We headed for the old city, and it is like a little bit of France.

Not just the language, but the buildings, streets, food and service.

With 400 years of history, there is a lot to see. Oh, and the food. Amazing dishes - fresh muscles, clams, fish, veggies.

Left Quebec and headed through New Brunswick toward Fundy Bay.

A few stops along the way to see the sites, enjoy the landscape, and learn a little something about fossils

Moving along - so much to see.

We did a short little hike to Fuller Falls. They have a neat stair system of cables and ties - engineering ease of maintenance and replacement.

Of course we could not pass up a cable bridge with low capacity, so Cranberry Loop Trail.

Last, but definately not least, Cape Enrage where there are 320 MILLION YEAR old fossils. I swear, you can not turn over a rock without finding one. Amazing end to the day

Our last day in New Brunswick and moving into Nova Scotia.

First, the covered bridge. Yes, we do love these things and make detours to them whenever we find them.

Then on to Hopewell Rock Provincial Park. They have some amazing pillars and when the tide is out you can walk around them. Sadly for us, it was in.

We were here in 2007, and it has had a major upgrade since then; visitor center is now huge, walkways, landscaping. Fancy. Not sure I like it, but they did not ask us.

Last, but not least, Joggins Fossil Center in Nova Scotia.

Next day we headed south along the western shore of the upper peninsula of Nova Scotia.

We had a couple places in mind, but mostly just let the whim lead us.

A little hike along the Eatonville Trail was a nice exercise, and the weather was warm, upper 70s. It changes so fast here.

The next stop was someplace we can not remember the name of, but since it was down in a valley, I will just call it Big Dip Park. Some really nice rocks here.

Meandering along the coast toward Advocate Bay, we stopped at Driftwood Beach.

For some reason, the currents and high tides conspire to dump driftwood along this stretch of beach. Very impressive.

After our stroll among the bleached wood, we headed to Cape D'Or, our destination for tonight.

The lighthouse still functions. The Lightkeeper's home is a B&B, not plush but very clean. Best of all, Darcey, the owner. Such a wonderful host.

As we round the corner and start heading north along the eastern coast of Nova Scotia, we made a couple little stops to break up the drive.

Burntcoat Head Park - named because a man put his coat on fire placing a lit pipe in the pocket - had a restored lighthouse and a huge park.

The lighthouse was pulled down in 1972, but a dedicated group of people worked to get a replica built on site

Cape Forchu has one of the most unique lighthouses we have seen.

The original one was the traditional square, tapered wooden structure that got pretty well beaten up by the weather.

It was replaced in 1962 with this "apple core" concrete design. The taper allows wind to go around it instead of battering it to pieces.

There is also Lief Erikson park below the lighthouse. It seems a favorite walking trail for locals and their pets.

Oh, and of course, Foggy the Fin Whale

We we visited 2 rather unique places.

Lunenburg, which was founded in 1753, is the best example of a planned British colonial town with a grid street system.

Today it has most of the same appearance and layout as then. About 70% of the buildings are original.

Peggys Cove is just south of Halifax. There are several theories on how it was named.

In 1766 Samuel de Champlain named the bay Saint Margaret in honor of his mother, Marguerite le Roy. Peggy is a nickname for Marguerite.

However, folklore claims the name came from the sole survivor of a shipwreck at Halibut Rock near the cove. Her name was Peggy

We did a lot of walking around Halifax, but did not seem to have taken many pictures. Odd.

We did take quite a few of Georges Island and Fort Charlotte. Built around 1749 and active up until after WWII, it is now a National Historic Site and part of the Canadian Parks system.

The Maritime Museum was a very nice find. The area is rich in history, mostly associated with the sea, so why not take time to enjoy a nice presentation of various maritime exhibits.

On a high hill in Halifax a fort was built in 1749. Since then it has had 3 upgrades in reaction to numerous wars.

In 1956 it was opened as an historic site and tourist destination.

As with all Parks in Canada it is a living history museum and guides were historically correct costumes.

To reach the fort you walk up a nice, path surrounded by grass and flowers, passing the Clock Tower built in 1803 and still working today.

There is also a creative exhibit dedicated to the 75th anniversary of D-Day landing.

And, if you know us, you are prepared for a lot of pictures of ramparts, cannon, and all things fort related

This is the oldest martello tower in North America, and the last remaining one in Halifax.

There are a score or more scattered around the British Empire.

Heading north up the coast, the next stop was in Cape Breton area.

Fortress Louisboug was originally a French port that grew into a major fishing industry and important port.

Though the various wars between France and Britian it changed hands, once being ceded back to France as part of the treaty after The War of Austrian Succession. I'm sure we all remember that one.

Eventually the British retook it during the Seven Years War and demolished it so it could not be used again.

It was partially restored starting in 1961, using unemployed coal miners who gained new training as masons and carpenters.

Cabot Trail is really the road that goes around and into Cape Breton Highland National Park.

We opted for a few short hikes to get a nice overview of the beautiful scenery.

This is a place you can spend a few weeks in and never get bored. Between the diversity, bays and fishing towns, to the great food and people, it is a must for anyone who wants to enjoy the great outdoors of Canada.

So, a little of this, a little of that, and some great memories

George found this, and since we are big fans of distillery tours, especiall when they are for small facilities working to establish or restore an industry.

This one started in 1990, as the first single malt whiskey distillery in North America.

Over the years they have expanded a little, adding an Inn and Restaurant.

it was a lovely setting, and we enjoyed the dinner and the tour

Drove back to Montreal from Cape Breton - 2 days of driving accross New Brunswick. It is a big country.

We decided a nice day in Montreal was a good idea before we headed home. We put almost 4,000 miles on that rental

We wandered around, saw some sites, had some great food, revisited some history, and had a lovely last day.

Two of the most prominent churches in Montreal are St. Marguerite and Notre-Dame Basilica.

St. Marguerite is dedicated to Marguerite Bourgeays who founded a school for girls. She also cared for the poor, sick and native peoples. She was a bit of a rebel in her time.

Notre-Dame Bascilica is beautiful. The interior is very like St. Chapelle in Paris. Both have beautiful blue ceilings and lovely columns.

We saw large picture of an Olmec head on the Museum tower so decided it would be worth the time to visit the museum.

There is a very nice and rather complete history of Montreal, including some exhibits in the lower level of the old town foundations, sewers, etc. So after that we headed to the Olmecs.

They were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization who lived in the Mexican area.

They flourished from about 1200BCE to 400BCE and set the foundation for the subsequent civilizations that followed.