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Costa Rica – Los Quetzales
Read More: Costa Rica – Los QuetzalesWe have come to Los Quetzales National Park to find the Resplendent Quetzal, despite them being endangered and hard to find! When we were in Monteverde in 2008, a tour group in front of us said they saw the bird, but we never did. The Quetzal is actually the national bird of Guatemala, but there…
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Costa Rica – Drive to Los Quetzales National Park & Savegre Hotel
Read More: Costa Rica – Drive to Los Quetzales National Park & Savegre HotelAfter a barely adequate amount of sleep, we returned to the airport to pick up our rental car from the Avis desk. Dave had reserved a 4×4, as we expect some of the roads ahead to be a bit sketchy. We got “upgraded” to a standard pickup – probably more robust than we need but…
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Costa Rica
Read More: Costa RicaWe are on our way to Costa Rica for a blend of rainforest adventure and poolside relaxation! Not wanting to stop over in the US, we flew instead to Toronto and then on to San Jose. We arrived late, around 1am, caught a taxi to the hotel and are hoping for a decent sleep before…
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Montreal
Read More: MontrealWe said a final Au Revoir to Eric and headed back to Montreal for a quick city tour before flying home. Lunch was at the famous Schwartz’s Deli for Montreal smoked meat sandwiches, salade de choux & cornichons. They claim to have been ‘serving the best smoked meat sandwich since 1928”! Due to our lack of…
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Sherbrooke & Cheese
Read More: Sherbrooke & CheeseWe left the Gaspe Peninsula for the last time this morning and made our way back toward ‘mainland’ Quebec. Our first stop was at the Fromagerie des Basques. Then we stopped at the Chutes de la Chaudiere for a picnic lunch and a view of the waterfall from the suspension bridge. The Estrimont is a…
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Bic National Park
Read More: Bic National ParkWe bid au revoir to New Brunswick this morning and drove back across the Gaspe Peninsula for one more stop at Bic National Park. We stopped for a quick pub lunch in Amqui where Kris got to sample the local microbrews. The Auberge du Mange Grenouille in Le Bic is a large B&B in a…
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Mount Carleton Provincial Park
Read More: Mount Carleton Provincial ParkToday we completed our circuit of the Gaspe Peninsula and followed La Riviere Restigouche, which forms the border between Quebec and New Brunswick. At Matapedia, we crossed the Pont Mercier, moved our watches ahead an hour and crossed into New Brunswick. The town of Saint Quentin calls itself the Atlantic Maple Capital and boasts production…
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Forillon National Park
Read More: Forillon National ParkWe have spent the last few days exploring and hiking in Forillon National Park at the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula. Cap des Rosiers was named for the plethora of wild roses growing here. We hiked the Cap Gaspe Loop at the end of Forillon Park, ending up at Le Bout du Monde (the end…
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Gaspe
Read More: GaspeWe drove inland through Gaspesie Park to Gaspe this morning. The name comes from the Mi’gmaq word “Gespeg” which means ‘lands end’. On the way into town we checked out the O’Dwyer Distillery and had a ‘degustation’ of their products. Just down the hill from our hotel, along the Gulf of St Lawrence is the Birthplace…
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Gaspesie National Park
Read More: Gaspesie National ParkLeaving Matane this morning, we drove about an hour along the shore of the St Lawrence River. Interspersed between the tiny, cute towns are large cattle farms with impressive grain silos. We’re not sure if they hold wheat for export or corn sileage to feed the local dairy cows. We stopped in Sainte Anne des…
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Loire Valley Wineries
The last several days have been a blur of winery visits, cafe lunches and picnics in beautiful locations! We stopped by Chateau du Petit Thouars for a tour, tasting and lunch. The family has owned the chateau and its winery since 1634. We met Sebastian, the multi-grandson, and the chateau cat, Biscuit (although he wasn’t…
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Chinon
Today we visited the town of Chinon on the River Vienne. Chinon was the favourite dwelling place of Henri II Plantagenet and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Joan of Arc arrived in Chinon in 1429 claiming to hear heavenly voices telling her that Charles VII, the French dauphin, would give her an army to neutralize…
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Tours to Loire Valley
We bid a last adieu to Eric (again!) this morning. We left him at his orientation picnic in Tours and headed deeper into the Loire Valley to continue our oenotourism! We stopped for lunch and a wine tasting at Chateau de Miniere, a women-run winery in the country where we had a lesson on the…
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