North America – Canada – Destination NOW

Baddeck, Canada

We didn’t know the impact of the Air Canada strike until we left Halifax for Baddeck ( Pronounced ba-DECK). Our group has shrunk from 40 to only 26.

I know, I’ve completely skipped over Halifax. It’s not that I didn’t love the city. I did. It’s because we are spending our final two days there, so if time and energy permit, I will post about Halifax when we return there.

Laurie, our amazing trip leader, has devised a very creative way to break the ice and to keep us entertained during our bus ride. We are going to be playing “Passenger Bingo” for PRIZES! I don’t care if the prize is a rusted tricycle, with a wheel missing. If it’s a contest, I’m in it to win it. That’s just my nature.

Since I started this post, we have completed THREE different games, and I’m quite proud to say I was the winner of the first, which was a challenge to name all of the 14 people that did NOT make it to Halifax. Nailed it!

Laurie, our hard working, creative trip leader

But back to Baddeck. As usual, our drive to the next city was broken up by interesting stops, starting with the Millbrook Cultural and Heritage Center.

There, we learned about the indigenous people who had inhabited the land for over 13,000 years, ( according to archaeological digs) the Mi’kmaq (pronounced mig-MAH).

Apparently, the French and the indigenous had a positive relationship; not so, with the British, which was probably why we fought the French AND Indian War.

The indigenous were given identity numbers by the Canadian government, with the final number indicating how many children were in the family. That made it easier for the government to find the children, take them from their families and force them to attend government run boarding schools. The schools were designed to wipe out the indigenous language and culture. Over 176,000 children between the ages of 4 and 16 were taken from their families. Of that number there were over 6,000 recorded deaths from disease, abuse and suicide. Before anyone thinks that the mistreatment of indigenous children happened centuries ago, I need to inform you that the last school closed in 1998 in Manitoba.

This speech was given during Canada’s 100 year anniversary.

We learned that the Mi’mkaq language is a tonal one.

Depending on how you elongate the vowels, the same word could mean:

I love you OR I want to hurt you OR I want to throw you in the fire. THAT word could start some serious misunderstandings!

We spent our three nights in Baddeck at the Silver Dart Lodge, which overlooked a beautiful lake.

Laurie was initially concerned that we would find the Lodge too “rustic”. Instead, we all agreed it was absolutely charming. Because of the volume of business Grand Circle does with the lodge, we all got rooms facing the lake.

This spectacular view is what I saw from the lovely deck outside my room, the perfect place for happy hour. How great was THAT? It took all three nights for me to finish the wine that I was not allowed to drink on the bus.

The area is so beautiful that Alexander Graham Bell and his wife, Mabel built their summer home in Baddeck. Their “castle” wasn’t visible from the museum bearing his name, but there was plenty of other “stuff” to see.

I had no idea that Alexander Graham Bell taught deaf students in Boston or that Mabel became deaf at the age of 5 after a bout with scarlet fever.

I also didn’t know that Bell’s parents immigrated to the USA from Scotland after two of their sons died from tuberculosis. They didn’t want to chance losing their last son.

We all know about his invention of the telephone , but I wasn’t aware of his interest in aviation and hydrofoils until I visited the museum.

We spent the next day touring the fortress at Louisbourg, where I was once again reminded of my educational deficiencies. Why did I never learn that in 1745 a group of untrained “ soldiers” from New England successfully took the fortress in 6 weeks time? You see, the French had expected all attacks would come from the sea, so that area was heavily fortified and protected. But the 6,000 ragtag New Englanders didn’t know the rules of engagement, and they were undaunted by forests or swamps, so they attacked from the land, which was unprotected.

The crown decided to return the fort to the French in 1749 exchange for Madras, India which was a source of extreme irritation to the New Englanders. They had lost about 900 men capturing the fort.

In 1758, the British determined that they wanted Louisbourg after all, so they laid siege the “professional” way, by sea, without the help of the New Englanders, and guess what? It took them a WHOLE lot longer.

