Wednesday, July 19

We spent the day tooling around the island. It was truly spectacular. The island is known as the "Garden of Quebec". It's famous for its produce-strawberries, leeks, potatoes, wine, cheese, blueberries, raspberries, maple syrup, etc. It's rural, and spread over six villages. There is one main road that circles the island, largely following the coast. The farms are ubiquitous, and are small, artisan operations. They're just beautiful. The residential architecture is eclectic given the age of the housing stock, but every house is immaculate. The barns are likewise eclectic based on their period.  The topography reminded us of the Finger Lakes region of New York, with steep hills sloping down to the St Lawrence River. This is also the spot beyond which the St Lawrence widens dramatically as it flows toward the ocean.

Their old line industries, fishing and boat building, have been replaced by tourism. There are numerous wineries, roadside stands, galleries, restaurants, and bed & breakfasts. But there don't seem to be many people. The island has a quiet, rural character. A very natural feel. Simple yet sophisticated. Beautiful. The people are lovely, most speak only French, and the French influence is pervasive in its architecture and built environment.

Our first stop was lunch at La Midinette. We had caponata, pea soup, and a four cheese & tomato pizza. Yum!

Next stop was an antique shop where Kari found a chandelier to put over the claw foot tub at our cabin. She's looked everywhere the last few years. Being the professional shopper she is, she whipped out her tape measure to confirm it would fit the small space and made the buy. Here she is with her new treasure.

We checked out fruit stands, art galleries, a chocolate shop, a jam maker, a lavender farm, a winery, and several other joints. The chocolate shop had amazing ice cream. Ultra creamy, and dipped in a topping your choice. The topping was extra thick. Kari picked caramel, I had salted caramel. Carmel is a thing here. Sublime...

Here's a smattering of photos from some of our stops. 

Today was also the day we discovered the magic of Google translate. I didn't realize how robust the app is, it's really great. Virtually all the natives speak French, roughly one third also speak English. 

We ended the day at Resto De La Plage, a cool joint overlooking the river. We sat on the patio and enjoyed this dish, just the beginning of our seafood orgy:)

One last thing. Flies. They're everywhere. I mean, everywhere.

I hate flies.