Late Autumn in Quebec

 One of the things people from the west and south of the US look forward to on a Canada-New England cruise is seeing the fall colours in the leaves along the St. Lawrence River. This is the final itinerary for Crystal this year, and, as they seem to pride themselves on being the last ship out of Quebec every year, most of the time the leaves have already fallen from the trees altogether. Fortunately for all of us, with the slightly warmer weather, there was still a lot of colour to see during our all day cruise up the river.

We had a double overnight stay in Quebec City as we arrived at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and departed at 2:00 on Sunday. We had decided to go for a walk in the old town rather than do any tours, mainly because this was our third visit to Quebec in 2 years and we had done the tours that were offered.

What we had forgotten was that most towns in Quebec observe a Hallowe'en tradition of having the young children shell out in the local shops on the Saturday before the big event. As a result, it was very busy all over Old Quebec with parents dressing up just as elaborately as some of the kids. We saw everything from magicians to princesses to even one guy dressed as a Hot Dog!

There were lots of fall and Hallowe'en 
decorations all over Old Quebec

These umbrellas seem to come
back every year for the summer

A view of the Chateau Frontenac and the
lovely colours

The Chateau lit up at night

Sunday morning was rather cold and windy, feeling like -3 degrees Celsius. We knew it would be cold and perhaps rainy here in Quebec, but didn't want to pack heavy clothing for just one day, so we elected to stay on board and wait for the 2:00 p.m. sailout.

Looking out the windows in the Crystal Cove, we could see some snow squalls on the river, and a check of my phone's weather app said there were flurries expected. Before we sailed we saw our first snow of the season.

We had moved up to Marketplace to grab some salad for lunch when we found ourselves in the midst of a snow squall. I ran back to our stateroom to grab my phone and get a few photos:

The open area at the back of our Deck. We couldn't even
see shore!

Blue sky and tiny hail stones.

The snow/hail almost looks like styrofoam
pellets on the outside of the window

The pool deck

Of course the Filipino crew as well as others from countries that don't get snow all had their cameras out to take videos to send home. And by the way, a lot of the colours we had seen on Friday's cruise to Quebec were already gone by Sunday because of the windy weather.

So, all in all a typical late fall day in Canada! Now we look forward to almost 3 full days at sea to reach Boston where the weather is supposed to be much nicer!

Historic Fortress Louisbourg

 Our stop in Sydney, Nova Scotia gave us the opportunity to visit Fortress of Louisbourg, the story of which is a staple of grade school Canadian history. The fortress is a recreation run by Parks Canada, but it is surrounded by active archaeological sites which are yielding more and more information on how the settlers and militia lived there in the mid 1700s.

The fortress was built between 1719 and 1745 by the French, who had only a couple of very small island holdings left here after they lost Acadia and Newfoundland to the British. One of these was Cape Breton Island, then known as Ile Royale, where Louisbourg was established as a cod fishing community. Because of the constant shipment of fish back to France, Louisbourg also became a trading hub for goods from Quebec, the West Indies and New England.

In 1745, after a declaration of war between England and France, the New Englanders attacked from the land side, not the harbour. According to our tour guide, who was a retired teacher, they must have been really riled up as they fought their way through forests of black pine trees to get there. That meant also fighting black flies and mosquitoes that could literally eat you alive. As we learned at the fortress, the militia stationed at Louisbourg was so poorly treated that the soldiers were on the verge of mutiny, so it only took them 46 days to take the town. Unfortunately, it was returned to the French three years later by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

The town was again taken by the British in 1758, this time from the sea. The French did not have any strong naval protection for the town, and against 150 ships it only took 7 weeks for the British to capture it. They then destroyed the fortification walls around Louisbourg to ensure it would never again be used as a French military base.

One of the gates to the town from the harbour

The chapel

The large courtyard behind the King's Bastion. This
building included the soldiers' barracks, the chapel 
and the Governor's residence

We noticed some of the town's sheep invading
the ramparts - more on them later.

The homes have been recreated as accurately as
possible, down to the plants that would have
been growing in the gardens

We of course showed up in probably the last week of the season for the Fortress, so some of the buildings were already closed and only a few of the people representing the inhabitants were still there. We had an interesting description of what it was like to be a soldier, as well as a musket firing demonstration, and then we visited the Engineer's Residence for hot chocolate and a description of life for the average settler in the town.

We had seen some of what looked like Hallowe'en decorations in the chapel, and found these in one of the other buildings. Obviously there was going to be a party of some sort, most likely on Saturday, and then we expect Fortress of Louisbourg would close for the winter.

Hurricane Fiona made a pretty-much direct hit on this part of Cape Breton two years ago. Our guide told us about waves reaching 30 feet high breaking over the point not far from Louisbourg. There was apparently some damage to roofs in the town, but most of it was well protected. We're not sure if these walls were originally made of stone and reconstructed from wood after the storm.

