Fall Colors and Coastal Drive

Tuesday was spent driving across the north part of the island through Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Something I wanted to do while in Nova Scotia was hike around the Skyline Trail. It’s so popular and fragile that you have to reserve a parking permit well in advance. So back in May I decided what day I wanted to be there and bought a permit. 

I was lucky with the weather. It rained the day before and the day after, but my Tuesday hike was great, albeit chilly. (I would have been so bummed if low clouds would have obscured the view.)

Despite reading about black bears frequenting the area and a lot of signs indicating recent moose sightings and the problems coyotes were presenting, the only wildlife I saw was birds.

The end of the trail is boardwalk, which then turns into a series of steps and viewing platforms

What goes down must eventually go back up

During the time I’m here there’s an annual festival called Celtic Colours going on, featuring local folk music and arts. A lot of people travel here in October specifically for this. I figured I ought to take in some of the Acadian culture and went to a great concert Tuesday night in Chéticamp, where I was staying. Fiber arts are big in this area and I was able to go to a couple of exhibits in different towns.

Tonight (Wednesday) I’m headed to the Red Shoe Pub in Mabou for my last night on Cape Breton Island. More music and hopefully good food and drink.

Fortress of Louisbourg

Today I drove to Louisbourg to see a reconstruction of a French colonial village. It’s a national historic site and was the sort of place where you find people in period clothing doing the kinds of day-to-day activities that were a regular part of life at that time.

The King’s Bastion Barracks

Louisbourg Lighthouse

Tonight the inn I’m staying at has invited guests for (Canadian) Thanksgiving dinner. Tomorrow I’ll travel north to Ingonish Beach.

Cape Breton Island

Walking along Lac-Brome to Knowlton, Québec, the village that inspired the fictional Three Pines

Now that the retreat in Québec is finished, I’ve moved along to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.

I’ll be on Cape Breton Island most of the week, returning to the Halifax area Thursday. I am not likely to have a great phone signal while I’m here, and sometimes none, so don’t be surprised if you try to reach me and don’t hear back for awhile. It’s a remote area, and it’s beautiful.

Yesterday I had quite a bit of driving from the Halifax airport area. When I got here, I took a little hike to Uisge Bàn Falls. Got rained on a little, but it was good to get out of the car.

Finished the day in Baddeck at a little pub and enjoyed the live music there. Next stop, Louisbourg on Sunday.

View from my room in Baddeck

Into the World of Three Pines

This trip was built around a chance to participate in a literary retreat in rural Québec based on a series of books that I love by Louise Penny. In her books, the author takes your mind right into the community, the bistro and shops, and the living rooms of a fictional town called Three Pines. Three Pines was based on a small community east of Montréal and 1/2 hour north of the border with Vermont.

I traveled near this area in 2022, and the countryside and fall colors were beautiful. I’ve never done anything like a literary retreat before but thought I’d give it a try. It promised a lot of hiking, a lovely spa environment, and is led by a couple of people I’ve been familiar with through a podcast one of them hosts. So here I am at Spa Eastman.

Today included a tour of Abbaye Saint-Benoit-du-Lac. It is the Benedictine abbey that inspired a fictional abbey that was central to one of the murder mystery books. It felt just like Louise Penny described (but without the deceit and murder). We had the option of staying and sitting through Mass, which I did to hear the monks sing the Gregorian chants.

The fall colors are beautiful, and I look forward to them getting prettier each day I’m here

Spa Eastman grows much of the food they serve, all over the resort.
The building I’m in has a conference room, six hotel rooms and a communal living and dining area.
This little garden space is part of the building, next to the living room.

Street Art

Today one of the things I had planned to do was to go to the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts. Just before I left my hotel, I saw that this is the one day of the month that Québequois can get in to the museum free. I took that to mean it would be crowded. I didn’t have my heart set on it, so I decided to pivot and check out some street art instead. Free and not crowded!

I had seen a guide for a self-led walking tour of murals in a specific neighborhood. So after having what was arguably described as Montréal’s best bagel sandwich for brunch (had to wait in line on the street for 30 minutes for a table and yes, it was worth it), I headed that way.

Leonard Cohen lived a few blocks from here

Jackie Robinson played minor league baseball in Montréal before getting into the major league

Montréal Neighborhoods

Today I used the Metro (subway) and bus to get a little further out to see some of the neighborhoods of Montréal. I started at the Marché Jean-Talon in the Little Italy area, having a breakfast of coffee, pastry and people-watching.

All the produce looked so vibrant and fresh

Then I walked around the residential area of Outremont to see older, historic homes.

I took a bus up to Parc du Mont-Royal and walked some of the paths there. It was another beautiful day.

Mount Royal Cross

City views from Mount Royal Park

Capped the day off with a plate of poutine and a beer, which tasted amazing after so much time on my feet.

Even the fire stations are beautiful.