******************************
I flew on the red-eye flight from Calgary – Toronto and then into Boston. I would recommend clients to travel the day before, or a few days before to enable them see the slights, history and culture of the city. I would not recommend a night flight for people who are light sleepers or who have trouble sleeping on a flight. I usually don’t have issues sleeping on a flight, but I had a kid in the seat next to me who kept kicking me through out it and kept me awake the entire 4 hours.
Due to my flight, I was unable to see the sights of Boston on this trip. I was there a few years ago and was able to spend time in and around Boston Common, the Public Gardens, Commonwealth Ave, Cambridge/Harvard, Charles River and Back Bay.
Some things to do in and around Boston
· Freedom Trail http://www.cityofboston.gov/freedomtrail/
· Paul Revere House http://www.paulreverehouse.org/
· New England Aquarium http://www.neaq.org/index.flash4.html
· Shows, Theater and Concerts
· Salam http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem,_Massachusetts
· Cape Cod http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_cod
· Faneuil Hall Marketplace http://www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/
· Swan Boats http://www.swanboats.com/
· Sports Events (Celtics, Bruins, Red Sox, Patriots)
· Museums – they have a very cool Children’s Museum http://www.bostonchildrensmuseum.org/index.html and a hands on Science Museum http://www.mos.org/
· Duck Tours http://www.bostonducktours.com/
· USS Constitution http://www.ussconstitution.navy.mil/
· Bull and Finch Pub http://www.cheersboston.com/index_bh.htm
Shore Excursions I took
Bar Harbor
http://www.barharborinfo.com/
I did a Historic Walking Tour that I booked online (through HAL) prior to the cruise. Our guide, Judy, met us on the pier from our tender. She was a wealth of information on the town, the island and the people who used to and currently live there.
Bar Harbor was originally named Eden. It was renamed in 1917 after Bar Island across the water from the town. Bar Island is accessible via a sand bar on low tide, which you can walk or drive along (Bridge street continues down to the sand bar and across to the island). 4500 people live here year round.
Bar Harbor was the summer home to some of the wealthiest Americans in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s – Fords, Pulitzers, Astors, Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, etc. John D Rockefeller Jr fell in love with the area (which rivaled Newport RI for ritzy summer getaways at the time), so much so that he donated 10,000 acres of the forest, thus the beginning of Acadia National Park.
In 1840, the wealthy started to come to the area, and there weren’t any accommodations or homes for them to stay in. They began to build hotels to accommodate the guests. The Roddick Hotel was the largest built at the time with 400 rooms (some with private bath). This began the Year of the Cottages, which ranged from 2 – 100 rooms. Today there are more than 60 hotels, inns, and bed and breakfasts in and around the Bar Harbor area.
We got to see the large, beautiful houses along the waterfront, which belonged to the families of the Rice’s, the Stokebury’s and the Roosevelt’s. The Rice family built 3 homes in 1902 – one for themselves, one for guests (across the street) and one for their daughter and son in law beside them. The Stokebury’s were “new money” and liked to flaunt it around. They would order in cased of crystal champagne glasses for parties to have people throw them over the cliff edge. They would also have a table of gems buried in sand and they would offer their guests shovels to dig through the sand and whatever gems they found, they were able to keep. The Roosevelt’s built a home they name “La Rochelle” at the turn of the century. In 1940, they sold the house to the Kolket family purchased. In 1992 they donated the house to the Sea Coast Mission, which travels by boat to the outer islands with a nurse and minister. If you take this tour on a weekday, you get to tour inside the home.
Past these houses was Millionaire’s Row. These homes all burned down in the fire of 1947.
The Fire of 1947 was cause by lack of rain between May and October. Ten miles north of the old dump, a fire had started and was put out twice. On the third time, there were 60 mph winds and they were unable to put it out. It burned through the town to Holland Avenue at which time the winds changed and it turned back on itself and eventually burned out. East of Holland Avenue the homes are original. West of Holland Avenue (including Millionaire’s Row) burned down. In its wake, it destroyed 75 mansions and hotels, 150 local homes and over 10, 000 acres of Acadia National Park. The leafy trees were the first to grow back and Bar Harbor now boasts some of the best fall foliage and colors due to this. At this time, the spruce/pine trees have just started to grow back. In future years, they will overtake the Park and the colors will not be visible.
Bar Harbor also has its share of Ghost Stories. In 1904 the Brigham family built a very large home they named Ledge Lawn. Today, it is a 21-room inn, all with private bathrooms. They did not have to do much conversion when it was converted. This gives you a sense of how large the “summer cottages” were built back then. In 1910, their daughter was to be married. Her fiancé ran off two days before the wedding. She went up to her room, put on her dress and hung herself. Guests of the hotel state that they see the Lady in White walking around the hotel.
