On Thursday we got a cab to the YUL airport in Montreal to get our flight to Charlottetown. A very friendly taxi driver but he was driving in the outside lane with both hands on his phone at one point . He was from Lebenon and complained about the cold in winter. The taxi driver in Ottawa we had was from Iraq and also complained about the cold. He was very friendly too but ended up having a row with the doorman at the hotel as he dropped us off at the wrong place to save time. There was a bit if a cerfuffle at the airport as they changed the gate. Then there was a problem with my boarding pass as it was under the name of Rob and my passport is Robert. I tried to change it later for future flights but not straightforward and involved uploading my passport. It looked like long queue for the car hire at Budget but the Avis desk was also doing Budget so not too bad and the car was fine. We were chatting to a local at the airport in Montreal and she recommended stopping off at Summerside to pick up food so we did that and also found a PEI Liquor store. On the way to and from Niagara we paased a cannabis farm that filled the car with fumes. Got the same smell here but couldn't spot the farm. Got to our AirBnB about 8pm. All fine except no internet to start with and we were getting eaten alive my mosquitos when we sat outside. Internet came back on later but was off in the morning. The address given for the place was 17322 PE-2 which is house number 17322 on highway PE-2, simple.There's a fair bit of coastal erosion going on.But they have protected the house with a pile of boulders.The plan on Friday was just to chill but did go out on drive so M could get used to the car. Drove first to a local beach then on to North Cape, the most northerly point of the island.and this was it.There were seals at the end swimming almost some birds. We chilled for the rest of the day and M cooked a pasta bake.Sat out while waiting for it to cook and saw a seal.

On Saturday we drove over to the West Coast to another lighthouse that you could go up.Then back to Alberton to the harbour for fish and chips at the Harbourside Take Out. Considering the seafood and potatos are a staple here they had a hint of the birds eye about them.

Busy harbour though.

Went back to 17322 for more chilling and a basic tomato pasta dinner. Nice. Unfortunately Canada git knocked out of the World Cup 3 0 by Morocco. 

Saw a seal again on Sunday morning, a bit closer in this time. Packed up and drive to Charlottetown. It was too early to check in to the hotel so we had a wander round town to get our bearings. Spent an hour or so in The Old Triangle watching the ceilidh band.There were 17 of them when they all turned up. Each one took a turn at starting a tune then the rest joined in. Great stuff. We kept seeing people in the pub that looked like other people, Hilary Clinton, Jessie Buclkey, President Eisenower, Margaret Sampson, John Malkovic etc. Had some seafood for dinner. I had a very tasty chowder and M had halibut. Then tried to find a place to watch England v Mexico. We ended up in a sort of amusement arcade/pool hall/ sports bar called The PonyBoat Social Club. Not really our sort of place but beggars can't be choosers and due to bad weather the KO was delayed by an hour so didn't start until 10pm. We were 2 0 up then conceded, then Quanash was sent off as a result of a VAR review when initially there had been no foul. Then we got a penalty to make it 3 1. Then they scored a penalty after a VAR review when initially there was no foul. It all got very tense but we hung on to win 3 2. I had been waking up with a really dry throat with a bit if a cough for the last few days and on Monday morning it was particularly bad. I went to the bathroom to get some water and suddenly felt sick and threw up. It was a bit weird as up until then I hadn't felt sick at all. Maybe it was the chowder as I did get the runs after eating it. M also had the dry throat and cough. We then got inforned that our flight to Toronto that morning had been cancelled. They booked us on a flight for 5 20 the next morning. We tried to change it for one on Monday but the app didn't seem to like it. As a result we drove to the airport as we needed to drop off the car  anyway. They explained that the flight we'd tried to change to was oversubscribed so we went for the 5 20. M had already booked us another room at the hotel but all they was only a superior one. Almost as grand as the one we stayed in in Chester for Anne and Wynn's wedding. We got a cab back from the airport, grabbed some breakfast and had a walk round. Went in St Dunstan's Basilica. I liked the stained glas as it opened at the bottom.....and the lights.We then sat outside The Churchill pub to have a drink and watch the world go by. The guy sitting next to us ordered a deep fried Mars Bar so we got chatting, he was from Scotland believe it or not.Went back to explore our superior room. Popped out for an Italian in the evening then had an early night back in the superior room via a PEI Liquor store to pick up a bottle of red. Watched Belgium beat the US 4 1. Loads of music going on on PEI. Apart from various festivals lots of pubs have live music or people play outside venues.