This time they completely destroyed the fortress, so what exists today is a reconstruction, based on documents and plans that were preserved off site.

Like Williamsburg, Sturbridge Village, and Plymouth Plantation, re-enactors in period costumes demonstrate what life was like in the 1700s.

I particularly enjoyed watching a prisoner being marched through town to the iron collar.

All of the neighbors were invited to ridicule the prisoner as he made the “walk of shame“ to the center of town.

Our final day was to be spent traveling along the Cabot Trail. Because of climate change ( yeah, the Canadians don’t think it’s a “hoax”), all the trails are closed to hikers. The risk of fire is too great. So, instead we were going to drive the entire route, after stopping to visit a church and a hooker museum. Don’t get excited. It was a museum for RUGS not ladies of the night.

You might think that rug on the right is supposed to be a young Liz Taylor, but the sign next to it explained it was actually a youthful Jesus.

While in the museum, Josh discovered there was a problem with the bus, so we had to hang out long enough that the full trip along the Cabot Trail was impossible.

We were lucky to have Laurie as our trip leader, who decided to treat us all to coffee and pastry at the shop up the street. Instead of doing the full route, we ended up stopping at a beautiful little beach

Our last night was spent at a ceilidh (pronounced Kay-Lee).

Although there is so much more to say about Baddeck, this post is already quite long, so I’ll stop.

Montreal

Well, we were SUPPOSED to fly from Montreal to Halifax today, but the Air Canada flight attendants decided to be rebellious and ignore the “back to work” orders from the Canadian government.

Instead, we are rolling along the highway with our Croatian driver for the next 13 hours.

Our two nights in Montreal got off to a promising start. Although we experienced torrential rain as we were leaving Quebec City, it was less of a downpour by the time we got to the “Sugar Shack”. At that stop along the way, we learned about the intricacies of maple syrup creation and got to sample maple taffy.

The taffy is made by drizzling very thick maple syrup on ice or snow, then wrapping the hardening substance around what looks like a tongue depressor

By the time we arrived in Montreal, and finished lunch, the rain had stopped. Our lunch was a Canadian specialty – delicious smoked meat (it tasted like corned beef).

The sandwich was so huge, I had to take it apart to eat it! Before I had finished half of what was served, I was full.

Before we arrived at the hotel, we had a bus tour of Montreal’s highlights. Good thing we were on a bus, because after that huge lunch, I was ready for a nap. Walking was out of the question!

Even if we’d had enough time ( we didn’t) and even if Barbara, my travel buddy had been with me ( she wasn’t), there was no way I was going to climb those steps to see the interior of yet another cathedral! ( So I didn’t).

Originally, I had booked a dinner with Chef Rob for my first night in Montreal, at the recommendation of my Canadian friend, Nancy. Unfortunately, Chef Rob had a family emergency, and had to cancel, but Laurie, our tour guide provided us with multiple attractive alternatives for dinner on our own.

I liked the Universel Déjeuners et Grillades, (especially the Mimosa Margarita, which is one of their specialty drinks) so much that I had dinner there BOTH nights.

I know, how boring. Here I am in one of the great “foodie” cities, and I go to the same restaurant TWICE? What can I say. It was close to our hotel, and the wine pours were generous.

Our one full day in Montreal was unstructured, but Laurie provided options for us.

After 15 minutes, I’d seen enough of the market.

Although I have seen plenty of markets, I decided to join her, mainly so I could get the hang of Montreal’s metro system. It is EASY! Color coded lines ( like Boston) and oh so CLEAN! I have to admit it. Americans are SLOBS.

There was no graffiti, no trash, no urine smell, just artwork. How do they DO that?

Do they ban spray paint? The buildings and highways were clean too. We’ve been driving along the highway for hours, without my spotting a single piece of trash. Trust me. I’ve been looking.