St. Saviors Episcopal Church offers amazing Tiffany stained glass windows. Tiffany was a member of the church who did the windows at a discounted rate. Members were able to purchase as an “in memory” for friends and family. The stained glass is layered which is beautiful from inside the church. Because it was a Sunday, we were unable to go in as there were services going on.
There is also a lovely public park in the center of town. During 1920, the Boston Symphony would come down every week to play for the Summer Residence. They would travel with all of their instruments via the train.
In the 1950’s, people like Rockefeller Jr and Ford were finding that Bar Harbor was becoming to ostentatious and filled with “new money” so they began building outside near Seal Harbor. Martha Stewart now owns one of the homes in this area.
Halifax
http://www.halifax.ca/visitors.asp
http://www.halifaxinfo.com/
In the morning I took a tour to Peggy’s Cove, that I booked online prior to my cruise (through HAL). In the afternoon, I walked around the Harbor Front and went to the Titanic Exhibit at the Maritime Museum ($8.50 per adult and $3.75 for the 3D movie).
Once we cleared in Halifax, we continued off the ship and into the terminal building. **Note great little shops and local artisans in the terminal building. The tours were easy to find and directed us to the bus for a quick departure to Peggy’s Cove. On our way out of the city, we got a quick city tour.
Quick notes on Halifax
· Halifax boasts the 2nd largest natural harbour and the 2nd largest sea wall (2nd to Sydney Australia).
· The city was founded in 1749.
· South end housing ranges from $300,000 - $5 million, depending on size and location. Some houses have a blue/green plaque by the door and this notates a historical house, which requires special permission to change or modify. Housing in the West end runs apx $30,000 and up.
· Halifax is known as the City of Trees. The City is very protective of the trees and you need a special permit to cut them down – however they are quick to let you know that they own the trees, but in the fall, you own the leaves.
· The island also boasts 59 automated lighthouses to this date.
· Lobster fishing licences on the island are $50,000 and are good for the fisherman’s lifetime. They also tend to be handed down through the generations. Lobster season is very short – only a couple of months.
· St. Margaret Bay Road takes you out of the city toward Peggy’s Cove. It was originally mapped out by Champlain and was originally built for stage coaches.
· Bedford Basin is so large and deep that scientists believe it was the sight of a meteor. It is now a container port for cargo ships. One container ship equals as much money and jobs as 20 cruise ships.
· Nova Scotia exports blueberries, gypsum rock and Christmas trees.
· There are 2 Naval Ports located in Halifax.
· Legal Pirates (Privateers) would raid ships up and down the Atlantic coast. They would receive a letter from the King and there was a 50/50 split. Once the ship was taken by the Pirates, it would be brought back to the pier in Halifax and sold off, as well as all the goods on board. There are old warehouse looking buildings along the Harbor Front in Halifax, which the Pirates used to use to hold their payments and earnings. Today these warehouses are being refurbished into restaurants and shops.
Peggy’s Cove
http://www.peggys-cove.com/
http://www.peggyscove.ca/
There are two stories on how Peggy’s Cove got its name. The first is that geographically it is close to St. Margaret’s Bay. It may at one time have been called Margaret’s Cove and then shortened to Peggy’s Cove.
The second story is that a ship hit Halibut Rock and sank with no one surviving, except a little girl who washed ashore. The little girl’s name was Peggy. Everyone around came to see “Peggy of the Cove” and so the area was named after her “Peggy’s Cove.” Peggy remained in the Cove and married a resident. It is just recently that a descendant has returned to the Cove with proof of her Grandmother Margaret (Peggy) being the lone survivor of a shipwreck.
The first lighthouse was made of wood and withstood many storms. In 1954 it was rebuilt out of cement and steel, after a lot of damages. It became automated in 1958, but was manned before that and had room for the lighthouse keeper and his family. There is now a post office in the lighthouse and you can mail postcards from there.
There is a year round population of 40 residents. There is a one room school which continues to be used today, however, it is used for plays and concerts and the children of the Cove are bussed to the nearest town Tantalon.
Located on the drive in toward the lighthouse is a granite carving. It depicts a Guardian Angel watching over the fishermen and family. William deGarthe, a local artist carved it.
Sydney
http://sydney.capebretonisland.com/
Right off the ship, there isn’t much to do or see. You have to search the city a bit for it. There are museums, craft markets and tons of history for the area. They offer a shuttle to the mall and also to downtown for those who do not wish to walk it (apx 10-15 min). There were some people on our ship that were not impressed by this stop, but if clients take a tour in town or an excursion out of town they will learn and see a lot.
