Down in the Valley, the valley so low

July 1

The weather stayed spectacular for all four days which was very lucky! The skies were nearly cloudless, the temperatures were in the mid 20s but there was always a cool breeze blowing off the Bay of Fundy so it never got too warm.

The Annapolis and Port Royal region is the oldest continuous settlement north of St. Augustine, Florida. The trading post settlement of Port Royal was founded by the French in 1605 and lasted 8 years before an attack from Jamestown in the new colony of Virginia wiped it out.The province of Nova Scotia (which at that time also included the current New Brunswick) was created by English Royal charter in 1621. More history is here on the town website

Shortly after, a settlement also called Port Royal was re-established a bit further up the river but the province was given back to France in 1629. Over the rest of the century, the area is captured and then returned to France's posession several times until 1710 when it was captured by the English and renamed in honour of Queen Anne as Annapolis Royal. Fort Anne was then built to defend the town. The French had established very good relations with the native Mi'kmaq over the decades but the English did not fare so well and there were often skirmishes.

The province was definitively granted to Britain by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Annapolis Royal was the capital of Nova Scotia until Halifax was established in 1749 and in 1755, the English forced the remaining French Acadians to leave the area. Many Loyalists arrived after the American Revolution though the French settlers did return over the years. The North shore from here to Yarmouth still has predominantly French speaking communities.

The area has so much history and the town, though small, is elegant and friendly. It's got one of the best Farmer's Markets for miles and plenty of craft and gift shops to keep you going. You won't find any franchised stores here. There's not a Tim Horton's or a McDonald's for miles!

With all of that in mind, Mom and I set out in a rented car on Canada Day morning. We headed down Highway 101 into the Annapolis Valley and came off at Exit 10 where Mom had wanted to go to the Evangeline Motel for pie at their restaurant. We spied a Just Us cafe and *museum* en route and marked it for our return journey on Sunday. A light lunch and pie consumed, we decided to stay on route 1 through the valley as it's much more scenic.

Classic!

In the town of Kentville, there is a one way loop around the centre of the town. We followed it and there was a detour. A quick look determined that the usual street was closed for a classic car show and naturally I couldn't miss that! We found a place to park and walked through an alley to the street, lined on both sizes with a couple dozen cars. They were mainly cars from the 60s and early 70s with a handful of older models from the 30s to the 50s, most in top condition, shining in the sun with their owners proudly standing or sitting by, willing to answer questions and accept praise on their restoration efforts. Needless to say many photos were taken.

We looked around the central square that also had a market set up as well as a band playing and a bouncy castle for the kids. There were locally made products and crafts as well as some yummy temptations that we managed to resist.

Back in the car, we meandered down the road, with a stop to stretch our legs at a takeout stand where we had an ice cream cone. We arrived in Annapolis Royal about 3, just the right time to check into our inn, the Queen Anne which is one of the largest and most lovely Victorian buildings that line St. George Street, the main street through the town. We are very pleased with the inn and our room which is air conditioned and has a dvd player along with free wifi!

One of the largest inns in Annapolis Royal, the Queen Anne is really a treat. The building dates to the mid 1800s and has been an Inn for most of its life, though occasionally a private home and once was a school for boys as well. The current owners, Greg and Julie, have had it for about 8 years. The prior owners were also antique dealers and much of the furniture and decorative items seem to have come with the inn to the new owners' possession. There are high ceilings, lovely sitting rooms or areas on all three floors. Most of the accommodations are en suite, and all are climate controlled individually. Most of the rooms are queen or king sized beds but they have a couple with two double beds.

Greg is a professional chef so you know you're going to eat well. Breakfast has two choices, a Belgian waffle and always something else that makes it difficult to choose! There are fresh baked muffins, cereal, juices, tea and coffee, of course. The dining room is also open for evening meals with a gourmet menu. It's not cheap but it's definitely worth a splurge.

Historic Gardens

Conveniently, the inn is right across the street from the Historic Gardens so we walked over there next. We paid a reduced entrance fee because it was Canada Day and could hear music. There was a band set up and playing easy listening tunes for people. We wandered through the 10 acres of meticulously manicured and landscaped gardens of various types. Everything is laid out so nicely and there are park benches through the grounds for a rest and view across the marshes of the tidal basin of the Annapolis River.

