We were happy to see that Bill also enjoyed Bistro 22 and even said he would make the trip from Halifax to Truro (1 hour drive) just to eat there!

His full article can be found here.

“It was while sitting in the stands at a gym in Truro last Friday that I heard the words “best mashed potatoes ever.” Shortly thereafter, I walked into Bistro 22.

Dennis Pierce, who grew up in Belmont, Colchester County, but trained and worked as a chef in Manitoba, came home two years ago to open his bistro. On the night I was there, Pierce was working alone in the kitchen and a young woman named Courtney was the only server. Both are extraordinarily good at what they do.

Bistro 22 has seating for 32, with dark wooden upholstered chairs at glass-topped tables, and hanging light fixtures. Large framed photos of nature scenes decorate the walls.

As Courtney told us about that day’s specials, she said the caesar salad had just recently been added to the supper menu because it was so popular at lunch, and that the chef makes the dressing himself, which was all I needed to hear.

She also said the chef bakes bread and makes desserts when the restaurant is closed between lunch and supper, and that one of that day’s desserts was red velvet cake, which was all I needed to hear.

Kath and I were joined by our Truro friend Dede for dinner, which seemed like enough of an excuse to have a bottle of wine and, happily, the wine list here is mostly from Nova Scotia, so I chose Blomidon’s L’Acadie Blanc. There are also three Propeller and two Garrison beers available, as well as Stutz cider.

The mixed green salad, with avocado, goat cheese and walnuts, dressed with a cider vinaigrette, seemed like it had been designed with Kath in mind and she described it as “flavourful and outstanding.” Haddock chowder was at the thicker end of the creaminess spectrum, and very tasty. The caesar, though, disappointed. Courtney was right about the dressing, which was great, as were the homemade croutons and bacon bits, but the lettuce was so far from vibrant green you couldn’t use it to treat scurvy. Something in Pierce’s supply chain let him down here.

We’ve resolved to order fish more often in restaurants, and Kath benefitted from that resolution, greatly enjoying a piece of perfectly poached salmon atop wonderfully creamy spinach risotto, a dish that paired perfectly with our wine.

Dede was just as pleased with her spinach salad, which included roasted red pepper, red onion, Dragon’s Breath blue cheese from That Dutchman, bacon, pine nuts and sliced pear. A substantial and delicious salad.

But for once, I think I chose the best meal: roast pork served with beer-and-onion sauce, mashed potatoes that are worth the raves, and carrots and parsnips. Courtney told us that people in Truro often go to the city to eat out; I’d drive to Truro to eat this dish again.

And if I did, I’d have the red velvet cake again. Often seen on the Food Network, red velvet cake is flavoured with cocoa and gets its hue from food colouring. At Bistro 22, it comes with homemade ice cream.

Dinner for three, including wine, tax and a 25 per cent tip to reflect the outstanding service, was $149 and made me glad I overheard that mashed potatoes conversation.”

Bistro 22 can be found on the web at bistro22.ca on Facebook and on Twitter as @Bistro22chef

Bill Spur can be found on Twitter as @billspurr

Our friends from Montreal were here with us for lunch, and while eating asked each of us, “What was your favorite part of 2011?” The following were a few of our answers:

• D’Arcy graduating with his M. Ed from St. FX University
• Anne attending Cornell University in June
• A two week family vacation to Newfoundland this summer
• Alex winning his way to the Provincial Spelling Bee (even though he lost in the second round with the word “wiseacre”)
• Evan winning the “Most Sportsmanlike” trophy at baseball
• The girls raised $109.25 at four lemonade stands and donated it to the new hospital
• Anne got to lead Team Saskatchewan in to the arena during the Opening Ceremonies of the Canada Games
• The Belgravia Bed & Breakfast winning “Best B&B in Colchester County” in June
• The boys attended curling camp for the second year with Russ Howard & Mary Ann Arsenault and got to stay with our friends in Moncton
• Alex was asked to be in the Truro Dance Academy’s “Nutcracker” production
• Bluenose marathon weekend for D’Arcy, Anne, Evan & Alex
• The birth of our first great-niece, Samantha
• Alex got contacts
• Olivia outgrew her cinnamon allergy!
• A new school (5 minutes away!) for D’Arcy
• Hosting & cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 37
• Rollie’s (D’Arcy’s dad) 85th birthday!
• 50 McDonahs together on Christmas Eve
• Visits with family & friends from away – too many to mention! Aren’t we blessed!

And those are just the highlights that came off the top of our heads – I’m sure there are many more if we took some time to look at the calendar and remember properly.