Quick notes on Sydney
· They offered a craft market of local artisans right at the pier on the day we were there. It was nice to walk around and see their items. They were unsure if this was going to run whenever there was a cruise in port or if it was only specific days.
· Apx 28,000 population in Sydney and apx 130,000 on Cape Breton
· Tourism is the #1 industry, mostly from cruises, with Fishing being the #2 industry (fishing canneries employ 400-600 people through the summer season).
· Housing in Sydney is runs on average $45,000-150,000. Outside of Sydney housing averages $30,000-85,000. There are a few homes in the area, and a new area being built by a German Investment Company, which are around $400,000-500,000.
· The “New Town” of Louisburg has a population of apx 1000 – apx 3000 lived in the Fortress (“Old Louisburg”).
· Fortress Inn (55 rooms) is the only Inn, in New Louisburg, there are some bed and breakfast and cottage accommodations available as well.
· Another popular tour in this area is the Cabot Trail. This is a full 8 hour tour, most of which was driving. A few girls in our group took this tour and found it to be a bit long for one day. They adv that next time, they will rent a car and take a few days to break it up. http://www.cabottrail.com/
I went to Louisburg Fortress, which I booked online (through HAL) prior to the cruise. It was an amazing place. There is tons of history and photo opportunities. The drive out there from the pier was apx 40 minutes and we had a quick tour of the visitor’s center and then to the Fort. Our guide gave us a quick rundown on the layout and then we had about 1 ½ hours in the Fort to Tour and visit (they do provide a wonderful map of the Fort as well)..
http://www.louisbourg.ca/fort/
http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/louisbourg/index_e.asp
Since we were there closer to the beginning of the season, there weren’t as many tours, school groups or “locals” around. The photos online show the Fort streets full of people who reside there. We had a few of the main people, but no one out and about on the streets – that could have also been due to the rainy weather that we encountered. They are there for July and August, which is their peak tourist season.
The people who work there depict the life of the 1744. They are in character while they talk to you and give tours of the buildings where they reside and work. My favorite line from the Financial Engineer was “I am of the class to be amused, not of the class to amuse.” He was telling us of the musical instruments and how they played while alone and not in front of other people – they pay people for that.
The Fort was blown up in 1760-61 and the military withdrew by 1768. The rocks of the Fort have been used around Cape Breton and Nova Scotia over the years. To this day, you can still see piles of rocks around the landscape near the rebuilt Fort. In the 1961-62, the Fort was reconstructed – only 1/5 of it has be rebuilt so far.
Charlottetown
http://www.charlottetownpei.com/
http://www.walkandseacharlottetown.com/
Currently, HAL has a short stay of apx 5 hours here due to the tides, the Confederation Bridge and the distance to get to/from Quebec City
Quick notes on Charlottetown
· $18 million construction on the pier and wharf area to accommodate more and larger cruise ships. This should be completed by August, 2007. Until then, passengers are tendered to the pier.
· St. George Street is the historical street of Charlottetown. In 1874 they walked up this street to sign the Dominion of Canada.
· 1847 the Colonial Building opened which is the Legislature Building
· A population of apx 40,000 live in Charlottetown
· Agriculture is the #1 industry in PEI – dairy, grain, fruit, vegetables
· 4.5% if PEI population lives on farms (in the rest of Canada it is 3%)
· 1908-2008 will be the 100 year celebration for the publications of Anne of Green Gables. They are planning large festivities
· The red rock is Island Sandstone and is very erosive. We went to Dunesland which is a lookout point in the Provincial Park and the scenery is beautiful, but they were saying that shortly in the future they are going to have to move the roads as in some spots the erosion is getting close to them.
· Lobster licenses in PEI are $100,000 – 500,000 depending on the area you live in. They can be handed down in the family, but there is paperwork that has to be filled out for the transfer. Usually, at the end of a fisherman’s career, they will sell off the license, boats and equipment and have enough to retire on.
· PEI Preserve Company in New Glasgow is an amazing little store owned by Bruce Alexander MacNaughton. They make all of their jams, jellies, salsas, etc right there in the store. They are wonderful and charming. http://www.preservecompany.com/
I booked the Island Tour and Green Gables tour online (through HAL), prior to the cruise. The information above is what we received on the Island Tour portion of our day.
Anne of Green Gables and Lucy Maude Montgomery are a highlight for a lot of tourists to Charlottetown and PEI. There are a few different types of Anne shore excursions. I included the Island Tour, as I wanted to see and learn as much as I could in the short visit. I had to give up some of the Anne sites to do so. There is an Ultimate Anne tour, which may not show up online when booking (it didn’t for me or a few others I spoke to on the tenders). It was available to book on the ship though, and many people changed to this tour to have their entire Anne tour.