The Rose Garden is spectacular and is set up so that you view them in chronological order as you follow the winding path. There are varieties of roses that are classed as "ancient" and progress through the centuries with examples right up to modern hybrids. It is one of the largest rose collections in Canada. One variety was supposed to be similar to the kind Empress Josephine had in her gardens at Malmaison!

There are various themed gardens such as Victorian, Knot, modern, rock garden, perennials. There is a pond with lots of water plants and foliage and a little footbridge. You will find garden sculptures and art scattered through the areas and there is a long walking path out around the marsh and dyke lands near the river. They have a replica of a thatched Acadian cottage so you can see the kind of artifacts and living quarters that the original French settlers would have used.

We stopped for a coffee and pastry at the cafe which is also connected to a German bakery. You can bet the pastries were melt-in-your-mouth!

It's supper time so we drove down around into town and decided to go to the pub, Olde Town Pub which advertises itself as the smallest pub in the province. I'm not so sure about that claim but it's not large in any case. It was also not too busy yet so we had no trouble getting a table and ordering a meal. We left there and walked around looking in the windows of some of the closed craft stores, keeping a couple in mind to return to when they were open.

It's the end of a long day so we borrowed a dvd from the small collection at the inn, picked up a complimentary newspaper and went to our room to relax for the rest of the evening.

Port Royal Habitation

Good Cheer

July 2

We were up at 8 and down to the dining room for breakfast which was wonderful! Julie and Greg are great hosts and are very friendly and Greg is a fabulous cook! The dishes always arrive looking like works of art, too!

Our first destination is Port Royal, on the other side of the river.

The original name of Nova Scotia was Acadia or, in French, Acadie and covered the present day Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Port Royal was founded by Samuel Champlain and Sieur de Mons and claimed for France in 1605, 2 years before the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, and fifteen years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts, it is Canada's oldest settlement and is the oldest permanent settlement north of Florida.

It was destroyed in 1613 by an attack from the Jamestown faction but rebuilt again by the French, a little further upriver at the present day Annapolis Royal which changed hands bettween the French and English 5 times until the English finally took over Nova Scotia permanently. Port Royal/Annapolis Royal was the capital of NS until 1749 when Halifax was founded. Today there are ruins of the old Fort Anne and a restoration of Port Royal and is a National Historic Site.

Port Royal Habitation is the restoration of the original fur trading post. It was recreated in the 1930s from original plans. It's not really a fort as such, it was a fur trading post that housed up to 44 men. The building surrounds a small courtyard and we had a look through most of it, chatting to the summer students dressed in period costume about the history of the fort and what life was like back then.

The The Order of Good Cheer was established as a type of social club to keep the men entertained in the long winter nights. They would put on entertainment and have food and drink and feast by the fire in the main common room every week. The main table would seat the men of higher social standing while guests, including some of the local Mi'kmaq band of First Nations people would sit at tables on the edges of the room. Each of the men at the "upper" table would take turns stewarding and catering the event. The Order even had Royal recognition with a charter and today, the Province of Nova Scotia will issue an invitation to any honoured guest or by request. The only requirement is that the new member pledge to visit Nova Scotia.

There are many artifacts from the period that were either discovered during excavations or sent by the French government. There are some crafts people that do demonstrations such as how the manual wood carving lathe works (by a foot pedal!) One thing i found very interesting was that rather than glass in most of the windows, there was a lining of very thin sheepskin that was thin enough to let light in through. You can see the "Gentlemen's quarters" and the dormitory style sleeping quarters that the lower ranks used. The community room for the Order of Good Cheer is set up for a banquet. The ramparts have small defensive guns pointing out towards the river. There is a large room that was used for their trading and there are examples of various kinds of furs and skins on display. There is a birch bark canoe also that has been built in modern days and used. You can see that it would have been pretty well equipped to support up to 40 or 50 men.

Trinity Footbridge

Next Page: More of this beautiful part of the province