I feel very grateful that I was finally able to make it out to visit the east coast of Canada. I knew it would be beautiful, but the whole experience definitely surpassed my expectations.
This trip ended up being semi-spontaneous as Simon and I had initially thought we'd do some mini-trips thoughout the end of summer… but an opportunity arose, and we had wanted to go a year prior – but life had other plans. Now was the time!
We decided to fly to Halifax and rent a car. Over the course of 11 days, we'd explore the south-east area of Nova Scotia first, then make our way to the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island, and finally end the trip with a few days in PEI before returning to Halifax and flying home.
Our first stop was the historic old town of Lunenburg, which is about an hour's drive west of Halifax. I was excited to check this place out because I knew it was very picturesque with it's colorful buildings and is also designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
We arrived at our motel just as the sun was going down and decided to head out for a walk down to the harbourfront. The view of the lights on the water from Cove road was beautiful.
The next day we had a lot packed into our itinerary. We wanted to explore more of Lunenburg, check out the sea caves at The Ovens, visit Mahone Bay, then hit Peggy's Cove on the way to Tangier (about an hour east of Halifax on the south coast) where we'd rest for the night before heading to Chéticamp, Cape Breton. This is where the ongoing theme of our expectations being surpassed begins. We ended up spending more time than we thought at each place and wishing we had more!
In the motel the night before, I picked up a brochure titled the Lunenburg Art Map. I noticed that there was a TON of galleries that looked really amazing all within a few blocks on Lincoln street, so we decided to head there.
We managed to make into a handful of galleries, though pressed for time we sadly had to speed through some of them! We especially loved the Power House gallery. Simon was really attracted to the brooding landscapes and flying birds by Lynn Misner and I was drawn to the woodcut prints by Gregg Tracey.
The Laurie Swim gallery, featuring her award-winning textile art was also incredible. I noticed over the course of this trip that textile arts were something I saw a lot more of than usual. The colorful houses of the region also seem to be a favorite theme among artists, along with the seascapes, lighthouses, boats, fish and lobsters of course!
We had lunch at a nice pub called The Knot. Feeling inspired by all the art and galleries, we fantasized about being a cool art couple and starting our own art gallery some day…. Then I grabbed some daytime shots of the harbourfront and we had to say farewell to beautiful Lunenburg.
Next stop: The Sea Cave Trail at The Ovens Natural Park