We haven’t made resolutions for 2012, per say, but we do have some things we’re looking forward to:

• Evan’s Brazil exchange (March)
• Anne handing out graduation diplomas to her Tourism Management class in June
• Major house enhancements - insulation, new roof, solar panels
• Olivia will start school
• Friends & family moving back home to Nova Scotia
• Meeting many new friends from around the world!!

We leave you with a few photos from our holiday – Happy 2012!

D'Arcy & his father, Rollie, at Rollie's 85th birthday party.

Some of the McDonah cousins, during the cousin gift-exchange

Alex & "Ginna" (Deanna) Christmas Eve

So much love on Christmas afternoon

Dave & Deanna, Christmas afternoon

Happy, loving kids Christmas afternoon

With our new friends-like-family from Mexico - New Year's Eve 2011/2012

The last decade has not been kind to Nova Scotia bed and breakfasts.

A 19 per cent decline in overnight stays plagued the industry from 2005 to 2009, but numbers have been on a slow decline since 2000.

Nearly 100,000 visitors used a bed and breakfast in 2000 but by 2010, the number dropped to 59,000.

But on a snowy mid-winter day in December, when paying visitors are scarce and the summer tourism season is months away, Nova Scotia bed and breakfast owners are confident there are better days ahead.

Travellers are increasingly on the hunt for an authentic travel experience and a stay at a turn of the century farmhouse or a grand seaside estate can offer just that, said Anne McDonah cctowner of Belgravia Bed and Breakfast. “That’s why people are coming to Canada and to Nova Scotia,” McDonah said from her home in Truro this week.

“By being in a house and not a hotel, guests are getting the inside scoop on places to go and things to see and do in the community. It offers a chance to live like a local and a (bed and breakfast) offer that authentic experience.”

McDonah, who is on the board of the Nova Scotia Bed and Breakfast Association and teaches tourism management at Nova Scotia Community College, said bed and breakfast owners are promoting the authentic travel experience and offering “value-adds” to their operations to combat the downward trend.

Guests at Belgravia, for example, enjoy local produce delivered weekly to the house while guests at the neighbouring Suncatcher Bed and Breakfast can take a stained glass workshop or enjoy a genuine lobster feast complete with a how-to-eat lesson.

Neighbourhood overflow means Belgravia is booked over the holidays, but McDonah is using the slower season to revamp the company website and think up seasonal travel packages to entice guests year round.

There are about 1,100 overnight options in Nova Scotia. Between 400 and 425 of these are bed and breakfasts. The numbers ebb and flow regularly.

Location plays a big role in visitor traffic and the long-term viability of a bed and breakfast, said association president and Suncatcher owner Gerry Mailloux.

“Major cities and towns are more likely to reap the benefits,” said Mailloux, a veteran bed and breakfast owner who has worked in the industry since 1986.

“They seem to draw more business travellers than they used to and I think people are starting to realize the value of a (bed and breakfast).”

The growing popularity among business travellers has spurred many owners to offer amenities like free WiFi and printer and fax access.

The downward-trending numbers didn’t discourage Barbara Dean from opening her first bed and breakfast, Gowan Brae Bed and Breakfast, in Middle Musquodobit in August.

Retired and living in a sprawling 1830s-era home, Dean said her operation is merely a fun hobby and she expects many owners have the same approach.

“We have few overhead costs, just extra food and a bit of extra hot water here and there,” Dean said. “We all live in our bed and breakfast so I imagine it’s a hobby for most of us.”

In its first four months, Gowan Brae welcomed guests from as far away as Switzerland, Holland and western Canada and as nearby as the Annapolis Valley. How these guests decide on spending the night in Middle Musquodobit is something the association is working hard to understand, Mailloux said.

“We advertise here, there and everywhere but part of the problem is tracking where your guests come from and how they ended up with you,” he said. “We only have so many advertising dollars to go around ….. but at the end of the day as long as there are people still coming to stay, that’s what counts.”

That year, the tree was the only decoration we put up, but over the years, we’ve added three more and now put up four trees each year: one in the living room, one in the dining room, one in the family room, and one in the upstairs hallway.

Earlier this month, when we put up the dining room tree, I posted a photo on Facebook.  Holly Shephard, who grew up in this home, made a comment that her dad loved nothing better than decorating for the holidays and she was happy the tradition was continuing.  I’ve taken a few more photos as the house does look so pretty now. I hope Dr. Shephard would approve!

Even the bathroom gets lights & holly!

Living room fireplace - that's D'Arcy's stocking from home on the right, and one my mother-in-law made for me the year we were married, on the left.

