East Trip Road trip 2018
August 6th- 18th 2018
New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia
I have just come back from an epic East Coast Road trip spent with some awesome people and I can't wait to go back! The atmosphere on this side of Canada is a lot more calmer than what I am used to in Toronto and it was nice to experience that for a little bit! We also made a stop in Québec along the way but I just decided for focus on these three provinces for the post. Traveling to the east side of Canada has been a dream of mine ever since I was 9, so I'm glad we finally did it!
1) New Brunswick
The first province we stayed in was New Brunswick, and Hopewell Rocks was definitely everything I thought it was going to be! But first we made a few pit stops...
a) Edmunston
This was a quick stop we made on our way to Saint John for lunch. Unfortunately, it was raining when we got there, but we still managed to find a cute cafe to have lunch in. We ate at Café Lotus Blue, which is vegetarian cafe with the cutest decor, and it was so good! My mom and I shared the Soleil Platter and I even got to practice my French while ordering. Plus, they were even hiring! If only I lived closer to actually work there! 😜
b) Saint John
This was the city where we booked our hotel, so luckily we got some more time to explore this city. It is not as well known as Fredericton or Moncton for example, but I still enjoyed my time here. We first explored Irving Nature Park and I'm so glad we did! Luckily it was sunny that day and the hike through the park was gorgeous! Afterwards we went to explore a beach beside the park where we just sat and relaxed as we had the whole beach to ourselves. In terms of downtown Saint John, I wouldn't say there was a lot to do, but we did find some good places to eat (Billy's Seafood Restaurant and Kebab House- has the best lemonade!!!). We also went to the City Market which is the oldest operating farmer's market in Canada! It was smaller than I anticipated, but I think its still worth it to check out. Finally, we went to the Reversing Rapids! This is the collision between the water in the Bay of Fundy and Saint John River. I thought it was really cool to see all the whirlpools and waves that formed due to this!
c) St. Martins Caves and Hopewell Rocks
These two experiences were definitely my favourite from this province. The St. Martin Caves were about a 30-45 min drive outside Saint John. During low tide, or high if you're adventurous with a paddle board, we can actually go and explore the caves. However, the times for low tide lined up with the times for the low tide at Hopewell Rocks since both are part of the Bay of Fundy, so we went during high tide which was still cool! Then we drove to Hopewell Rocks! However, when we got there it was pouring rain and there was lightning and thunder! It definitely made the experience more memorable, if not scary!😂 Due to the rain, when we got down to the Rocks at low tide, it was actually better because there wasn't as many people and I could get photos without a lot other tourists in them!
2) Prince Edward Island
This was the second province we visited and I am so happy that we did! What I really loved about Prince Edward Island was that since it was such a small province, everywhere we went was only a short drive away (25 mins at the most). We stayed in a town just a little outside of Charlottetown called Stanhope. We stayed in a little cabin located at Merry Stanhope Chalets. I personally liked staying here because it was more quiet and made our experience more peaceful, however, it was a little difficult to find at first!
a) Charlottetown
On our first day here, we went exploring in Charlottetown. There was lots to do and there was even some streets that were closed off just so pedestrians could walk through them. The weather was surprisingly warm and we found a few cool spots. For lunch we ate at Sugar Skull Catina, a really good Mexican restaurant. They had loads of different tacos you could choose from and the service was also really good! We also walked near the water and explored a Cathedral. I really liked visiting the Cathedral and we got lucky when someone was playing the organ while we walked around! We also explored some cute boutiques around the area ( I got a moon ring from Kurosities). Finally we ended with smoothies from Juice Co and ice cream from Cows. Did I really go to the East Coast if I didn't try Cows once?!
b) Stanhope
As we said before, this is the town we stayed in, but it also had a lot to offer! While we were exploring Charlottetown, we got hit with a hail storm⛈ which meant we couldn't find anywhere to dinner as most restaurants had lost power and those who hadn't had massive line ups outside of them! Thankfully, there was a really nice man outside a closed restaurant who recommended some good places to eat and one happened to be only 10 mins away from where we were staying! I am sooo grateful he did because this was the best meal I had this entire trip!! We ate dinner at Richard's, a seafood restaurant, and everything was just so good! The lobster roll was the best roll I have ever had in my whole life and they had a balcony where you could eat on. This meant we got to watch the sunset while we ate! I am definitely coming back here next time!
