Our next stop on this East Coast trip was the city of Moncton, New Brunswick, as it was our gateway to Hopewell Rocks. While in Moncton we were able to see the incredibly fast Tidal Bore, along with a couple of guys who were having a blast surfing on its wake and made it all the more fun.
Then it was time to see what we traveled all this way for: Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park.
It’s a good thing we chose to pack our rubber boots!
We visited a few different places around Moncton, including the beautiful Parlee Beach, and the town of Shediac, home of The World’s Largest Lobster!
After a great trip, we made our way back to Boston airport (with an added stay at the Algonquin in Saint Andrews), and then it was time to fly back home.
After some great days in Boston, we were ready to continue our trip.
After a quick stop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, we arrived at Bar Harbor, Maine, where we headed to Cadillac Mountain, part of the majestic Acadia National Park.
After enjoying these beautiful views, we continued on our way to our next stop: Saint Andrews by-the-sea in New Brunswick, Canada.
Saint Andrews was so much more than we expected. This charming little town, designated as a National Historic Site, really captured our hearts, so much so that we added an extra stay there on our way back. We stayed at the Algonquin Resort, which was wonderful, and gave our boys the chance to have a blast in their three-story water slide!
We enjoyed walking into town and checking out the incredible tides at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy.
We booked a whale watching trip with Island Quest Marine Whale and Wildlife Cruises. We were able to see a couple of minke whales, and the crew also taught us about other creatures that live in these waters. One of the coolest things was getting to sail around the tides of Passamaquoddy Bay and learning just how fast they can move.
After passing through the marker for “Mile 0” on this side of the Trans Canada Highway (we have been at the other end, in Victoria, BC, which was kind of cool), we were headed to our next stop: Moncton and Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park.
We arrived in Québec City on a stormy afternoon after a four-hour train ride from Montreal. Although it sounds long, we thoroughly enjoyed riding the train. We read, played, napped, listened to podcasts… what’s there not to love?
After a very short taxi ride from the train station we got to our little hotel, conveniently located just a couple of blocks away from Terrasse Dufferin and the Château Frontenac. We checked-in, and went to take a first look at this beautiful boardwalk.
The next morning we headed straight to La Citadelle to experience the changing of the guard and to take a good look at Batisse, the Royal 22e Regiment’s mascot, a pretty regal-looking goat.
We then took the steps back to Terrasse Dufferin, admiring the ramparts, the only remaining fortified city walls in North America north of Mexico.
We continued our way down towards the Petit-Champlain district by taking the “Breakneck Stairs” (Escalier Casse-Cou). We ended up on Rue du Petty-Champlain, a charming little street and one of the oldest commercial streets in North America. We took a break at the quaint Parc Félix-Leclerc and people-watched, before heading back to the Upper Town on the Funiculaire du Vieux-Québec.
We had an early dinner at Conti cafe and ended our day touring the lobby of the Château Frontenac and exploring the streets of Upper Town.
The next day we had breakfast at the popular Café-boulangerie Paillard and then headed to the Marché du Vieux-Port. After purchasing some fresh fruit and cheese curds at the public market we continued our walk along the St. Lawrence River. It was a beautiful day and a lovely walk. It was also very warm, so when we walked by this unique bar we decided to stop and have a drink while we dipped our toes in the water and our little guy dipped a bit more than just his toes (thankfully I had his swimsuit and water shoes in my bag). After our little oasis break we continued our walk and ended up in a fun splash park by the Old Port.
We hoped on the ferry to Levi and enjoyed a great view of the city. It was a short ride to Levi and back, but it was wonderful being out on the water on such a fine day!
Next on our list was the Place Royale and the Fresque des Québécois mural, a historical, beautiful quaint part of Lower Town.
We had the opportunity to meet up with a friend of mine from Venezuela who I hadn’t seen in many years and who is now a true quebecois, and she gave us a great tour of the city outside of the walls.
We ended our day with a walk along a section of the walls, with a stop at the playground at Parc de l’Esplanade, where our son played with a local little girl to his heart’s content.
A stunning sunset from Terrace Dufferin marked the end of our visit. The next morning we headed to the train station and were on our way back to Montreal.
This year our Summer travels took us to the Canadian Province of Québec. We started off in Montreal on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, walking around the Quartier des Spectacles and Rue Sainte-Catherine.
The next day we rode the Métro to the Parc Olympique, where a funicular took us to the top of the Montreal Tower, a fun experience for our little guy. It was a great way to get a bird’s-eye view of the city.