The living room

The dining room fireplace

Dining room window

The banister leading upstairs

Poinsettia in the hallway

Nativity we bought when on our honeymoon in San Antonio, 1997

Upstairs hallway, guest sitting area

Family room tree

Today, the plan is to spend the day in the kitchen baking, so you can just imagine that the house will smell as much like Christmas as it looks!

D’Arcy & I are each back teaching school.  He is at a new school, just a five minute drive from our home, across the Salmon River where guests go to see the Tidal Bore.  He is teaching Grade 7 & 8 Math & Science and seems to be enjoying it, despite having all new preps.  I am back at the Nova Scotia Community College, teaching the second year of the Tourism Management diploma program.  I am with the same students I had last year, and this semester they are taking Law for the Tourism Manager, Financial Decision Making, Service Marketing, Rooms Management, Human Resource Management, Ecology & Conservation, and Meeting & Event Planning.  It’s an intense program!

We continued to welcome guests straight through until the end of October, when things naturally slow down.  My classes are scheduled to start at 9:30 each morning which gives me time to serve breakfast to our guests before running out the door, leaving my parents, Dave & Deanna, to chat, give travel tips, and look after cleanup!  We are very fortunate that they live so close to us and are willing to help out!

We had a beautiful fall and hosted Thanksgiving for our families again this year.  It has become tradition!  This year, we were fortunate to host 36 McDonahs & Clarks at our table.  Our 33lb. turkey came from a local farm, veggies & cranberries from the farmers’ market and carrots from our very own garden!!  We do all the cooking ourselves and ask our family only to bring donations for the Food Bank.  It was a wonderful meal and we have so much to be thankful for.

A hot pepper in our garden!

Some of the carrots we picked for our Thanksgiving Dinner.

Cranberries from the Truro Farmers' Market, about to be made into sauce.

Our fresh 33lb. turkey, ready for the oven. The photo just doesn't do justice to the actual size of this bird!

A trip to the Pumpkin Patch for pumpkins. Doesn't everyone pick pumpkins in a shirt & tie?

The table, set for 36

Family

Cousin fun on the front lawn.

Anne's parents, Dave & Deanna

D'Arcy with his mom, Fran

Three of D'Arcy's brothers and a nephew.

Anne with our great-nephew, Phinn

Giving Thanks for our many blessings!

A hamper full of food for the NSCC Campus Food Bank!

The first weekend in November, we were fortunate to have a night away at the beautiful Colby House Bed & Breakfast in Sydney, NS, while attending the annual general meeting of the Nova Scotia Bed & Breakfast Association (NSBBA).  Bev & Gordon were wonderful hosts, as usual, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  I have been the marketing director for the association for the past six years, and stepped down at this year’s AGM.  Bill Monk from A Seafaring Maiden in Annapolis Royal has taken over my position and for that I am extremely grateful!  I haven’t totally stepped away – I will represent NSBBA on the Nova Scotia Tourism Human Resource Council which I have a great interest in.  Change is good!

The last week in November, we spent four nights in Halifax attending the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia’s  (TIANS) annual Tourism Summit.  I was luckly to be able to have my students attend this year as well. The conference was wonderful and deserving of its own post - I came home with many new ideas.  One of the many things I learned at the information sessions is that “Less is more”, so with that I wish you a great weekend and promise to update again more regularly!

“The Truro Farmers’ Market is hosting a special picnic tomorrow focusing on local food and on-site meals.

The market will offer a Select Nova Scotia IncrEDIBLE Picnic. The local initiative, to be held between 2 and 6 p.m. beside the old fire hall on Young and Prince streets, is one of 12 incrEDIBLE picnics this summer throughout the province.

The market’s acting manager, Jamey Coughlin, said it’s important to focus on local food and food production.

“It gets products to people that aren’t available in large stores,” said Coughlin. “And it supports the community and helps people get to know their local community.”

Coughlin anticipates there will be 24 vendors and exhibitors participating in the incrEDIBLE picnic.

The event will feature a free pig roast, corn boil and blueberry desserts prepared by chef Dennis Pierce of Bistro 22 in Truro. 

In addition to the regular Wednesday vegetable, baked good, jewellery, preserves, plant and coffee vendors, the picnic will feature special guests. Ironworks Distillery from Lunenburg will be selling and sampling its Nova Scotia made spirits and rums and Rolling Bricks Wood-Fired Pizza from Antigonish will showcase its trailer-mounted oven.

Information workshops will also be available on topics such as fall perennial planting, grass-fed livestock and organic production.