But back to my day in Montreal. When Mike and I were there in 2019, we visited the biosphere, which is located close to the Botanical Gardens. Had it not been a cold, cloudy day, we would have spent it wandering through that gorgeous place. It took 6 years, but FINALLY I got to spend about 4 hours enjoying the greenhouses, exhibits and special gardens.

My favorite was the Chinese Garden. I loved the fantastic sculptures in the pond.

The greenhouses were equally impressive, with waterfalls and orchids.

We ended our day with “Aura”, a light and sound show in the Notre Dame Basilica.

I felt like SUCH a big girl, finding my way via metro from the Botanical Gardens to the Basilica all by myself!

While awaiting the rest of my group to arrive, I enjoyed the musicians and performers in the square. there was a little of everything: dancers, violinists, singers.

The show started at 5:30PM and lasted for 30 glorious minutes. I highly recommend it! Please keep in mind, I’ve seen enough churches, cathedrals and basilicas to last 5 lifetimes! But this was truly special.

These two statues are supposed to represent the cultural divide between the French and English Canadians.

The snooty Englishman is turning his nose up at the Basilica, which represents French Catholicism and the French lady on the opposite corner of the square is gazing scornfully at the symbol of English power, the Bank of Montreal.

UPDATE: We arrived in Halifax a little before 1AM, so it actually took almost SIXTEEN hours by car. I don’t recommend it.

Oh Canada!

Normally, when I travel I arrive a day before the tour begins, but not THIS time. I figured I wasn’t changing time zones, so no jet lag to overcome, and with the short flight, I would arrive in the early afternoon. What could possibly go wrong? Well, I knew I didn’t have to worry about snowstorms closing the airport, but I completely forgot about thunderstorms and possible flooding. Oh yeah, I also forgot about airline strikes.

I don’t know whether it was the strike or the weather that got my flight canceled, but I was VERY grateful that United notified me the night before I was due to depart. That gave me enough time to notify my driver, rebook my flight from home and best of all, I avoided hanging out at the airport for hours, desperately hoping that the planes would fly again sometime soon.

Actually, the delay worked out for me, because on my recent trip to Massachusetts, my friend Jean and I inadvertently picked up each other’s credit cards. Although Jean attempted to overnight my card, the post office only CHARGED her for 1 day delivery–it actually took TWO days, so I was at home when my card finally arrived.

The header of this post is the map for the main trip. I am now on the pre-trip, which originally comprised three nights in Quebec City (now 2 for me), then Montreal for 2 nights. Whether the flight attendants’ strike will be settled by the time we are due to fly to Halifax is anybody’s guess. That’s why I’m glad I’m on a tour. I don’t have to figure anything out. That’s the trip leader’s job.

There are eight of us on the pre-trip, so finding alternative modes of transportation should be a lot easier than making sure the 30 main trip participants are able to get into Halifax.

But enough about the future—let’s focus on the present.

Our welcome dinner took place in the Hotel Clarendon, where we enjoyed singing along with the accordion player.

The morning of my one full day in Quebec City was spent the touring the parliament building, which was architecturally interesting. I loved the stained glass archway.

This corridor linking the old and new buildings synthesized art, music, architecture and technology . As people walked through the corridor, music played and flashing lights changed color.

Laurie, our trip leader took our first group shot outside of the parliament building.

Joanne, me, Kathy, Tony, Betsy, Mike, Nancy, Melinda

I had heard so much about poutine, I decided to try it for lunch at the Fairmont Hotel. What is poutine, you ask? Well, you take French fries, dump some kind of brown sauce all over them, then top with cheese curds and bacon bits. After a few forkfuls, I’d had enough, so I offered the rest to my travel buddies. They shared my side dish AND my lack of enthusiasm for this “delicacy”.

After lunch we were on our own, so I took advantage of the perfect weather to explore the city, walking atop the city walls. It took me a while to figure out how to get up there. Hint: There are steps along the city gates.