hi guys! i just got back from our big family vacation – a cruise throughout canada and new england. we crammed so many things into one week – québec, prince edward island, nova scotia, maine, and massachusetts. it was such an amazing trip and i had so much fun finally getting to visit these places (and getting to eat all of the food!). i also made a little video with some of the things we did so check it out below!
montréal
we flew in the day before our cruise began so we got to spend two days in montréal – i got lucky. on the first night, we took a taxi from the airport and nearly died. our driver was insane! but we made it in one piece to the marriott courtyard in downtown montréal. it was such a nice place to stay! we had the best view of the city (first picture) AND they sold kinder eggs in the gift shop. if you know me at all, you know how much i love those and how upset i am that they’re banned in the US. after settling in, we went on a mission to find food. we started out walking but, after flying all day, we were starving and just turned around and went to the restaurant in the hotel, le darlington. this is where i got to try my first poutine ever and it was insanely good. we all turned in early that night and woke up super early to get a start on exploring. we got brunch at eggspectation and then headed to the old port to see the place d’armes and notre dame basilica. after wandering around for a while, we stopped at my first tim hortons which made me such a happy camper. and then we were off to the cruise ship! all aboard the m/s maasdam – our home for the week.
quebec city
quebec city meant lots of walking. we got off the boat and immediately headed up – we walked through the tourist shops, to montmorency park overlooking the city, to the top of the hill to visit chateau frontenac, and then finally to the citadel. we stopped for lunch on the boat and then went out for our excursion – a bus ride past montmorency falls to visit île d’orléans for a wine tasting at isle de bacchus. their ice wine is to die for. i’m forever regretting not buying any before we left. after that, we drove to canyon saint-anne where they had three bridges that you could walk on overlooking the waterfall. such a gorgeous view.
st. lawrence river cruising
day three was spent cruising along the st. lawrence river. ’twas a lazy day full of mojitos, naps, and good food.
charlottetown, prince edward island
charlottetown marked the start of freezing cold weather on this trip – i definitely wasn’t prepared for it but we still ventured out to look around. there wasn’t too much to see there but it was still such a cute, little town. one of the first things i do when i’m in a new place is search for a good coffee shop and boy, i wasn’t disappointed by receiver coffee company. we spent some time borrowing their wifi and then checked out st. dunstan’s basilica before searching for somewhere to eat for lunch. we ended up at dave’s lobster rolls. this was my first lobster roll of the trip and so, so good. lobster rolls are forever the best.
sydney, nova scotia
sydney was kind of a dud. it was 40 degrees outside and pouring down rain for most of the day so no one really wanted to go anywhere. i only left the boat to hang out in the port terminal for the free wifi and for a quick trip to the nearest tim hortons with my mom. walking in the rain and cold for those timbits and coffee was totally worth it. the one bonus from that day? the world’s largest fiddle was right there in the port so you didn’t even need to leave the boat to see it. that night, we began to make our way to our next stop, halifax. it was crazy rocky on board – the water from the pool looked like a tiny tsunami and everyone, including me, was getting seasick.
halifax, nova scotia
halifax is such an awesome city. everything i wanted to see while we were there was in walking distance so we could easily see a little bit of everything. our first stop was the old burying ground – unfortunately, it wasn’t the burial ground that held those that died on the titanic (that one was too far to walk to) but it was still fascinating to walk through. after that, we hit the public gardens. the gardens are 18 acres of flowers with a coffee shop and an ice cream shop inside. it’s essentially my heaven. however, we didn’t get to stay too long.. we were on a mission to make it to the citadel by 11. by getting up there at 11, we got to see the changing of the guards, take a guided tour, and then see the noon cannon. it was so interesting and definitely better than the guards at buckingham palace because these guys wear kilts! when our tour wrapped up, we headed back down to the waterfront, got lunch at stayner’s wharf pub, and then walked down the boardwalk before getting back on the boat.
bar harbor, maine
i was sad to be leaving canada but i have to say bar harbor was had to be one of my favorite stops on this trip. the first thing i spotted when we arrived was coffee hound coffee bar. it has got to be one of my top 10 favorite coffee shops – it was so cute, had the most creative drinks, and the guy who owned it was the nicest. not to mention, the almond joyous coffee and blueberry hand pie i got were phenomenal. after that, we went on an excursion through bar harbor and acadia national park. we ended up on the top of cadillac mountain. luckily, we got there right before the fog rolled it and the view was gorgeous. after that, we were starving and went to the highly recommended west street cafe. their lobster roll was great but man oh man that blueberry soda stole a piece of my heart. after lunch, my family went off to look in what felt like every single tourist shop. instead of doing that, i went to sit in the park by the water. that was singlehandedly the greatest decision. it was so beautiful and the weather was perfect. i wish i could go back.
boston, massachusetts
sadly i don’t have any pictures from boston. it was our last day and all we did was wake up, leave the boat for one final time, and head to the airport. i’m definitely missing the cruise so much. the people we met were wonderful, the food was stellar and i miss waking up in a new city every day. i might have been skeptical when i was first told about this trip but i wouldn’t change a thing for the world.
ISPYKT 