c) Cavendish
This was also I really fun day in PEI. We started the day off at Anne of Green Gables House. You could take pictures with Anne and Gilbert and even walk take a tour of Anne's House. I really enjoyed it and it was free for kids under 18. Having read the books, it was really special seeing the house in real life. Furthermore, right beside the site was a really good place to stop for lunch that had lots of restaurants to choose from! My sister and I chose to eat at Moo Moo's Grilled Cheese. We are definitely grilled cheese lovers and I can confidently say this was one of the best grilled cheese of my life! My mom ate at Boomburger and where the restaurant was actually a church! The restaurant was on the main floor, but you could walk upstairs where they still had pews overlooking the restaurant. This was also the church the author of Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery, attended when she was alive! Finally, we ended our stay at a Cavendish Beach. Despite the water being a little chilly, I really enjoyed the beach and you could even walked on the red rocks.
New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia
I have just come back from an epic East Coast Road trip spent with some awesome people and I can't wait to go back! The atmosphere on this side of Canada is a lot more calmer than what I am used to in Toronto and it was nice to experience that for a little bit! We also made a stop in Québec along the way but I just decided for focus on these three provinces for the post. Traveling to the east side of Canada has been a dream of mine ever since I was 9, so I'm glad we finally did it!
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| My pretty sister! |
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| Making me wish I owned a boat! |
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| So cute! |
1) New Brunswick
The first province we stayed in was New Brunswick, and Hopewell Rocks was definitely everything I thought it was going to be! But first we made a few pit stops...
a) Edmunston
This was a quick stop we made on our way to Saint John for lunch. Unfortunately, it was raining when we got there, but we still managed to find a cute cafe to have lunch in. We ate at Café Lotus Blue, which is vegetarian cafe with the cutest decor, and it was so good! My mom and I shared the Soleil Platter and I even got to practice my French while ordering. Plus, they were even hiring! If only I lived closer to actually work there! 😜
This was the city where we booked our hotel, so luckily we got some more time to explore this city. It is not as well known as Fredericton or Moncton for example, but I still enjoyed my time here. We first explored Irving Nature Park and I'm so glad we did! Luckily it was sunny that day and the hike through the park was gorgeous! Afterwards we went to explore a beach beside the park where we just sat and relaxed as we had the whole beach to ourselves. In terms of downtown Saint John, I wouldn't say there was a lot to do, but we did find some good places to eat (Billy's Seafood Restaurant and Kebab House- has the best lemonade!!!). We also went to the City Market which is the oldest operating farmer's market in Canada! It was smaller than I anticipated, but I think its still worth it to check out. Finally, we went to the Reversing Rapids! This is the collision between the water in the Bay of Fundy and Saint John River. I thought it was really cool to see all the whirlpools and waves that formed due to this!
These two experiences were definitely my favourite from this province. The St. Martin Caves were about a 30-45 min drive outside Saint John. During low tide, or high if you're adventurous with a paddle board, we can actually go and explore the caves. However, the times for low tide lined up with the times for the low tide at Hopewell Rocks since both are part of the Bay of Fundy, so we went during high tide which was still cool! Then we drove to Hopewell Rocks! However, when we got there it was pouring rain and there was lightning and thunder! It definitely made the experience more memorable, if not scary!😂 Due to the rain, when we got down to the Rocks at low tide, it was actually better because there wasn't as many people and I could get photos without a lot other tourists in them!
This was the second province we visited and I am so happy that we did! What I really loved about Prince Edward Island was that since it was such a small province, everywhere we went was only a short drive away (25 mins at the most). We stayed in a town just a little outside of Charlottetown called Stanhope. We stayed in a little cabin located at Merry Stanhope Chalets. I personally liked staying here because it was more quiet and made our experience more peaceful, however, it was a little difficult to find at first!
a) Charlottetown
On our first day here, we went exploring in Charlottetown. There was lots to do and there was even some streets that were closed off just so pedestrians could walk through them. The weather was surprisingly warm and we found a few cool spots. For lunch we ate at Sugar Skull Catina, a really good Mexican restaurant. They had loads of different tacos you could choose from and the service was also really good! We also walked near the water and explored a Cathedral. I really liked visiting the Cathedral and we got lucky when someone was playing the organ while we walked around! We also explored some cute boutiques around the area ( I got a moon ring from Kurosities). Finally we ended with smoothies from Juice Co and ice cream from Cows. Did I really go to the East Coast if I didn't try Cows once?!
