hauteboy

After finally completing my goal of visiting every country a few years ago, I've been slowly visiting some of the 'countries' on the Traveler's Century Club List. North America was fairly slim on TCC destinations, with only Canada, Mexico and the USA. There were also two additional places, Prince Edward Island and St. Pierre et Miquelon. St. Pierre is the last bit remaining of French colonial territory just off the coast of Newfoundland. It is accessible via ferry or flights from St. John, Halifax or Montreal. I went to the Travelers Century Club meeting in Dallas a few months ago and there was a couple who had just visited them, so that inspired me to make a quick visit over Labor Day weekend.

Air Canada has flights from Austin to Toronto that leave at 4:45PM, it turned out we had an offsite that Friday so I could bail early. Unfortunately the flights didn't leave enough time to connect to Charlottetown, requiring an overnight in Toronto. I noticed that there was a later flight to Moncton, New Brunswick, that got in at 2:16AM (ugh). Coming back, there was award availability on an early flight from St. John or Halifax that would get me into San Antonio by 11AM. The St. Pierre flights though only go certain days of week. After trying to play around with the flight times I decided to rule out visiting Newfoundland this trip. There was a roundtrip from Halifax to St. Pierre the Sunday evening, returning Monday morning. Wouldn't give me a lot of time there unfortunately, and likely all the restaurants would be closed when I arrived. Accommodations were also an issue, not much shows up when booking online. Just a few days before I left on the trip, I had checked my emails and the hotel had written back saying they only supported 2 night-bookings! I had to scramble to find another reservation, emailing all of the guesthouses and hotels. Most weren't available or required multi-night bookings but was able to secure a reservation at the Auberge Quatre Temps.

So the trip was coming together. Three full days in the Maritimes with one night each in Moncton, Prince Edward Island, St. Pierre and Halifax. Since the flight to St. Pierre left so late in the evening I debated leaving PEI very early via the ferry and driving up to the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island. However that would involve probably 10 hrs driving (not that I mind). I then started looking for World Heritage Sites in Canada and noticed there were three listed in Nova Scotia, Joggins Fossil Cliffs, Grand Pre and Old Town Lunenburg. The Cliffs were on the Bay of Fundy and were on the way from PEI to Halifax.



Here's links to some of my other trip blogs

2005
Peru/Ecuador[#49]/Galapagos: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...agos-trip.html
Mongolia[#52]/Caucasus: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...-mtskheta.html

2007
Andaman Islands (India): http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...a-ixz-maa.html
St Vincent [#68], Grenada, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...h-guianas.html
North Korea[#76]: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...oryo-trip.html

2008
Ethiopia[#78]: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...-airlines.html
Central America: Honduras[#88], El Salvador, Nicaragua http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...a-managua.html

2009
St. Petersburg, Baltics and Belarus[#94]: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...d-st-pete.html
Canadian Rockies: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...n-rockies.html

2010
West Africa: Ghana, Benin [#102], Togo, Mali, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...ir-france.html
Guam, Palau [#111], Micronesia: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...n-pacific.html

2011
Lebanon [#115], Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Bangladesh: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...atar-econ.html
Pakistan [#122], Afghanistan: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...ord-iah-y.html

2012
Nigeria [#126], Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...al-guinea.html
Central Asia -stans, Iraq[#136], southern Balkans: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...q-balkans.html
Iran [#141], Turkey: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...gallipoli.html
South Korea, Myanmar: A journey of a thousand (and then some) steps: Jeju and Myanmar (RGN fare)

2013
Yemen [#142], Djibouti, Somaliland, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...land-more.html
Saudi Arabia [#147], Eritrea: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...a-eritrea.html
Sudan [#149], Congos, Angola, Cape Verde, Sao Tome: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...go-angola.html

2014
Algeria [#155], Tunisia: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...unisair-j.html
Fiji [#157], Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...nuatu-png.html
Malta [#162]: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...lh-j-km-j.html
Lesotho [#163], South Africa, Swaziland: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...ther-coup.html
Romania [#165], Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, Okinawa: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...nh-y-oz-y.html
Madagascar [#171], Mauritius, Reunion, Mayotte, Comoros: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...mk-y-uu-y.html

2015
Maldives [#174] South Sudan via Maldives: NH F Square, TG A380 F, AI 787 Y, ET 787 Y, LH A380 Y
Chad [#175], Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Niger: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...gal-niger.html
Poland [#181], Ukraine: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...auschwitz.html
Moldova [#182], Transdniester, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...ng-europe.html
Central African Republic [#186]: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...-republic.html
Courthouses of Texas: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...urthouses.html