Green Gables is the part that I got to see on my tour. It was the home of Lucy Maude Montgomery’s aunt and uncle. She based Merilla and Matthew’s home on this house. Parks Canada has taken over the area and they refurbished the farm house to resemble the one that Lucy Maude Montgomery describes in her books.
http://www.gov.pe.ca/greengables/index.php3
http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/pe/greengables/index_e.asp
http://www.annesociety.org/anne/index.cfm?id=205
Confederation Bridge
We cruised under this bridge on our way from Charlottetown. Construction began in October 1993 and was completed and opened on May 31, 1997. They had a race where people biked across the bridge, the next day they walked across then bridge and then it was opened to vehicles. 20,000 people participated in both races. Bikes and walking are not allowed on the bridge now.
It is 9 miles long. It took 5000 workers to complete it and 3 people died while on site. Most parts of the bridge are 40 meters above the water, but the middle section is for ships and is 60 meters above the water. There are 310 street lights, 80 TV camera taping the roads. The speed limit is 80km/hour. The cost to cross the bridge is $40.75 + tax. This is paid from PEI. When coming to PEI there is no charge. http://www.confederationbridge.com/en/about_the_bridge/
Saguenay Fjord
http://www.pc.gc.ca/amnc-nmca/qc/saguenay/index_E.asp
The Saguenay Fjord is a great place to see Beluga and Minke whales. It is a very scenic day of cruising. There are little villages along the water and sheer cliffs of rock and trees. We had a naturalist guide on board who was extremely knowledgeable on the history of the area and the marine life. It was pretty interesting to cruise through and imagine how Champlain and other explorers saw this area. They were in canoes with out a lot of shelter along the banks incase of bad weather.
Quebec City
http://www.quebecregion.com/e/
http://www.ville.quebec.qc.ca/en/accueil/index.shtml
Things to see and do in Quebec City
· Chateau Frontenac http://www.fairmont.com/frontenac/
· Museum of Civilization http://www.mcq.org/
· Plains of Abraham http://www.ccbn-nbc.gc.ca/
· Citadelle of Quebec http://www.lacitadelle.qc.ca/section.php?lang=en&id=4
· Basilica of Notre Dame http://www.patrimoine-religieux.com/patrimoine_en.asp?no=22023
· Palace Royale http://www.mcq.org/en/cipr/index.html
· Parliament Buildings http://www.assnat.qc.ca/
I found a wonderful walking tour for Quebec City online, which I mapped out prior to my departure. It was easy to follow (once I found street signs, which seem to be limited in the City) and covered a lot of ground. The length of this tour ranges from either 4-8 hours depending on how long you stop at each sight and if you go in to the museums, etc.
Quebec City is very easy to get around and is very picturesque right from the pier area. Make sure to have water with you depending on the time you arrive as most stores do not open until 930 or 10am. We were there and cleared by 8am.
There are a few streets with the Artists sitting by their pictures, paintings and art. The work is amazing and the prices are not too bad. The cobblestones of the old city may make walking in some areas difficult for limited mobility guests. Petit Champlain is the oldest area of Old Quebec and offers a lot of history and photo opportunities around every corner.
I felt very safe walking around on my own and tried to use my limited French when I needed to ask questions. I found that most people in the tourist area spoke very good English once they heard my attempt at French, so it was easy to communicate.
I did miss out on the history of the area by not taking a shore excursion booked through the cruise line, but I found them to be very expensive for what you got, when comparing to other areas we visited. This is why I decided to do this on my own. For the buildings and areas I saw, I am able to Google them for more information.
****************************
Whew! Sorry it was long and probably sounds kinda boring cuz I was trying to describe it for work. Oh well! Once you see the photos it will be so cool.
Just got my August DT kit for Embellished Memories, which of course rocks! I have to go through my photos to see what I can find to match up with it. Cant wait.
This afternoon, I am going through my closets and drawers and packing up everything that is too small or that I havent worn in over a year. I am going to take it to Swift with me next weekend. Hopefully mom and Wendy can find something in them, otherwise it is off to charity.
I want to go through my photos this weekend too cuz I can not wait to scrapbook them. Wait, I need to go through Alaska first. Oh well. LOL No, those will be fun to scrapbook too, just on a different level.
I think that is all from the cheap seats. until later!
ps. Stinky is GONE next Saturday! *woot*
1 comment:
Thanks for another great tour!! I'm going to have start paying you since I am living vicariously through you. Once you got to Halifax I was familiar with the rest of the trip
LOL!!
Good luck with the cleaning and the roommate search. Such a pain sometimes, isn't it??
Post a Comment