Les Flâneurs: To Cape Breton and Baddeck

Thursday, June 01, 2023

To Cape Breton and Baddeck

After checking out we walked our bags across the street to the parking lot and loaded up for the trip north, stopping briefly at the nearby Citadel before leaving the city.

From Halifax we retraced our route across the MacDonald Bridge through the streets of Dartmouth and on in the direction of the airport our goal being Antigonish where we would stop for lunch. From the greater Halifax area we took the 103 until Truro where we switched to the 105, also known as the Trans-Canadian Highway.

Once we reached Antigonish (no connection apparently with the Sophocles' heroine) we made our way past St. Francis Xavier University into downtown and found our lunch stop, The Tall and Small. The shop was packed with young people bustling about and the sandwiches of fresh ingredients and home-baked breads were scrumptious.

Leaving Antigonish we returned to the 105 and before long crossed the Canso Causeway onto Cape Breton Island at Port Hastings. we quickly made our way up to our final stop for the next three days: Baddeck.

Due to my occasional bout of incompetence it took me several minutes to figure out how to get into the house. But once in we dropped our bags and walked to the (only) grocery store for essentials. Once back home we then drove to the nearby NSLC (Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation) store and stocked up on wines.

After groceries were put away and we were unpacked the wine was opened and the four of us sat out on the deck enjoying the view of the water in the distance.

A little over 330kms in about 5 hours and we were on Cape Breton at long last.

That evening we walked down to the waterfront for dinner at the Freight Shed. recommended by our host Sherry we sat outside waiting for a table inside which, thank the gods, was not long in coming since the cold wind was a bit unpleasant although the view was lovely. Three of us had the seafood chowder while Richard went for beetroot salad.