Charlottetown
Trip Start
Jul 22, 2007
1
4
9
Trip End
Jul 30, 2007
Charlottetown,
Prince Edward Island,
Canada
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Loaded up on coffee, Mike and I went across the street to check out the Farmers' Market (it is located just across the UPEI campus). Every Wednesday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Farmers' Market is opened for business. The 40 vendors who set up shop here will sell you anything from coffee to handmade pottery. The specialties here are locally grown organic produces (e.g. strawberries, beets, onions, potatoes) and certified organic prepared food. Surprisingly, you can also find deliciously prepared international food here (e.g. Indian, African). I had this amazing chicken samosa that was prepared on the spot, and served piping hot! It was the best samosa I ever had!
As mentioned yesterday, the food in P.E.I is exceptionally high quality. Like the Dutch, people in P.E.I seem to pay particular attention to food quality, especially the freshness of ingredients, and quality of preparation
Farmer's Market
. When in P.E.I, I would recommend trying their locally grown strawberries, new potatoes in whatever form you like, fries made from locally grown potatoes, homemade ice cream, and seafood of all sorts.Charlottetown (Jul 25) - Afternoon
After our morning jaunt at the Farmers' Market, we headed to downtown. We parked down by Peake's Wharf, and spent a good deal of the afternoon browsing through shops and doing some sightseeing. Mike discovered the Island Beach Company where he purchased a couple of cargo pants and 3 cool t-shirts el cheapo. I found this shop called How Bazaar! that sells imported knick knacks from Australia, Asia, and Africa.This is the store where Mike and I purchased our diggiloos. We have plans to become the first brother and sister diggiloo duet of Asian decent.
After emptying our wallet at these stores, we stopped by the Province House, the birth place of Confederation. On our way there, we noticed these time travelers walking around the streets of downtown Charlottetown interacting with the locals and tourists alike. Later, we discovered that they were drama students who were desperate for summer jobs. Historically, the Province House is significant for the conference that took place here, which lead to the creation of the Articles of Confederation and subsequently, the creation of Canada in 1867
Fresh Organic Strawberries! Yum!
. Ironically, PEI did not find the terms of union favorable and balked at joining in 1867, choosing to remain part of the nation of Great Britain and Ireland.In 1873, Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald, anxious to thwart American expansionism and facing the distraction of the Pacific Scandal, negotiated for Prince Edward Island to join Canada. The Federal Government of Canada assumed the colony's railway debts and agreed to finance a buy-out of the last of the colony's absentee landlords to free the island of leasehold tenure and from any new migrants entering the island. Prince Edward Island entered Confederation on July 1, 1873.
The historic re-enactment (see pictures) in front of Province House depicts Sir John A. MacDonald, George Cole (the Premier of PEI), George-Etienne Cartier, the wife and daughter of George Cole discussing the politics surrounding the difficulty of the PEI's union with the rest of Canada. After Province House, we went to Confederation Centre Art Gallery where there is a exhibit of Charles Comfort's paintings from the early 1920's to the 1970's. His most powerful works were done during the Depression era and WWI when he worked as a war artist. There was also an exhibit of Yousuf Karsh's photography of industrial images.
Charlottetown (Jul 25) Evening
We went to MacKinnon's Restaurant located down at Peake's Wharf for dinner
Crafty things at the Farmer's Market
. Nice view of the harbour, and friendly waiter. I ordered the specialty of the restaurant, which is their fish and chips. I couldn't bear to rip the head off another lobster! This restaurant also has a good selection of locally brewed beer. So, I ordered one, and another....and shortly after that, I was attempting to play the diggiloo much to the dismay of other tourists within hearing distance! Xavier Rudd I am not! Tomorrow, we are heading to Halifax (I love that city. I was offered a job at St. Mary's University once, but I had to turn it down). Again, I am not sure if I will have Internet access in the residence where we will be staying. In any event, I will try to find an Internet cafe. If not, then I will continue with my travel blogs once I get home.
