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Quite a while ago, ER and I decided we needed to use up a Viking Cruise credit (well it was actually decided for us given there was a deadline to use it) so we booked a Mediterranean Cruise. I will apologize up front on the lack of photos. Somehow all the photos disappeared when I tried to share the album and then unshared…..I will endeavour to get them back from the cloud, fingers crossed

I flew into Venice Italy from Toronto, and ER flew in from Scotland. We met on the ship, ER arriving first attending to the room requirements and of course people watching sipping on a glass of Prosecco, of which she was very kind to send me a pic as I waited for the Viking shuttle at the airport….

Once on board we got our bearings and headed off to dinner! Overall the trip was very good, weather was excellent and the port stops were good.

Our itinerary: Venice Italy, Piran Slovenia, Zadar Croatia, Dubrovnik Croatia, Kotor Montenegro, Corfu Greece, Olympia Greece, Santorini Greece, and then Athens for a day then home.

Venice was just a port to leave from so I didn’t get to see anything. Piran was a scenic medieval town (aren’t they all in Europe?) set along the Adriatic Sea. This town remains an important producer of salt, with the salt pans having produced the precious mineral since 804ad. Go figure.

Zadar was an interesting port, not from a scenic perspective, but the acoustic tubes embedded beneath large marble steps at the sea wall which sing the song of the city with every lashing wave and burst of wind. It was truly incredible and you could sit there for hours listening to the sound and watching the sea.

Dubrovnik Croatia was equally incredible. While I had been there before with SB, we didn’t have the opportunity to do a tour. ER and I found the tour wonderful and if you get a chance to visit the old city within the walls, you won’t be disappointed. The playwright George Bernard Shaw famously called it “paradise on earth”.

Kotor Montenegro, I am pretty sure ER and I did something, but can’t remember and of course don’t have the pictures to job my memory!

Corfu is an island off the northwestern tip of Greece. It is a beautiful picturesque island, again if I had pictures to prove it….

Olympia Greece was a great tour of the birthplace of the Olympic Games. It was surprising that we were up close and personal with the ruins, even able to sit on old fallen stone. I had a great picture of the original Olympic track, but alas it is somewhere in ether land.

Santorini Greece is just like the pictures you see in the travel magazines. The white washed walls and vibrant blue domes of the churches didn’t disappoint. The only complaint was the crowds, too many people for our liking.

Athens our final destination was a modern city with historical buildings throughout. The Parthenon, the Acropolis to name a couple. We toured the museum which was full of statues and relics. Our tour guide was very good and you could tell she loved talking about the rich history of her City and Country.

Well there is a taste of the trip. If I get my pictures back I may post some to add some flavour to this otherwise weak post.

We drove from Cornwall to Prince Edward County. One of the nice things about driving around the country is the spots you come across that make you smile. In this case it was Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. If you travel enough you know the one thing about these spots is “cheap gas”!! The average price of gas is usually around 14 cents cheaper and with a rig this size, you want to catch these when you can. There is also cheaper CBD products if you so indulge. So when we stumbled upon this little nugget of an alley (at least 5 gas stations and twice as many Cannabis stores), we were thrilled we were at 1/4 full, so we filled up and saved A LOT. We also ventured into the cannabis store for a little “sniffing around”. Once we finished up there, with smiles on our faces, full of joy we headed off to our camping destination. Turned a corner and out of my mouth was “what the $^%$@!” The road ahead you could tell had construction, but it looked like the road was a bridge that had lifted up to let a boat pass under. That is how high it looked!!! Hence my swearing (a few times). Here are some relatively poor pics that don’t do the height justice. We carried through all right, but seriously what a Debbie Downer!

Ended up in a really nice RV park right on Lake Ontario. Our site is at the end of a row with a nice view of the lake. Lots of activity in the park given its a Friday and have met some great people.

Tomorrow we are off to a winery to do some tastings and have lunch at their farm to table restaurant. Below are pictures of the park as well as Winston enjoying a little dip in the lake!!

We are on our way home and should never pass up an opportunity to visit relatives, so we re-routed our drive home to stop in Cornwall to see Lori’s Aunt and Uncle. We had a great visit, and in fact ended up experiencing a tour literally in their back yard.

The Moses-Saunders Power Dam on the St Lawrence river straddling the borders between New York State and Cornwall Ontario. We were really surprised at how little we knew about this dams construction, impact to the communities on the banks of the St Lawrence seaway, as well as the importance it played in opening the seaway up for the transport of goods to the Great Lakes.

