A day on the Bay of Fundy

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to get to take a day trip to Joggins to represent the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia at a presentation given by the Cumberland Wilderness Society as they unveiled their plan for a new Protected Wilderness area around and including the Chignecto Game Sanctuary.  An article about the presentation can be found here:  http://www.amherstdaily.com/index.cfm?sid=303455&sc=58

Because the trip along the Bay of Fundy is an easy and beautiful drive from Truro, we often recommend it to guests who are interested in a day trip.  There are many interesting spots to stop and see and the scenery is spectacular.

Because I had a time line in which to get to the presentation, I drove the Trans Canada Highway to get there.  The day wasn’t too promising as I started out, with thick fog making it hard to see.  I took the old road through the Wentworth Valley rather than the Toll Highway.  The drive is much more scenic and only adds about five minutes to your time.  Not to mention you don’t have to pay the $4.50 toll!  As I passed Ski Wentworth, the fog lifted and the sun started to shine.

I got to Joggins in about an hour-and-a-half.

The Joggins Fossil Center and Fossil Cliffs were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 and the Centre opened on Earth Day that year.  This was my first chance to get there to see the new building and it is beautiful!!  I would highly recommend this attraction to any guests who are visiting Northern Nova Scotia!  I just wish I’d had more time to explore.  Alas, business called…

When the presentation was over, I took the shore road along the Bay of Fundy to go home.  The half-hour it takes to get from Joggins to Advocate is mostly trees, but the wild blueberry fields were glorious!  I wish I’d been able to get a photo that did them justice.  Although the colour of the trees is over now that the leaves have fallen, the blueberry fields are still in their splendor!  As I turned a corner in Advocate, there was a cemetery on a hill which is covered in blueberry bushes and the sun was illuminating them.  I wish I had stopped for a photo.

I did take the 5km side trip to go to Cape d’Or.  It is one of my absolute favourite places in Nova Scotia!  To get there, you travel on a very twisty and hilly dirt road, but the views when you get to the end are spectacular!  The following photos were all taken from the top of the road.  In the summer, from May – October, there is a restaurant that we highly recommend located in the lighthouse!  The food and the service are wonderful and you just can’t beat the view!!

I traveled back to Truro, passing some favorites:  Shaw’s Country Store in Port Greville, Ship’s Company Theater & The Fundy Geological Museum in Parrsboro, Mo’s at Five Islands, The Joy Laking Gallery in Portipique, the antique shop in Great Village, and of course Bass River Chairs in Bass River!  I drove 355 km in total during the day and was home in time to make supper!

 

 

 

 

The 2009 Nova Scotia Bed & Breakfast Association Annual General Meeting

This weekend the Annual General Meeting of the Nova Scotia Bed & Breakfast Association was held here in Truro.  What a fun weekend!!

 

www.nsbedandbreakfast.com

We woke up Friday morning to snow & slush, so unfortunately some of the Board of Directors weren’t able to make it to our meeting & potluck lunch.  However, we still had enough in attendance that we had a quorum so our meeting took place regardless.  After that was over, the B&B’s in town held house tours for anyone who was here from outside the area.  So often, we are asked to recommend B&B’s in other parts of the province, so it is helpful to know what different areas have to offer. In the evening, we all went over to Tulips & Thistle B&B for a wine & cheese party.  It was such a great opportunity to network with other operators from around the province and share some really funny stories!

Maarten & Nelly from Baker's Chest with hosts Ann & Larry at Tulips & Thistle

Gerry (Suncatcher B&B) and myself

Shelly from Stuart House by the Bay with Jennifer from TIANS

Some of the Truro B&B owners - D'Arcy & myself along with Janice, Ann & Gerry

Bill & Ann Marie Monk of A Seafaring Maiden B&B in Granville Ferry, outside of Annapolis Royal

A fun chance to network together

Donnie & Janice from Eagle's Landing B&B always have a hilarious story or two!!

