Friday 23^rd November

This morning Vivian again cooked us a hearty Canadian breakfast including a French toast with a fruit base which had been baked – kind of a French toast anyway.  In addition we were also served lovely scones with home-made blueberry jam. We bid our farewells to this couple and made our way to see the Anne of Green Gables site in a town called Cavendish as well as a visit to the capital of PEI, Charlottetown.  

As we drove into a small town named London Bridge we found the house which was the birthplace of the author of the above mentioned novel, Lucy Maude Montgomery.  

Because we are here on PEI out of the summer season, many businesses and tourist sites are closed, however we were able to have a look at this house before moving on to see the location, house, lake and barn which the novelist used to write her story.

When we arrived in Charlottetown our first stop was the Confederation Centre for the Arts, a building which houses an art gallery, a theatre, gift shop and large hall.  We browsed the six or so exhibitions and among them was one devoted to “Smoking”. I found this ash tray which is a replica of one my grandmother used to have.  I remember making the legs of the lady move and it provided me with many hours of amusement.

After visiting the town hall and leaving our “dot” on the map of our home location we were given directions to Beaconsfield House.  This is a home which stands as a symbol of Victorian elegance. Built in 1877 for James Peake Jr, a shipbuilder, merchant and one of Charlottetown’s leading businessmen, this home was a visible expression of Peake’s social and economic standing.  It served in later years after his financial demise as a nurse’s home before the city purchased the property from the previous estate. 

The city was in full swing preparing for the Christmas parade to be held on Saturday night.

From here we found our way to our next ATC host, Anne Christenson, a New Zealander who now calls PEI home. 
 Anne and her husband built their property on 30 acres and it overlooks a lovely river through different species of trees, some bare from the autumn, others a glistening evergreen.  

Anne cooked us a delicious meal of salmon, followed by an apple and berry crumble. We shared a lovely evening together and planned the next day’s outing.