Nova Scotia - "It's A Little Fishing Village..."

Days 7 - 8: 131 miles, destination Liverpool, Nova Scotia, NB, Canada

Total miles: 1627

I made it to Nova Scotia! On the map Nova Scotia looks small (well, at least to me), but it's a fairly large island. I chose to make my base camp in the town of Liverpool, on the south west side of Nova Scotia. It may have made more sense to stay in Halifax and be more in the center of things, but since I was staying for three nights I really wanted to pick a place that was quiet and wasn't a big city, which is definitely an accurate description of Liverpool.

Liverpool has a very small downtown area, but I didn't miss out on the great coffee at Main and Mersey or the spinach and feta breakfast pastry at Five Girls Baking.

I stayed at a great little AirBNB that was almost too comfortable. I didn't want to get up and go in the mornings! The bed was so comfortable and I slept with the windows open and the cool

breeze and whiff of salt air was just heaven. It reminded me so much of growing up in Sea Isle. I truly didn't want to leave. My hosts were also so kind - if you ever find yourself here, let me know and I'll share their info!

Also, how about these hydrants. Can you even??

Even though it was hard to leave my comfy bed, I did manage to pry myself out of it and start exploring. Day 1 I went to Maggie's Cove, Halifax, and ended at Carter's Beach.

Oh, but first, coffee. Isn't this insane? Everything is gorgeous.

Peggy's Cove is one of the major tourist destinations in Nova Scotia, it's a very charming community in a cove (shocking, I know) with a lighthouse to boot. I found myself wondering how the people who live in these little houses feel to have people traipsing all over their cove and clogging up the space. I get it, tourism = $, but still. I luckily got there before too many buses full of tourists from cruises and bus trips got there, so it wasn't overly crowded though it was still pretty active!

After Peggy's Cove, I zipped over to Halifax to check out the big city. I'm sure anyone who lives there, has lived there, or has visited there will want to strangle me when I say this, but, I was kind of meh on Halifax. I think my problem was that my mind is set in nature mode and not city mode. I currently have zero interest in traipsing around a big city. I'm well aware that I have to get myself out of that mindset ASAP as I'm heading off to big cities on the second half of the Canada leg of this trip and that is coming up fast!

Alexander Keith's Brewery is an institution in Canada. I tried Keith's IPA...which didn't taste at all like an IPA to me. Not sure what Keith is thinking with that one!

This is what I think of when I hear Nova Scotia!

Cool mural on the waterfront in downtown Halifax.

On day two I headed out to explore the town of Lunenburg. When I got to the general area there was an information center so I decided to pop in and ask the experts what I should do in Lunenburg for the day. When the woman mentioned a winery, I mean, say less. I hopped back in the CRV and headed the opposite way of town to indulge in some local wines.

Let me tell you my friends, the sign was an accurate predictor of how I was going to feel about the wines. Sorry, Lunenburg, but I don't think you're going to be getting any great Wine Spectator scores any time soon.

I tried. I really tried.

It's kind of a theme here, but Lunenburg is a cute little fishing town. I walked around and explored a bit, had a giant plate of fish & chips, and ended up on a street with three independent bookstores. Of course I went in and bought three books just to add to the pile of books I already brought from home for this trip. I have no self control when it comes to books. I will not apologize.

While the lady at the information center did me dirty on the winery recommendation, she did me right by telling me that Lightship Brewing is an excellent spot to get a picture of all of downtown.

I didn't even scratch the surface when it comes to Nova Scotia. I am sure you can spend two weeks here and just travel the loop around the island exploring, but I'm OK with the taste I got. It's actually kind of shocking that I'd even go on a trip, that *I* would even plan a trip where the only things that are actually planned are a) what city I will be in and 2) where I am sleeping that night. It is SO NOT ME. I am a planner by nature, but hey, if I hadn't done it this way I wouldn't be here at all! So, each morning I look at the map and see what looks cool to do for the day and I just go to that.

Cheers to you, Nova Scotia!

xoxo

iamfunchris