A picnic wouldn’t be complete without music. Tomorrow’s festivities will also go hand-in-hand with a concert by Stewiacke area singer-songwriter-farmer Keith Mullens.   And the children will have lots to do as well. A bouncy train and petting zoo, including ponies, a kissing llama and a pig, will also be on site. “

We’ll be having dinner at the market!!  Hope to see you there!

Truro is a great place to run, with routes of varying degrees of difficulty.  You can run around the downtown which is very flat, or expand your run to include hills.  Victoria Park is a favorite of many, running on groomed paths under the overhang of evergreen trees.  The park has many more challenging trails and even the dreaded Jacob’s Ladder!  It always amazes me to see people running up & down and up & down Jacob’s Ladder!

One of my favorite trails to run in Truro is the Cobequid Trail.  The Cobequid Trail is a 14 km walking and cycling trail network through central Colchester County. The Cobequid Trail takes you along a former railway, through Acadian dykelands, through forests and along brooks, and beside the tidal Salmon River.

Last Sunday, after the cleanup was finished, Alex & I set off to run the 3.5k (each way) Old Barns section.  It was beautiful!  When I run along that trail, I can hardly believe I am so close to Truro!  I took some photos with my phone, as the camera would have been a little awkward to carry! Despite the poor quality of the photos, I think you can get an idea of the beauty!

Off we go!!

Taking a break for a moment to capture the beauty before turning around...

A view of the trail.

When you come stay with us at the Belgravia Bed & Breakfast, don’t forget to ask and we’ll share our favorite running/walking/biking trails with you!

Janice, Gail & Skye at the Belgravia Bed & Breakfast in Truro!

Camping for much of their journey, I think they were happy to find a comfortable bed, hot shower and plentiful breakfast here at the Belgravia Bed & Breakfast!  Skye & Janice, (having just met!) spent the evening chatting and tuning up their bicycles on our back deck, before storing them in our locked basement for the night.

For breakfast, we made sure that they would be well-fueled for the 100km ride from Truro to Halifax.  They had fresh local strawberries & yogurt, muffins, juice, Eggs Florentine and a side order of four extra (just delivered!) farm-fresh scrambled eggs.

D’Arcy was sure to get a few photos as they set out for the day:

Getting final travel details sorted out!

Heading down the driveway...

And they're off!

We will be following the rest of their adventures through their website & blog:  Kilometresforcommunication.wordpress.com and we encourage you to as well!  Janice should by now be heading home to Toronto to be with her family, and Skye & Gail will be continuing on to Newfoundland where Skye will complete his journey in St. John’s, on August 4th.

Safe & happy travels – we hope to meet again!

Honestly… we just do it!

Before we had the B&B, D’Arcy and I both worked in the restaurant and hotel industry, so hospitality and service are all our family knows!  In fact, the year our daughter Sarah was born, we had two rooms the night we brought her home from the hospital!  (Looking back, we do wonder, “What were we thinking?” But it was October, she was early, and we already had guests booked!   We couldn’t cancel!)  Of course, it does help that our home is large, well-built (read: mostly sound-proof) and is laid out in such a way that we are able to have our own space for our family. Our children have been taught that if they are willing to be polite and mature, they may join us around guests, but if they need to act like children, they have to go to their own areas of the house!  Also, my parents live just a bike ride away – and they have a pool – so they are not always tied here to the B&B with us.

In the eight years that we have had the B&B, our children have had many experiences, opportunities, and met many people that they would not have had growing up in a “regular” house.  They really do seem to appreciate this and we are proud to have children who are kind, intelligent, thoughtful & mature as a result.

They each have various chores that they do to help out with the B&B, but this summer, we’re happy to have Evan helping us in an even larger, official capacity!

You can't tell in this photo, but he's drying the dishes for me!

Evan is raising money to participate in a two-week school exchange to Brazil next winter.  He’s been mowing lawns for neighbours (and his grandparents) and as of this summer is also is the official lawn-mower at The Belgravia Bed & Breakfast!  This morning, while D’Arcy was in Halifax attending a conference on adolescent mental health in schools, Evan was my breakfast sous chef!  We served omelets.  Evan was in charge of cooking the bacon and helped me serve our guests!  He has also capably taken reservations and records some of our book-keeping work for us.

In his spare time in the summer, Evan plays both baseball and golf.  The Truro Golf Club is just on the other side of our block, so he can be found there most sunny days.  He is an excellent student and in the winter, he is a curler, plays basketball, and is in both the Intermediate Band and the Jazz Band as a percussionist at his school.  He loves geography & travel, wants to see the world, and has future plans to be a cartographer.

We’re happy to have you working along side us  Evan – we hope you love it as much as we do!