Jill from bbcanada.com, Jennifer from TIANS, Anne from Belgravia B&B & Ruth from Suncatcher B&B!

Ruth from Suncatcher, Dora from Jonah By the Sea, Connie from A Paradise Found and Mary Pat from Azalea Farmhouse B&B's

The AGM itself took place at First United Church Hall on Saturday and the UCW had prepared lunch for 75 people.  Unfortunately, we did have a few members send regrets at the last-minute due to weather conditions and/or illness.  Regardless, we were pleased with the turnout.  The morning program started off with information sessions by Tom Wilson who spoke about online & social marketing and its importance these days.  Next, Jill MacIntosh from www.bbcanada.com spoke to us about maximizing our web presence and taking full advantage of offers made to us through the bbcanada website.  Just before lunch, Kieu Lam from TIANS along with Doug Matthews from the Department of Tourism, Culture & Heritage came to speak with us about the new Nova Scotia Approved Program for accommodation operators.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch provided by the UCW and then got down to the business of our AGM.  Our Board of Directors is undergoing a tremendous change with eight new directors this year, including a new President & Vice President.  We’re hoping to take the Association in a positive new direction and I’m really looking forward to working with this new group of people.

Tom Wilson, presenting information on Social Media and Marketing

Jill MacIntosh from www.bbcanada.com

Kieu Lam from TIANS, presenting the new "Nova Scotia Approved" program to members

Door prizes of bags filled with "Items a B&B owner might use" (soap, toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, hand sanitizer, etc.) generously donated by MacQuarries Pharmasave in Truro

Jill, presenting a free year's membership to bbcanada.com to Bruce Fulton's B&B

D'Arcy, making sure all the presentations would show up on the screen

Ruth, presenting outgoing NSBBA President John Meehan with a plaque of appreciation

Gerry Mailloux new NSBBA President, drawing raffle prize winners

Jill had suggested that we, along with Ruth & Gerry, Ann & Larry & Jennifer all go out to dinner Saturday night to celebrate the successful weekend. We toasted our successes with some Prost, a sparkling wine made by Jost Vineyards, a local winery. We then all went out for supper at a restaurant close by called “The Lovin Spoonful“. Not only was the company so much fun, but the meal and the service were amazing!! We will all be recommending that restaurant to our guests from now on!!  After three hours at the restaurant, laughing & telling stories, we came back here to Belgravia for coffee and ended the weekend on a high note!

TTM, ready to celebrate a successful weekend!

DRUM!

We had a chance to get to Halifax on Saturday for a performance of DRUM! I am having a hard time putting into words just how much we enjoyed it! The show is explained in the program by the following:

“Before the Tall Ships came, there were the drums of the Mi’Kmaq, the rhythm of the rugged, beautiful lands of Nova Scotia.  For thousands of years, their songs and those of the other ancient native peoples were the only music accompanying Nova Scotia’s crashing waves.

Then came the others, displaced people all, carrying their faith and their music as precious reminders of the homes they had left behind.

First the French, who settled and farmed, transforming the ways of the old country into a new culture – the Acadian culture – as vital and rich as the new land they ploughed.

Then the Celts, the Scots and the Irish, who coloured the landscape, so like that of their homeland, with swirling tartan and the airs of the pipes, the harp and fiddle.

And north from the Thirteen Colonies and the Caribbean, the black settlers, twice dispossessed, the weavers of rhythms rooted in their African heritage and fired by hard times.

Each nation born of a timeless culture, dancing to their own rhythm, their own unique beat.

DRUM! is a gathering of all these rhythms.  It is the musical heartbeat of Nova Scotia.  A spectacle of sounds, styles and traditions, ultimately coming together in a world beat grand finale.

DRUM! communicates a message to the world:  we can hold on to who we are and still share a song, a stage, a country, a world.”

The show especially captured the imaginations of our own drummer, performer, and highland dancer.

