The Last Days of Our Canadian Adventures

We saved the last day of vacation for rambling around Charlottetown and its fun shops--there were a few dress shops I had my eye on, and I also really wanted to buy some sort of nicer keepsake to commemorate my absolutely favorite vacation to date. It absolutely poured in the morning, which delayed our plans a little--but we still got everything done, including finding a few more mice statues, buying more chocolates from Anne of Green Gables Chocolates, and visitng the food hall. 

Really not into the rain--she sat on the floor and staged a protest.

There were a lot of good choices in the food hall (and shopping, including a lavender good stand and a hot sauce shop), but after my delicious sandwiches in Tuscany I couldn't pass up the Italian panini stand. It did not disappoint...I had a prosciutto and truffle cream sandwich with pickled asparagus, and it was divine. There was also a donut shop selling Dr. Pepper donuts and huge cheddar bay biscuits! Yum. 

After lunch we wanted to hit a few breweries in town, first up being the Prince Edward Island Brewing Co. (which makes my beloved Colliding Tides vodka sodas).

We also visited Bar 1911, which is in the basement of an old jail and features rotating craft beer, coffee and tea, and small bites. It was mostly younger professionals working on their laptops, since we were there early, so I'm sure they enjoyed our toddler! 

From there, we walked over to Red Island Cidery; we had met the owner at the farmer's market and I was interested in the diverse array of flavors they had, including cranberry cider and gingerbread. They had blocks and games for Elowen, and the owner told us when he met his wife, she thought PEI was a made-up place--he had to convince her it was real! (She was an Anne of Green Gables fan, of course.) 

 

The gingerbread bread cider was...not my favorite. But I unexpectedly loved the cranberry! And the handpainted lupine blocks.

PEI has a company that makes fudge from potatoes--it's way lower in sugar and I loved it! And was shocked I loved it, because...potato fudge?? Truly a versatile tuber. I also splurged on a confetti sapphire from Kurosities, a jewelry store in town...the band is embossed with PEI sand.

A visit to an Irish pub and back to The Bookman to buy an early edition of Emily of New Moon.

Our flight back to Montreal was later in the day, and we stayed at the Renaissance--Elowen was very into the swing in the lobby! Unfortunately, AirCanada took my bag off the plane in PEI for weight issues, and the next 24 hours were spent periodically on the phone trying to find out when/if I'd get my bag. I eventually did, but I was very sad to think of losing all my precious souvenirs. In hindsight, I don't know why I was so despondent--I loved some of my outfits in the bag--but I think part of it was just so sad to be leaving PEI. Despite my anxiety over my bag, though (and not having underwear or a toothbrush), we rallied and went to Stash Cafe, a Polish restaurant in Old Town (Antoni from Queer Eye used to work there!). I had pierogies and they were delicious, but the real highlight were the krokiety, which are breaded crepes filled with mushrooms that you dip in a wild mushroom gravy.

 

The next day, we had time to visit the Time Out food hall, which was SO cool--it has such a wide variety of cuisines from all different countries! Italian, Japanese, Caribbean, Spanish, Korean, you name it...plus handcrafted sodas. I got one with Earl Gray and bergamot, and I could have bought it in a gallon jug and still not had enough. I also got pan con tomate (one of my fave foods of all time!) and poutine.

We also walked through a shopping mall with local art, crafts, and souvenirs...I showed great self control in not buying the stuffed squirrel or the canned donuts (which what even are those? Intriguing!).

An albino squirrel!!!

And this might be the first time I've ever covered each day on a vacation blog! Usually I run out of steam and give up. But PEI was dear to my heart before I even went, and is especially so now--it was just a tranquil, idyllic, beautiful place with amazing food, friendly people, and meaningful-to-me literary sites. Elowen is also just at a great age--some tantrums of course, but mostly she's sunny, affectionate, and adorable. To capture some of her cuteness so I don't forget as she grows up...

• She used to say uppy-down when she wanted you to pick her up (or put her down), but now she says "hold you, hold you!" 
• She sighs and pats me and says "Mama bootiful"...then adds "and Daddy bootiful and Elowen bootiful."
• She says "oh my gooooodness" when she's excited--for instance when food comes out from the kitchen to the table at a restaurant. 
• She was so scared of the fireworks on Canada Day--at the first boom she ran to Taylor eyes wide, and then spent the next few days talking about the "loud booms." 
• She loves to sing and randomly bursts out into Old MacDonald, Happy Birthday, and Itsy Bitsy Spider. 
• She sat and watched The Office reruns with us at night, dancing along to the theme song. 
• She absolutely loves her bag, which is full of treasures she collects--crayons, small toys, buttons, stickers, occasionally things she pilfers from me like a lip gloss. 
• Her favorite cartoon is Booba, a Russian hobgoblin who gets into a lot of mischief.