of Montreal

I never expected to love Montreal as much as I did. A lot of people had told me how much I would love Quebec City, and maybe I just didn't spend enough time there as we only had the one day. I liked it, don't get me wrong. But I loved Montreal. I loved the people, an amazing mix of young people and many from Paris. 

Crepe restaurant I visited

I loved the food, from the hotel food eating on the terrace on the only warm day of my trip. The restaurants I ate at included food at the museum, a crepe restaurant and even a coffee shop. The most beautiful though was the French bakery I had breakfast at, which deserves its own post. The pastries were so beautiful, I even have one as the screen saver on my phone.

Crepe Suzette

I just wish next time I visit, it is warmer!

Mahone Bay & Lunenburg Homes: Colors of the Rainbow

Mahone Bay home converted to a business

Mahone Bay was our first stop on our fabulous tour with Robert of Halifax. I don't believe Robert really even needs a last name. Kind of like Cher or Prince, he stands out as the premier guide to the Halifax area of Nova Scotia. 

Robert in front of the Angilcan Church at Lunenburg

Wearing a kilt and a stern expression when we met him (he could have just been cold with that skirt on!), we had no idea how charming and entertaining he would be. A former history teacher, Robert was full of information and he told it in the most fascinating way.

Our guide Robert in front of a house in Lunenburg

Note the colors of the winter storm door

He entertained through the entire day, taking us first by bus through Halifax and then on to Mahone Bay and finally to Lunenburg. There were so many gorgeous things about these two towns, but what is the most inspiring of all is how old these homes are. Most are 200 years old, built by German immigrants who were given a stipend by England of a free piece of land, lumber and nails to build a home in an area that is quite inhospitable in the winter.

Mahone Bay even has a sign of the original settlers of the area. I know it is hard to read here, but I blew it up and you can see some of the names below.

There was a huge migration of Germans in the time around 1750 to 1754. I found a great article on the emigration to the Halifax area at this time. You can read that here. Go down to where they talk about entering Lunenburg Harbor for the first time. Britain had promised them land, lumber and nails, but it appears that the Germans who landed in Halifax from 1750 to 1752 owed the British Crown for their passage. It must have been a bleak existence when they first started. It is fascinating reading about this area, and what still remains after over 200 years are the wonderful homes.

Prince Edward Island: What a Treat

Sims Corner Steakhouse mussels

The day we arrived on Prince Edward Island, the weather was cold enough that I needed to buy a hat and gloves. The hat was my salvation, some kind of thermal cap that kept my head nice and toasty. I had signed up for a culinary tour through the ship, which to me was kind of a bust. I had to laugh as we stopped quite a few places, but surely didn't eat very much. We got a handful of popcorn at the first place, one mussel at the second, a glass of beer (since I don't drink alcohol, I had a glass of juice), 6 mussels at another place and we were supposed to end up at a french fry stand outside in the cold. 

Uttermost chandelier at Sim's

Luckily I absolutely loved the town as we walked around and had spotted a restaurant that I just had to try. So instead of eating fries out in the cold on a picnic bench, I opted for the warm and beautiful ambience of Sim's. The service was terrific and the food to die for! And the best part of all, they had Uttermost chandeliers at the restaurant, ones we have sold at The Magic of Design in the past. That was fun!

You can't go wrong eating at Sim's. More information on this wonderful restaurant is located here.

Walking back to the Veendam, I came across this guy. I had to take a photo. Thought he was cool.

Saguenay: Definitely Graffiti-Inspired

Tattoo of our bus driver in Saguenay

If there was one unusual place we visited on our Canada New England repositioning cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Montreal, it was Saguenay, Quebec.
First of all, I was fascinated by the tattoo of our bus driver shown above, and his tattoo kind of set the tone for the entire day. Just kind of weird and bizarre, but interesting.

Our guide at the goat farm

Besides the eery tattoo, we went to visit a goat farm. To me, the goats looked like sheep. But when I came back, I looked up the information on these guys and they were definitely goats. They are goats with mohair. Guess I learn something new every day.

Goats that look like sheep to me

The baby goats

It was a bizarre day all around. We went to a presentation at a small museum to see how fjords form. It was like going to a school room from the 1950s where they tried to be space age. Very odd. Then off to the  Le Chevrier du Nord goat farm, and after a musuem that we saw the works of Arthur Villeneuve. He was an eccentric man who painted the outside and inside of his house with tons of murals. I will do a separate post on him. He became quite famous and traveled all over the world. 

Goat Hair, Mohair, and Angora

Goat farm

Le Chevier du Nord goat farm was one destination on our Best of Saguenay tour. What I noticed right away was how dirty the "sheep" looked and how wide set were their eyes. 

at Le Chevier du Nord

They are really very bizarre looking creatures, quite large and really look like sheep to me. I had never seen a goat like this before, but they are goats. They are goats that produce a beautiful mohair that can be made in to angora garments, including sweaters and boots.

the goats

As I said, they are quite dirty but very cute and quite friendly. We walked through the process of how they sheer the goats and finally make their wool in to wonderful sweaters, coats and other garments.

You can find out more information about this lovely, family run business here.

Canada Once Again, Oh My

Mahone Bay

The main thing I remember from my Canada New England cruise two years ago was how cold I was the whole time I was there. I did a repositioning cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Montreal, and I loved it. I especially loved the ports in Nova Scotia and Quebec. But in Gaspe for example, there was still snow on the ground and ice in the streams. I want to go back next year. But this time, I prefer to visit a little later in the spring, almost summer.

