New England in the Fall…

Our big holiday this year was to Eastern Canada and the USA to see the autumn colours in the trees. We went with Sue’s sister Debbie, flying out from Heathrow to Toronto and returning from Boston.

Toronto

We arrived late into Toronto airport and took a cab to where we were staying in an AirBnb high in a tower block downtown (next to the Scotiabank Arena).

Early next morning we walked over to the St Lawrence Market for breakfast (where we partook of local delicacy the Peameal Bacon on a Bun). On the way, we saw some fun street artwork, including a dog fountain (water comes out of the mouths of the dogs), a mural of a pealing façade and a collection of bronze ice hockey players outside the stadium. After breakfast we went up the iconic CN Tower for a panoramic view of the city and lake. It was turning into a bright clear day with a cool breeze as we walked down to the waterfront, past the old train roundhouse (now a museum and brewery), and caught the ferry across to the islands and back for the views. Afterwards we wondered uptown to the Rex Hotel to catch some music and have some lunch. From there we walked around looking at the sights (Historic buildings, statues, the Toronto sign, the theatre district etc.). That evening was the first match in the new ice hockey season at the stadium next to our apartment, so we joined in and experienced some of the hype in the sports bar as the Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Montreal Canadians.

Niagara on the Lake

After breakfast, we picked up a car and drove on towards our next destination, stopping for some wine tasting and a fabulous lunch at the Trius Winery in Niagara on the Lake.

Niagara Falls

After arriving at Niagara Falls we walked from our hotel to the funicular railway that took us down the cliff to the waters edge and our boat ride, wearing our fetching red ponchos that protected us a bit from the incredible spray coming off the amazing waterfalls. In the evening, we ventured up the Skylon Tower for an elevated view of the falls (lit up at night) and a cocktail, and then we walked down and went into the quiet Queen Victoria Place Restaurant for nibbles and another drink (I had a beer flight) where we had a great view of the fireworks. As we walked back through the neon flashing, bass thumping streets, we stopped to have a ride on the SkyWheel before turning in for the evening.

Ottawa

We had an early start today as it was a long drive today to get to the Canadian capital of Ottawa, which we found to be a very attractive city with some lovely buildings and public sculptures. We ate at the ByWard Market area in the lovely Fish Market restaurant, where I had a flight of beers and the girls enjoyed some good seafood. We had a nightcap in the lounge of our lovely hotel, The Metcalfe, and turned in for the night.

Montreal

We dropped off the car when we got to Montreal and checked into our small, quaint hotel, Auberge Le Pomerol, with its very helpful concierge. He recommended a delightful BYO restaurant nearby for dinner. In the meantime, we wandered down to the old town and soaked up some of the historical sights and we made enquiries about taking a train up to Quebec the next day – it turned out to be prohibitively expensive so we gave it a miss. The recommended restaurant was called O’Thym and had a very inventive and delicious menu in its small and intimate venue. We enjoyed it immensely.

The next day we went up to the delightful market at Little Italy for breakfast, explored the lovely streets and park, had a few drinks at a nearby Dieu du Ciel! brewery (all good apart from Deb being stung on the backside). We had lunch at an interesting restaurant called the Caribou Gourmand and walked up Mont Royal to the Chalet to get a panoramic view across town. That evening we went out to the House of Jazz for dinner and listened to some fabulous music played by some very talented musicians going by the name of Snooksta and the Gangstas.

Burlington

We had planned not to take a car across the border as it seemed to be an expensive option so we booked tickets on the Greyhound bus from Montreal to Burlington airport where we picked up a new rental car for the USA.

Stowe

On our way to our destination of Stowe we stopped for an ice cream at the Ben & Jerry’s factory (they started out in Burlington). At Stowe, we took a short walk up a hill to get a view of the pretty town, drove up into the mountains to see the Von Trapp resort, and had a couple flights of beer at their brewery. We started to see the fabulous autumnal colours in the trees that make this area such an attraction for the ‘leaf peepers’. We checked into our cabin in the woods at the Golden Eagle Resort, and walked back into town for a meal at Plate and then to listen to Jacob Green playing at the Tap 25 bar.