The Dauphin Gate was the main guarded land entry point to the town. Every night the bridge would be taken up and the gate locked. I had to go down into a guard's tower to get this photo.

Remember those sheep on the ramparts? They must have been shooed out because we later saw them grazing near the front of the King's Bastion. Then suddenly it seemed that someone must have rung the dinner bell, and all 8 of them went racing to their home paddock somewhere in town. Some people on the street had to run to get out of their way!

All in all a very interesting visit to another Canadian historical site. During our 45 minute drive to the Fortress we were treated to some of the nice fall colours as well.

Next stop, Quebec, after a day of sailing up the St. Lawrence River. We're hoping that the trees will still have some of the colour a lot of our fellow guests have been looking forward to.

The Annapolis Valley - Wine Region?

 Since we are looking for some fall colours on this cruise, we headed out to the Annapolis Valley from Halifax. This tour also showcased a relatively new industry for Nova Scotia - wine production.

The history of winemaking in the valley is actually quite long. The French, when they originally sent the military and first settlers to Acadia in the 1600s, also sent grapevines. The problem at that time was that the vines that were used to Bordeaux conditions couldn't withstand the extreme cold of the winters. At one point, the Acadians did manage to create a hybrid that actually produced wine, but the British threw all of that knowledge out along with the Acadians when they marched in and took over. So again the potential industry languished for a couple of hundred years.

In 1979 Roger Dial, a retired professor who wanted to have a winery, started producing from a hybrid grape developed in Vineland, Ontario and known as L'Acadie Blanc (only because its actual name was a little too scientific). This grape is extremely hardy and fits the environment quite well. It is used to produce a number of different styles of wine, including sparkling.

There is even a specific appellation in Nova Scotia known as Tidal Bay. It has to be produced under strict standards including 100% Nova Scotia grown grapes and other particular characteristics. We tried some of this in each of the 3 wineries we visited on the tour, and although they all met the criteria, they all tasted quite different.

Our first stop was at Luckett Vineyards. The owner and founder has his own story that predates the winery. Pete Luckett immigrated from England and ran a fruit cart that grew into a fruit stand then a chain of 'Pete's Frootique' shops around Nova Scotia. He eventually sold these to Sobey's in 2015 and concentrated on his vineyard which he had established in 2000. We sampled the Tidal Bay as well as a Chardonnay and a sparkling. I enjoyed all of them --- and it seems we can order direct from the vineyard if we want to.

The view from our first stop, Luckett Vineyards

One of the quirks at Luckett's is this English Telephone Box
out in the vineyard. Thanks to Bell Aliant, the telephone is actually
operational. You can make a free call to anywhere in Canada
or the US - as long as you know how to use a rotary dial phone!!

Our second stop was at Grand Pre Winery. This is the winery established by Roger Dial in the 1970s. After his death, the vines languished for more than 10 years until Hanspeter Stutz from Switzerland purchased the winery, replanted the vineyard and put his whole family to work. Now they are all involved in management, his son is the head winemaker, and they have put Nova Scotia wines on the map.

We tasted their Tidal Bay, which was a little fruitier than the one from Luckett, as well as one of their red wines. That was very nice, too. We finished up with the Annapolis Valley answer to Icewine - Ice Cider. Instead of using frozen grapes to make the base, they crush frozen apples. The result looks like icewine but has a distinctive apple aroma and taste.

The gardens are starting to lose their colour
now, but would be spectacular all summer. Anna
Stutz takes care of them all herself.

There are an inn and a restaurant attached to
the winery. It would be a lovely place to stay.

Fall harvest decorations

We did stop at one last place but it was a very small winery and nobody on the tour was too keen on the wines we tried.

Our driver/guide, JD, was a real font of information about the wine industry and everything else Nova Scotia. He took us to a Parks Canada lookout near Grand Pre so we could also see how far the effect of the Bay of Fundy tides reaches. The Dykelands is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; in the 1680s the Acadians developed a system of dikes to allow the farmland to drain into the watershed, but keep the salt water from the extreme tides of the Bay of Fundy from washing out and contaminating the arable land. This system was in use throughout the settlements from the English, Scottish and Dutch all the way to the mid-1900s.

It was a lovely view over the Landscape of Grand Pre,
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The tide was just starting to come back in when we 
visited. By high tide, that whole area would be filled
with water.

It was a very interesting day and we learned a lot about this part of Canada. It would be nice to come again on a driving trip.

Boston #1

On this back to back cruise, we are visiting Boston twice, and with the odd departure times on this voyage, we decided to do a foodie walking tour that incorporated a bit of history as well.

We met our guide, Alvin, at the Shuttle Drop-Off point and began our walk in the Quincy Market area. As it was Sunday afternoon, and the weather bright and warm, all of downtown Boston seemed to be quite busy.