The show is over for this year, but we highly recommend for anyone planning a trip to Nova Scotia at this time next year that you try to get tickets!!  We’ll definitely go again!

Afterwards, we went to the Henry House for dinner.  The Henry House was formerly the home of the Granite Brewery, where D’Arcy & I first met while working there together.  The menu and the beer remain mainly the same, and we were happy to see Mel, who is still working there on Saturday nights after all these years!

It was a fun night out, as Halifax is such an easy trip from here for the day.  We will definitely put up a reminder for guests when DRUM! comes to town next year!

Culina Dea

D’Arcy and I had a chance to get out on a date Saturday night.  His sister-in-law is the lead singer in a band and they were playing at the Curling Club in Halifax.  Friday was my birthday, so we had organized with my parents to come and house-sit so we could go out to dinner and take in a couple of sets at the dance to celebrate.

We decided that instead of eating in Halifax, we would go to a local restaurant, located about a fifteen minute walk down Prince Street from our B&B.  It’s called Culina Dea and it was great.  We highly recommend it!

We arrived there fairly early, at about 5:30, since we still had to drive an hour to get to Halifax, and were the only people there.  The atmosphere is very fresh & welcoming with beautiful artwork on the walls.  We were pleasantly surprised to discover that Hannah, one of our neighbours who has looked after the house for us on occasion, is home from university and was our server.

We had a hard time choosing what to have from the menu because it all sounded so good, but we settled on Lobster Risotto and a Mixed Green Salad with Julienned Apples to start.  (I could have eaten a whole bowl of the lobster risotto as a meal!)  I chose the Parmesan & Herb Pan-fried Haddock with Sweet Potato Risotto and Sugar-snap Peas, while D’Arcy chose their Indian Special, a Tandoori Chicken.  It was all good, but I could have licked D’Arcy’s plate clean if that sort of thing wasn’t frowned upon!  For dessert, we shared a piece of homemade Coconut Cheesecake with a Guava Puree.  Delicious!

Two other tables came in while we were there, and one of them turned out to be a couple that was staying at The Belgravia with us!  We chatted with them for a few minutes and they told us they always eat at Culina Dea when they are in Truro because it is always good.

We will definitely keep a copy of their menu on hand to recommend to our guests and I can’t wait until we get a chance to go again!!

http://www.culinadea.com/aboutus.html

Return to the Belgravia B&B Website

Valentine’s Day at Neenamo’s Restaurant

There is a wonderful, relatively new restaurant, located just a block  from The Belgravia called Neenamo’s.  The chef we often use when we have catered events is working his magic there on Valentine’s Day this year and the menu looks divine!  They are having two seatings, one at 5:30 and one at 8:30, so reservations are recommended.  

Valentine’s Day Menu

              ~To Begin~

Honey Roasted Carrot & Brie Soup

or

Potato with Bacon and Leek  Puree

And then…

Amaretto Scallops

or

Baked Goat Cheese with Toasted Baguette

~Next Course~

Warm Spinach Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

or

Cucumber Wrapped Green Salad with Tomato Concasse Raspberry & Cracked Peppercorn Dressing

~The Main Event~

Prosciutto & Boccocini Stuffed Chicken Breast

Saffron Cream, Duchess Potato, Seasonal Vegetable

or

Scallop Stuffed Salmon

Crisp Risotto Cake, Seasonal Vegetable

Warm Crab & Cumin Drizzle

or

Vegetarian Choice (TBA)

~Something Sweet~

White Chocolate Bread Pudding

Newfie Screech Sauce Vanilla Ice Cream

or

Flour-less Chocolate Kahlua Cake

Warm Chocolate Sauce

Ice Cream

 5 courses $45.00/person

2 seatings 530 & 830 (only)

Service will be cruise ship style

Reservations are strongly suggested as time and space are limited.
*Price does not include tax or gratuity

Return to The Belgravia Bed & Breakfast website