After riding the funicular back down we headed to the Biodôme, where we made our way through four ecosystems found in the Americas. We started with a tropical forest and ended at the sub-polar region, where we had fun watching the penguins and puffins.
The following day we joined our friends Lucy and Olivier, our awesome local guides, on a visit to Vieux Port and Old Montreal. Here we walked, people-watched, enjoyed good food and live music at Jardin Nelson on Place Jacques-Cartier, and had an overall wonderful day. We ended up at Pizzaiole, where we dined on some great pizza.
Our mornings in Montreal were very relaxed, we found a brunch spot close to our hotel with excellent coffee and fabulous food, it was a great way to start the day. We enjoyed walking around, taking in the beautiful architecture and hearing not only French, but many other languages as people passed us by. The Metro was a treat for our four year-old, who loves riding anything that remotely resembles a train.
We ended up riding a real train for a three-day visit to Québec City, a fun experience for everyone. Once we were back in Montreal, we decided to pay a quick visit to the Marché Jean-Talon. I love visiting farmer markets wherever I go; walking around seeing all the produce and flowers, the people at work and buying and tasting good food, fresh fruit and vegetables, it just makes me happy.
After buying some produce and making a quick stop at St-Viateur Bagel to get Montreal style bagels (which, I must say, are pretty tasty), we headed with Lucy and Olivier to a lovely cabin in Bromont, where we spent a couple of days of relaxation and good company before continuing our travels with a fun week in Michigan visiting family.
We had a grand time on our first family trip to Montreal, and with dear friends living there, we hope this will not be our last.
Victoria, British Columbia has a special place in my heart. I lived there for many years and will be forever grateful to have experienced Vancouver Island’s beautiful, rugged coast, majestic mountain views, spectacular surrounding Gulf Islands, the laid-back island life and the kindness of its people. Victoria was home to me and is still home to friends that I love dearly, so early this Summer I went back with my family for a visit with the main purpose of spending time with my Victoria peeps.
Our first days were spent reconnecting with dear friends who live in Metchosin, and it included dinner at My Chosen Cafe, where we enjoyed looking at the animals in the critter corner after getting ice cream cones from the sugar shack.
After a weekend of backyard cookouts and dinners with great friends, we spent a day exploring downtown Victoria. First we headed to the Inner Harbour to look at the seaplanes and water taxis, hoping on one to Fisherman’s Wharf, where we enjoyed walking around and looking at the unique float homes. We also saw seals, starfish and even a mischievous otter.
After a water taxi ride back downtown we had lunch at Bard and Banker and then walked around enjoying the sunshine and cool breeze coming from the harbour. It was nice to see my old stomping grounds, as I used to work in Bastion Square and enjoyed this view everyday.
After frolicking around downtown we drove to Dallas Road, parked and took the steps down to the Holland Point Shoreline. The low tide allowed us to climb on beach logs and rocks, and look at the small tidal pools and beach pebbles.
We enjoyed views of the majestic Olympic Mountains and the Straight of Juan de Fuca and saw floatplanes and whale watching boats go by.
We headed to Clover Point and watched people paragliding, one of my favorite things to do and a great way to end our wanderings for the day. Then it was off to our friend’s home to enjoy some take out from Pizzeria Prima Strada (still my favorite pizza place outside of Italy) and watch the Stanley Cup finals. Who knew we’d be in Victoria instead of Nashville (Franklin, TN is home for us currently) when the Predators would make it to the finals!
The next days were spent visiting Butchart Gardens and the Butterfly Gardens with friends, having playdates in friends’ backyards, and enjoying playgrounds like the one at Cadboro-Gyro Park, with its Cadborosaurus still standing for the new generations to climb on.
We spent an afternoon exploring the oldest Chinatown in Canada (and second oldest in North America), starting with Fan Tan Alley, the narrowest street in Canada, and ending with a delicious treat at La Roux Patisserie.
A visit to Victoria would never be complete for me without at least a day spent on Salt Spring Island. After a glorious ferry ride with our friend Michelle, we got to Fulford Harbour and, after grabbing a coffee and treats, headed to her sister’s home for some good conversation for the grown-ups and some outside wanderings for the kids.
Then it was off to the beach! The beach is always my happy place, and it makes me smile to see how it is also a happy place for my son, especially when he has good friends to play with. What a wonderful way to end this visit to one of my favorite places on earth.
As I think back on this visit, I’m so very thankful for the friendships I have in Victoria, which have made my life fuller and richer, and I am happy for the friendships that my son is building with their kids and the memories they are making by just being together, laughing and playing. ‘Til next time, Victoria!
Wandering Monshors 