We spent an hour there with an incredibly well informed employee at the visitor centre, as well as watching a 15 min. Movie that was filmed in the late 1950s during the dams construction. Very fascinating and a must see if in the area.

Then off to Lori’s Aunt and Uncles to sit in the backyard and catch up for a couple of hours.

We had booked ourselves into the Bolton Spa for a luxurious day of pampering, because…well we deserved it after getting in shit yesterday at the Abbey. We got to our campsite which was 12 KM from the Spa and we were really excited to go there the next day.

We got up early because we were so excited. We packed our bags and proceeded to order the Uber, only to discover that there were no Ubers in this area. In fact there were no taxis to be found in the area. So now what the hell do we do. We are NOT missing the spa. So plan B was concocted and executed!! We paid a worker in the campground to drive us AND pick us up at a pre-determined time at the end of the day. M was lovely and more than willing to help our some clearly distressed and stressed out travellers. Barb was also able to really practice her French while I zen’d out in the back seat.

The spa was extraordinary. Outdoor yurts for massages. Different temperature pools and 4 types of saunas all along a wonderful waterfall. There were also two buildings that were quiet spaces, one very modern, the other large tent with wood burning fire inside.

Note – the spa was founded, and is still owned, by Claude Provost Jr. who dedicated it to his father Claude Provost Sr. who played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1956 to 1960 and won 5 Stanley Cups.

Some other pictures of the waterfall and river

Normally under an hour drive, we took our time in order to visit a Dairy producer and Abbey.

The Dairy producer was called La Pinte located in Ayer’s Cliff. They made plain milk, chocolate milk, cream and yogurts. We tasted the chocolate milks and ended up with the one with the most fat…….of course. Then we went onto their yogurts, once again liking the full fat version. We ended up purchasing a strawberry, blueberry and pumpkin/apple (which is currently our favourite). The Jersey milk has more butter fat and contains more protein, which I guess is why it tastes so good. Here are some great pics of the place.

Our next stop was the Abbey of Saint-Benoit-Du-Lac. Founded in 1912 by a Monk who was sent from France to set up a monastery. Today they keep the grounds and building operational by growing, producing and selling their products. They sell apples, jams, salad dressings, cheeses made on sight, cider again made on sight as well as pasta sauces. The Abbey is open every day with the exception of 11-12 when they have their daily mass.

We left our campground in St Jean Baptiste with Barb’s sister J following behind in her SUV. Our first stop North Hatley, considered by the locals as one of the prettiest village in Quebec. While nice, we have driven through and stayed at multiple nice spots through-out this trip. North Hatley does have a great Saturday outdoor market which we visited and purchased some unique cucumbers, black radish and carrots. In to town we went walking along Lake Massawippi where lots of folks were fishing, kayaking and paddling. We visited some shops, including Hatley, and ate lunch at a newly renovated pub called Pilsen. The jerk chicken burger platter was delish!

Days later we ate the spiny cucumber and found it to be strong tasting and a little bitter. Best cut up small within a salad for extra flavour. The black radish is mild and delicious as a snack or in a salad.

From North Hatley we drove to Compton where we set up for 3 nights at Camping Compton, an incredibly picturesque park right in town where we could walk to the grocery store and restaurants. After settling in we once again jumped in J’s SUV and began touring.

Fromagerie La Station, just outside Compton, is a beautiful cheese farm and shop. We had a great tasting of 7 different cheeses and settled on aged Hatley, Alfred le Fermier and Chemin du Brûlé. We also bought some rabbit, duck and boar spreads along with honey which has cheese pairing recommendations. Very neat! We would highly recommend a visit to this cheese shop.

Off to Coaticook to a bee and honey farm called Miel pur Delice. Another excellent tasting of 5 honeys from different seasons; raspberry, milkweed, dandelion, clover and buckwheat. Our favs; clover and buckwheat so some more purchases.

Coaticook is known for its incredible ice cream which is also sold in grocery stores all over Quebec. We visited the dairy also known for its cheese and purchased several hard goat cheeses. Yum!

Coaticook is also known for its Gorge Park housing the longest suspension bridge in North America. In the evenings after dark they have an incredible light show called ‘Lumina Foresta’ as you walk the 2.6 km loop.

Several visits to great farm markets for more local produce; corn, more cheese, red squash (which neither of us have ever eaten), apple pie, and wine. A stop at a Maple farm for some creative poutine. We tired the ham as well as the bbq shredded pork which was the clear winner!

