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.
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.
Went to explore down by the river to start with. The city centre is all high rise but north of the river much more low key.
There are people in Alberta who want independence but we saw quite a few of these Choose Unity signs.
There's also a peace bridge.
We then wandered down the main drag and succumbed to the purchase of hats.
Then a women's bareback race. Then a Bareback relay. The same rider rode 3 horses. You can just about make a change over here. It was very exciting.
Then they pulled the stage into position for the evening show.
It was quite spectacular. Lots of dancers, singers, acrobats, fiddlers, a country band, fireworks and a drone light show.
On Friday we went to the main rodeo but on the way checked out the library and The National Music Centre.