Needed hat and gloves

So the itinerary I want to do goes to many of the same ports, but I plan to do different tours. For example, at Quebec City, I plan to go to St. Anne de Beaupre shrine. It is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the world. If you want to know more about it, click here. 

Statue in Old Montreal

I hope to stay at the same hotel in Montreal. It was one of my favorite hotels in all the world. Le Saint Sulpice located behind the Cathedral in Old Montreal.

A fabulous hotel in Old Montreal

Oh My Cod: Great Eatery in Mahone Bay

Photo of the lovely owner of Oh My Cod Restaurant

Well I have been back from the Canada New England cruise that started in Fort Lauderdale for months, and now I am finally posting photos and remembering the great things I did and saw. One thing that has been nagging at me for months is the promise I made to a lovely young woman shown here, that I would do a blog post about her gorgeous restaurant, Oh My Cod, in Mahone Bay, Novia Scotia.

me in Mahone Bay in front of Oh My Cod

The restaurant is awesome, and is just one of the lovely things about the gem of a town. We were there so early that most of the local owners were scraping, painting, landscaping and generally getting ready for the tourist season. I had one of the workers take my photo in front of Oh My Cod while they were working on the outside deck area.

outside deck renovation from the end of April 2016

Thank you, kind soul, for taking my photo. As I am writing this, I cannot find the business card that the owner gave me, but I was able to find their website online and am now a friend on their Facebook page. If you ever make it up to this beautiful town in Nova Scotia, please stop and have a bite at Oh My Cod.
For more information, their website is here. Become their fan on Facebook at their Facebook page here.

More on Mahone Bay in another post!!

Towel Animals Galore

My Yoda towel animal

I adored my cabin stewards on the Holland America Veendam for the repositioning cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Montreal. Iman and Wayan were the absolute best. They were there in the morning greeting me by name, asking what tour I would be going on that day, and did I enjoy my breakast? Throughout the day, they smiled and spoke to me, asking if I enjoyed my tour and what I was doing that night. They were always there, always smiling and working hard.

My wonderful cabin stewards Wayan and Imam

My room was always spotless. But the most important thing of all, I had my towel animal to come home to each night. One night I came back after dinner and Imam was finishing up. I asked him if he was going make me a towel animal and he said no. I was very sad, but he had sort of a mischievous grin on his face as he said it. Then I realized, he wasn't going to make me one as it was already there .. a monkey hanging on a hanger. (Need to locate the photo.)

Towel animal with room service menu 

Another towel animal

Wayan and Imam up close

Thank you Wayan and Imam! You made my cruise.

Perce and Sweet Lorraine

Sweet Lorraine

I have taken my share of shore excursions on cruises. Most I barely remember the guide, typically being mildly aggravated by how much they talk and how little I will remember later. There were quite a few exceptions my last cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Montreal on the Holland America Veendam. One great exception was the "Best of Perce" tour with our guide, Lorraine - and our bus driver, Frank.

On the way to Perce

We could not have had a lousier day weather-wise. It was cold with snow still on the ground in spots. The wind was whipping and it rained off and on. But in the toasty bus with Lorraine's anecdotes and Frank checking that we were warm enough, it felt like a day out with family. Lorraine is from the area around Gaspe and Perce, Quebec. She grew up there and then moved to the big city of Montreal and lived there for 40 years, working for a bank until she retired. Then she and her husband moved back to where they grew up.

Bleak day between Gaspe and Perce

Seen with rain through the bus window

Now she works as a tour guide some days, and on the other days, she shuffles seniors to their doctor's appointments and brings them home from the hospital. She is one of the kindest people I have ever met. 

in Perce

Frozen waterfalls

Even with the bad weather, the tour was terrific. We got to see frozen waterfalls and the rock at Perce. We ate lunch at a little restaurant by the boat dock of Perce, and I was ever so grateful I wasn't doing the tour on the boat that day.

Boat by the restaurant where we ate

Cute souvenirs in the one shop that was open

The town of Perce is tiny. Since it was before season opened up, there was only one souvenir shop open. But the trip there and back, with the lovely lunch and Sweet Lorraine, made the day go by fast. It was a delight!

Bar Harbor Tour and More with Woody

Bar Harbor Coastal Cab van

I originally was wait listed on a tour from the Holland American Veendam Shore excursions. But once I met Rich and the group from Cruise Critic at the first meet & greet, I was invited along on a private tour to Winter Harbor and Acadia National Forest. I wanted to go on the private tour, and luckily HAL was very accommodating as they did send me the ticket to my room. But I asked them if I could cancel, and I am so glad that I did. The private tour with Woody could not have been better.

Inside of Woody's van

First off, Woody is just a super nice guy. He has lived in the area his whole life and knows almost everything there is to know. He is kind and cared when I got cold. He took us to all the places we were supposed to go and then some. We first went to the Naval Facility at Winter Harbor, then would back around through Acadia National Forest, stopping at all the key spots along the way. 

Arcadia National Forest

The coldest yet most beautiful spot was Cadillac Mountain. So glad we got to go there. If you squint your eyes a bit, or maybe get a magnifying glass, you can see our cruise ship right above the shoreline.

View from Cadillac Mountain

You cannot go wrong with Woody and his Bar Harbor Coastal Cab tours. You can find his website here. He does all kinds of private tours and can adapt yours to exactly what you want to see, but don't miss Cadillac Mountain. It is gorgeous. Don't forget to tell Woody we said hi ... from Luh, Rich, Al and Gail!