The Old State House, within shouting
distance of Faneuil Hall at the time of
the American Revolution

The Custom House clock tower

Inside Faneuil Hall. The painting that usually hangs
in that dark spot on the wall is on the floor being
repaired and remounted. It looks far too big to fit there!

Alvin took us to a couple of places that have long histories in town. We were supposed to go to a third pub, but as it was Sunday afternoon in football season, that one wouldn't have had enough room for a group of 10, so he had to drop it from the tour.

Our first stop was the Bell In Hand Tavern. It is almost right beside the Union Oyster House, one of our go-to stops for lunch. The Bell In Hand was established in 1795 by Jimmy Wilson, who had been the Boston Town Crier for 50 years. Although it has gone through some changes during its history, one of the bars still has the original wooden bar top. We had appetizers and a drink of choice.

We chose the Steak and Cheese Spring Rolls

After we were done at the Bell in Hand, we walked over to North End. It was a residential community of sorts during the British reign and the Revolution, being home to the likes of Paul Revere and other businessmen as it was relatively close to the State House and the trading and mercantile facilities of the harbour.

I think we came by one of Monica's locations (Al thought there
are 2 or 3) on a previous walking tour of the area a few
years ago.

North Square, location of Paul Revere's house and
a number of cafes and restaurants. 

Paul Revere's House on the left. We had seen Elvis
and the red convertible earlier in our walk. I was
just lucky enough to catch him as he drove by.

And of course, no visit to Boston is complete
without stopping at the Paul Revere monument
with the Old North Church in the background.

There are lots of stories about the most important players in the American Revolution, especially Paul Revere. Alvin pointed out to us that the only reason Paul Revere is the standout is because his name fit into Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem better than anyone else's and he was already well known. Revere didn't actually finish the ride - in fact he was captured by the British - and he was certainly not riding by himself. Another rider, William Dawes, was actually the first to reach Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that the British were out to arrest them.

So once we had visited these spots and learned some more about the Boston Tea Party and the beginning of the American Revolution, we headed for our second stop at the Modern Underground Restaurant at Modern Bakery. It isn't a pub, but the Underground wasn't busy and the food was delicious. 

There are a couple of bakeries in North End that vie for the title of 'Boston's Best'. Just across the street is Mike's Bakery, which, judging by the lineup outside and the number of cake boxes we had been seeing, is a real local favourite. Modern also had a long lineup outside as well as inside, but Al led us down to where he had reserved a table. Here we had another drink - beer, wine or house specialty martinis like Pistachio or Banana Bread, pizza and to top it off,  house specialty cannoli.

One of our 3 pizzas for 10 people. Really
delicious and not too thick a crust.

Here's Al almost tipping the tray of cannoli
over!

These were so good, we didn't have too much room for dinner.
Ricotta, mascarpone, a little sugar and vanilla - creamy and delicious!!

We left Boston around 5 p.m., so didn't really have a lot of time after the tour to stay downtown. But we have our bearings for the visit next week which won't be on a weekend. Let's just hope the weather is as nice.

Looking back at the Boston skyline just after sunset.

Newport, Rhode Island

We had a lovely sunny and warm Saturday in Newport, Rhode Island. It seems that New England is having much the same kind of October weather as we have been having at home. We decided to forego the tours to the big mansions by the sea and just wander around in town for a couple of hours.

Newport is still mainly a vacation community and has a lot of the small town vibe with cafes and restaurants, ice cream and fudge shops as well as tourist trinkets and tee shirts. Being such a warm day, all the coffee shops were busy with locals taking advantage of the sunshine. It started to get really busy around noon, and we soon discovered why - the annual Seafood Festival was on this weekend, and we stumbled across the food truck lot during our wander around town. It certainly was popular. The festival 'grounds' included a whole area by the bay that looks to be restaurants and bars, but we couldn't see past the crush of people.

The Hurdy Gurdy man and his monkey. You can
actually donate in the monkey's cup towards
a local charity

The White Horse Tavern, the oldest operating restaurant
in the US, established in 1673

A local Bed and Breakfast

Trinity Church, which is hosting a
pumpkin patch in the park until Hallowe'en

One of the local houses - a big Hallowe'en display
for such a small garden!

St. Mary's Church. One of at least 5
good-sized churches in a small town.

Just one of the food trucks at the seafood festival. And this
was early on. As we walked back to the tender pier,
more and more people were heading in this direction.

On the tender back to the ship. Some of the cottages
on Goat Island, which creates Newport Harbour and
protects the town from Narrangasett Bay

This house is called 'Clingstone'. Wonder why. It is 
120 years old and is still used today.

A cloudless sunset over the Atlantic Ocean

Next up - Boston, Massachusetts.