We then headed for the main Notre Dame Cathedral. It was getting a but dark so we sat in the square and watched some buskers. To get there we'd gone past the jazz festival, Chinatown and a mission for down and outs so we retraced our steps and stopped off to find some jazz. First we found some reggae buskers. Then Elena Pinderhughes, a flautist with her band. Tried the vendinf macine when we got back. On Tuesday we walked to Mount Royal Park and I climbed up to the look out point.We met up again and headed to the museum of fine art. Two buildings on either side of the road joined by an underpass that is just part of the museum so you don't notice. Some great stuff again, mainly paintings and my pictures won't do justice. There was a photography exhibition showing aging taken by Richard Avedon. The one of Ronnie and a farmer reminded me of the song Oval Room then there's Patti Smith and Chet Baker.This one freaked me out a bit as it was odd for me to look at because the blue looked blue with my left eye but dark grey with my right.

Just liked this.

This looked over simplistic close up but great from a distance.This is how the view from Mont Real once looked.

Then went to see the sound and lightship in Notre Dame Cathedral.Then back to the delights if the wine vending machine. 

On Wednesday we bought one day transit tickets so we could go a bit further out. Went on the tube to the Jean Malon Market first. Then back to the micro brewery to watch England v DR Congo only it wasn't open. Noticed they had it on in a bagel cafe nearby so watched it there. The only problem was the telly kept freezing. They scored first early on and we struggled. Harry then equalised but we didn't see his header go in as the telly froze. He then scored a second which we just about saw but it froze again for quite a while after and I knocked my beer over, broke the glass and spilt beer on my phone. All OK though and we won 2 1. We then went down to the river front again to pick up canal but it was getting a bit hot so we got a tube back to chill out and cool down.Saw a few instances iof this sign (sorry uts so blurred) but niot sure what it means. 

Got the bus to a pizza restaurant in the old town in the evening. It was incredibly busy. We had half an hour to kill so popped into a micro brewery for a swifty but 25 minutes later we still hadn't got our drinks so left. The restaurant was very good though. We shared an arancini as a starter and it was just one very big one but excellent. My pizza was pretty good too as was M's seafood risotto. Got the tube back and had more drinks from the wine vending machine. Montreal felt like a european city as opposed to a Canadian one. Probably because of the French influence and the heat.

M had booked us in at a restaurant called One Elgin in the National Arts Centre. I had had possibly my best ever burger made from beef short rib and M really enjoyed her seafood spaghetti. We had had to cross the canal to get there and walked down to the Ottawa River at sunset afterwards.

Had a nightcap in the hotel bar. 

The next day we went to the Little Victories coffee roasters for breakfast.

We then walked along the canal for a bit. At weekends they close some roads for exclusive cycling access.

We had booked a tour of the house of commons which due to a mix up was in French. As a result I wasn't sure if I could take photos but did take one. It's actually built in an old courtyard.

After that we headed for the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was quite busy at first as it looked like a multiple baptism had just finished.
Next stop was the art gallery across the road  Some amazing stuff in there including a few audio visual installations. My photos don't really capture it very well but here's a few examples.They give you a sticker when you go in and lots had been stuck to thus notice board outside and elsewhere.We took a scenic walk back to the hotel.On the way we heard a cheer and figured it must be world cup related. I checked my phone and Canada had just scored in the 92nd minute against South Africa so we went into a bar to see the last few minutes of them qualifying for the last 16.  

In the evening we shared a pinza on the hotel terasse then headed off in search of some decent beer and ended up in the Lowertown Brewery. There was quite a lit of music going on in the downtown area. In the afternoon we'd passed a place called the Rainbow where there was a blues jam going on. In the evening we passed The Dominion where a very loud band was playing. On the way back we passed Ottawa's oldest pub which had a band playing. There was also a jazz festival just finishing and the Escapade Festival.