Vacation in Canada Day 5
The middle day of our see-all-of-Nova-Scotia Canada vacation we spent on the road. It was Tuesday, August 8. We drove from Dalvay-by-the-Sea on Prince Edward Island to Wood Islands to board the 9:30 a.m. ferry to Nova Scotia. The ferry station had a rudimentary restaurant for sweet rolls, coffee, and snacks. The purple and pink roses outside the station smelled fabulous! It rained most of the 75-minute ferry crossing through the Northumberland Strait. Nonetheless, we took photos.
FOODIE STOP
On Nova Scotia, we stopped at Antigonish for lunch at Gabrieau’s Bistro. Our best lunch of the entire vacation!
“Winner of Taste of Nova Scotia ~ Restaurant of the Year for Chef Inspired Fine Dining. Recommended by Where to Eat in Canada ~ Star Rating 14 consecutive years and winners of the Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator Magazine from 2008-2013. Gabrieau’s is the perfect marriage of wine and food!”
Handsome laughed. “That good, huh?”
Chewing, I nodded. Fortunately, he didn’t ask for a bite. I probably would have refused to share.
Attention Foodies, mark this bistro marked as a must-see destination. Trip Advisor reviews raved about it. Gabrieau’s Bistro earned my vote for the 2017 Taste of Nova Scotia Award. May they win!
ROADSIGNS IN CANADA



Sign in Mi’kmaw language.
We checked into Auberge Gisele’s Inn at Baddeck. Our building did not have an elevator, so we lugged our suitcases to the second floor. Note to self: pack lighter! The room was large enough to cartwheel in without striking furniture. I did not, I’m just describing the roominess. The shower was stronger than the WIFI. Both the sauna and the indoor hot tub were closed for repairs.
Perhaps the pool was open. Even though Canadians swim in Florida in the winter, we declined to swim in Canada in the summer. Canadians, apparently, get in the water as soon as it turns liquid. Hypothermia wasn’t on our schedule.
We strolled in a light rain through main street Baddeck. Handsome and I regretted that we had not brought waterproof raingear. Even the packable plastic ponchos, the kind the theme parks sell for ten dollars, would have kept us dry. Alas. Hindsight is 20/20.
I washed two loads of laundry and read half of a book on my iPad. Meanwhile, Handsome hunted down a gas station to fill up our Dodge Challenger for the next day’s 187-mile Cabot Trail tour of Cape Breton.
This was the day Handsome said he regretted that I was not listed as a driver on the rental car. The longest day of driving was yet to come later in the week. I didn’t have the heart to tell him.