As we said before, this is the town we stayed in, but it also had a lot to offer! While we were exploring Charlottetown, we got hit with a hail storm⛈ which meant we couldn't find anywhere to dinner as most restaurants had lost power and those who hadn't had massive line ups outside of them! Thankfully, there was a really nice man outside a closed restaurant who recommended some good places to eat and one happened to be only 10 mins away from where we were staying! I am sooo grateful he did because this was the best meal I had this entire trip!! We ate dinner at Richard's, a seafood restaurant, and everything was just so good! The lobster roll was the best roll I have ever had in my whole life and they had a balcony where you could eat on. This meant we got to watch the sunset while we ate! I am definitely coming back here next time!
This was also I really fun day in PEI. We started the day off at Anne of Green Gables House. You could take pictures with Anne and Gilbert and even walk take a tour of Anne's House. I really enjoyed it and it was free for kids under 18. Having read the books, it was really special seeing the house in real life. Furthermore, right beside the site was a really good place to stop for lunch that had lots of restaurants to choose from! My sister and I chose to eat at Moo Moo's Grilled Cheese. We are definitely grilled cheese lovers and I can confidently say this was one of the best grilled cheese of my life! My mom ate at Boomburger and where the restaurant was actually a church! The restaurant was on the main floor, but you could walk upstairs where they still had pews overlooking the restaurant. This was also the church the author of Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery, attended when she was alive! Finally, we ended our stay at a Cavendish Beach. Despite the water being a little chilly, I really enjoyed the beach and you could even walked on the red rocks.
3) Nova Scotia
This was the third province we visited. I was really excited to visit Nova Scotia as Dalhousie is definitely my dream university and Halifax always seemed liked a cool city to visit.
a) Halifax
While in Halifax we stayed in the Best Western at Chocolate Lake. This was hotel was seriously the coolest! There was a hotel dog, a really friendly Chocolate Lab named Aero (get it?), guests could swim in the lake and their dining area had really good food! I wasn't expecting a lot from this hotel, but I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome! While in Halifax, we also explored the Seaport and the area around it! The seaport reminded me of the Distillery District in Toronto, and we found some good food in the Farmer's Market for lunch. While walking by the water, we saw a seal (it popped its head back under water before I could get a photo of it) and a man fishing, even though he only managed to bring kelp back up! We also tried Black bear Ice cream instead of Cows because the line was too long. It was really good and I would recommend the chai tea ice cream! Later we also went to the Discovery Centre, a science centre, and it was so much fun! If you have some time to kill, this could be a nice way to spend the day. Finally, we ended the day at The Board Room Cafe in downtown Halifax. The service and food was really good and its definitely a nice place to spend with friends.
b) Mahone Bay & Lunenberg
These were two little towns we visited while we were here as well. Mahone Bay was a really cute town known for having 3 churches in a row. We ate lunch Oh my Cod and walked around the town. Everyone was really welcoming that if you needed to cross the middle of the street, cars would stop to let you through! There were tons of cute shops and restaurants, and I only wished we could have spent a little more time here. The next town we visited was Lunenberg. The town is an UNESCO World Heritage Site so we knew we had to visit this place for sure while we were in Nova Scotia. The streets were really pretty and there were lots of cool buildings. The only downside was that there were lots of hills that made walking around a little difficult! 😂😶
Feels like I'm looking at a postcard!
c) Peggy's Cove
This was the last place we visited in Nova Scotia. As in PEI we didn't stay in a hotel, but rather a little house in Oceanside's Resort. I loved our little house and I will never forget the sunset on our first night here. It was honestly so magical. Plus, being in the Peggy's Cove area, we had to go the lighthouse. Unfortunately, there were so many tourists that it was impossible to take photos of the lighthouse without someone in it. Even so, the town around Peggy's Cove was so cute and there were so many colourful buildings and boats in the water. We had lobster rolls here again, and even though they were not as good as the ones at Richard's, they made a close second!
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| Sunset on the first night here! |
I had such a fun vacation and I can't wait to go back and hopefully visit Newfoundland 😉! I feel like there were so many unique places everywhere we went that I would love to explore some more!
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