No tour is ever complete without a stop at the local covered bridge Drouin from 1886.

A full day of great sightseeing. We returned to our RV. J had to leave and we sat outside enjoying the beautiful rolling hills and countryside until it was time for dinner where we enjoyed some of our great local purchases; Mexican pie and spiny cucumber.

We had a GREAT couple of days with Barb’s sister J. J had her car so we had the pleasure and convenience of touring this way as opposed to the RV, what a treat!

Our first stop in Mount St. Hilaire….a bakery of course for a bit of brunch, which turned into a carb fest of artisan breads, which was worth it. This location of the Boulangerie Le Pain Dans Les Voiles is formerly owned by the family of NFL player and local hero Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. While this may make the bakery famous it continues to maintain rights to the name and recipes which easily make it the most popular stop in the area. Note – the family still runs the bakery in Montreal with the same name.

Next stop downtown Beloil for a walking tour of a small village set against the river. Beautiful large churches, local shops and pubs. Very quaint. Since we entered Quebec Lori has been learning French words and phrases. After learning the meaning of ‘depanneur’ (or ‘dep’ for short) CS and GS challenged Lori to find a ‘super dep’. No challenge is too big so off we went and Lori discovered one that sells beer, wine and sends faxes! LOL! We entered several great shops and discovered one which gives Italian cooking lessons. After meeting and conversing with the owner Maria, Lori has decided this is a must return to spot for a weekend next year.

St. Mathias sur Richelieu and Chambly

The tour continued past Barb’s former home in Montreal beside the river in St. Mathias. Then off to Chambly where Barb also previously lived and where her sister J and our good friend F both live. What a beautiful city. Historic town with incredible views of the Chambly Basin, the old Fort Chambly built in 1711 and involved in the 1812 battle with the U.S., that is credited with having saved Montreal, the federal locks system which are all still manually run, and some great shops and cafes. La Chocolatiers FG (chocolate shop) is beautiful with all made on site. Final stop, the Ferme Guyon in Chambly which sells an incredible selection of local Quebec products. We bought some freshly picked apples, cheese and meat pies. It also has a Butterfly sanctuary with a friendly turtle free to roam.

Tomorrow we are off to the Eastern townships!

Landed early afternoon and were met by a dear BMO colleague FM. Nice visit and while short we really appreciated him stopping by after work for a visit. We had a lot of laughs while we worked together, and a lot of laughs during our visit. FM we will never pass through the Montreal area without stopping by to see you!!!

Barb’s sister also stopped by for a quick hello and tomorrow we are spending the day with her as she tours us around the area. Can’t wait!!

We had a great visit with CS/GS. They picked us up and we went into the historical town of Hudson for a tour and dinner at The Willow, a really nice restaurant on the water. We started with a cocktail, shared a few appys and we also shared 4 mains. A great way to taste a bigger portion of the menu.

Below you will see our starting cocktails, and the food that followed.

Wandering around town

We had a great visit with CS/GS and tomorrow we are off to the south shore of Montreal in St Jean Baptiste for a couple of days seeing more friends and family.

What a day!!!

LP/JL picked us up from the KOA and toured us around the town. It is really quaint with lots of churches, old period homes that really set the historical feel of the town itself. We then parked the car at their place and walked into town with JL giving us the background on the commerce and industrial history of Gananoque. It was a great tour!

Then off to the family restaurant, the Pistachio Cafe. The history of the building we will describe shortly, but the interior of the cafe, designed by the family, was really great. The colour scheme of the exterior and interior are all colours of the pistachio nut. Exterior the colour of the shell. Interior the colour of fuchsia (that little hint of fuchsia on the nut itself) and of course the green. They are a vegetarian cafe serving soups/sandwiches for lunch. They also have a great selection of gelato and sorbet’s. We sat outside on the best patio in town! Food and company were both excellent!

We strongly suggest a visit there if you are in town. Their website is www.pistachiocafe.ca.

The history of the building, sorry JL I am not going to get your story perfect here, is really interesting. When they purchased the building had a store in front and an apartment in back on the first floor. The second floor had 2 apartments, which they have fully renovated. They decided to gut the main apartment to make a kitchen for the cafe which would be in the front, and when they did they discovered that the building exterior was in fact a separate exterior from the original building. In other words someone had built a whole knew building and roof around the original, and not right up against it! It was around 4-5 feet away from the original building! Picture below showing you the space.

As you can see we had a really nice time visiting and enjoying what Gananoque has to offer. GREAT DAY!