Jackson Falls

The next morning after our breakfast at Black Cap in Stowe we drove through the beautiful countryside, stopping at little towns and at spectacular viewpoints along the way to Jackson in the White Mountains National Park. We found a fun bar (the Wildcat Inn at Jackson) for lunch and had an explore of the nearby covered ‘Honeymoon’ bridge and the delightful Jackson Falls themselves. We ended up at our old time grand Eagle Mountain hotel where we watched the sun come down over the green, yellow and red countryside from rocking chairs on the veranda with a cocktail in hand. We later returned to the Wildcat Inn for dinner that evening.

Bar Harbor

Our journey now took us to the northern coast of Maine and the island of Bar Harbor where we had another AirBnb. A couple of Americans had told us of a bar here called the Tap & Barrel (whilst we were in the queue at the Rum and Gin festival at the Oval), so we went there and had a great time sampling the local brews and talking to people at the bar.

We spent our time the next day exploring this pretty island and the Arcadia National Park from seashore to mountain top. That evening we ate at the local Atlantic Brewing Midtown venue, washing down our food with a flight of beers each.

Portland

We had a small, unimpressive, (but cheap) AirBnb place to stay in at Portland (Maine not Oregon), but as it was we were pretty tanked up by the end of the night so it hardly mattered. Earlier on we had a walk along the water front we stopped at the Shipyard Brewing Company to sample their beers (it turns out Portland is well known for its breweries), the staff their recommended a fish restaurant to try. J’s Oysters was on one of the piers and was a fun place, at the bar we got talking to many people from near and far and we recommended a few other places to visit. The first was a micro-brewery called Gritty McDuffs and the second a bar called Novare Res with an amazing selection of beers (and a competition with an engraved cup held in a safe for people who managed to drink all their beers in a year). Then we ended up at quirky restaurant called The North Point for dinner before staggering back to our apartment.

Cape Cod

Next day we drove on to Hyannis in Cape Cod, had lunch at Spanky’s Clam Shack and bought tickets for the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard for the next day. Later that day we travelled to the farthest point where Provincetown (the landing place of the Mayflower) is situated. A quaint, hippy-like place. Further down the coast, as I took photos of the sun setting over the sea, the girls had a drink in the Bookstore. We returned to our accommodation (a nice AirBnb basement flat in a quiet road near the sea) and we had a lovely meal out in town at the Downtown Bistro.

We spent most of our time the next day over on the picturesque Martha’s Vineyard, though it was very quiet as it had started to shut up for the season. Amongst looking at the quaint towns on the island we had breakfast at Linda Jean’s and a snack at the Black Dog Tavern (quite a brand on the island) before returning on the afternoon sailing. We had an unimpressive meal at a nearby tavern and turned in as the weather was getting worse as a storm rolled in, knocking down nearby trees, and taking out the power for a while during the night.

Boston

On our way from Cape Cod to Boston we stopped at the Plimoth Plantation, a living museum that attempted to represent a replica of an early Pilgrim village and Native Settlement with people dressed in period costume to explain things to you. It was very interesting. At Boston we dropped our car off at the airport as our final AirBnb was nearby. There was some confusion about the apartment which resulted in us initially entering the wrong flat and having to return home a bit earlier than we wanted to as we had been relocated. We took the T up to Harvard and walked through the historic grounds on to where we had pre-booked our most expensive dinner at the Tasting Counter nearby. Next door was a brewery called the Aeronaut where we had a quick drink before going into the eating experience. All the guests sat around the kitchen and watched the chefs work their magic as we were served dish after dish with accompanying wine. Afterwards we returned to the Aeronaut where they had jazz music playing for a while (Adam Janjigan Quartet) until we had to go back to the correct apartment (a mistake about what the first floor means to Americans and Europeans, and the wrong door code).

We spent the day walking around taking in the sights of Boston (including the Faneuil Hall Market, some of the historic trail, the park, Cheers, past the Tea Party Ships, and drinks as the sun came down at the Lookout balcony bar atop the Envoy hotel. That evening we enjoyed a great Italian meal at Bencotto in Little Italy and later the girls indulged themselves in a cigar in the Stanza dei Sigari smoking bar. After that we caught some lively music at a Hennessy’s Bar

The final day we took it easy and strolled around the town a bit more, getting breakfast at the popular Pauli’s, picking up some cakes at the iconic Mike’s Pastry, getting a coffee at the Caffe dello Sport and another at Tatte Bakery & Cafe, until we had to leave for our long journey home.

We saw some lovely countryside and were very lucky with the weather, ate and drank some fabulous produce, and met some interesting people along the way. All in all, a great holiday.