2016
Gambia [#188], Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Sudan: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...st-africa.html
Fernando de Noronha, Brazil: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...blue-azul.html
Cuba: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...monterrey.html
Samoa [#195], Tuvalu, Nauru: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...countries.html
Channel Islands: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...-j-gr-y-y.html

2017
Haiti: Long weekend in Haiti
Namibia, Kenya, Uganda: Sand Dunes and Safari, A trip to Namibia, Kenya and Uganda

2018
Ecuador: Long weekend in Ecuador. AA AUS-MIA-UIO/CUE-MIA-AUS
Tunisia, Sicily, Provence: Spring Break in Tunisia, Lampedusa, Sicily and Provence. UA/LH/TU/M4/FR/EZ/BA
Tibet, China: 10 days in China. Tibet, Sanya and Guilin! All three alliances Y UA/CA/MU/HU/KA/AA

hauteboy

Aug 31, 2018
Flight: Austin, TX (AUS) to Toronto, Canada (YYZ); Air Canada; E90 economy
Flight: Toronto, Canada (YYZ) to Moncton, Canada (YQM); Air Canada; DHC-8 economy
Hotel: Fairfield Inn and Suites; Moncton, Canada; points
We had our offsite movie at work today (Mission Impossible). I had already seen the movie and had to skip out at 2:30 to make it to the airport on time. Since it was a holiday weekend I was worried a bit about security lines. The drive to the airport was easy on the TX130 toll road and I was at the airport by 3PM. However all of the parking lots were full/blocked and ended up having to park out in the boonies at 'overflow' parking. Austin airport has grown considerably and they're adding in a new 6000-space parking garage.

Despite the full lots, surprisingly there was no line through TSA Precheck and even the regular security line wasn't that bad. I headed to the United lounge to wait a bit as now I had about a 45 minute wait before boarding. On the way to the gate I noticed a United A320 in 'A320 Friend Ship' livery.



AC AUS-YYZ


Austin airport lineup

On takeoff I got a good view out over the Circuit of the Americas (F1) racetrack. The flight to Toronto was about 3h20m. On arrival to Pearson Airport there are signs directing you to domestic, Canada->USA or international flights. Though the normal route must have been closed as the agent directed some of us back into the main terminal, then into an immigration line. Then had to catch a bus over to the domestic gates. Although we had arrived early with the delay in immigration and waiting for the bus, it would have been too late for the Charlottetown flight, so good thing I didn't try for that flight.


Circuit of the Americas

I was a bit hungry now so stopped at Tim Hortons for a coffee fix and sandwich. Then up to the Maple Leaf lounge, it was still fairly busy despite being almost 10PM. Where I should have charged my phone as it turns out.

The flight to Moncton left on time and uneventful. Despite the flight arriving at 2:15AM all the rental car counters were closed. I'd made a points booking at the Fairfield Inn and a car for the next morning at 8:30. I called the hotel on the courtesy phone to arrange the shuttle. I was outside waiting for awhile but was standing behind a SUV when I noticed the shuttle on the other side of it pulling away! I chased after it but he was already gone. By now my phone had died and went back into the terminal to call the shuttle again. By now all the taxis had left and I was the only one left at the terminal! Luckily the shuttle came back in a few minutes and I crashed soon after checking in.


AC YYZ-YQM

Fairfield Inn & Suites Moncton

hauteboy

Sep 1, 2018
Hotel: Cavendish Motel; Cavendish, PE, Canada; $77
Despite arriving late I was up by 7AM this morning and had finished breakfast by 8AM. I caught the shuttle back to the airport but there were already a few customers in line ahead of me at the Thrifty rental counter. However it moved quickly and I was on my way by 8:40AM. They had upgraded me to a SUV with Nova Scotia plates. Thrifty had the lowest one-way charge and since I was dropping in Halifax I was doing them a favor!

It was an absolutely gorgeous clear day and the cool air felt great after the scorching summer in Austin. I drove out north from the airport along NB15 towards Shediac. The shuttle driver mentioned there might be traffic going across the bridge, people heading to PEI for the last hurrah of summer, but the road was nearly empty. Even when I turned onto NB16 towards the Confederation bridge, traffic was light. I stopped at the turnout just before the bridge to get my first view of the bridge. The two-lane Confederation bridge is 13km long and only completed in 1997. There is a toll but only paid when leaving the island. The only other access to PEI is the ferry from Caribou to Wood Islands.

First view of Confederation Bridge

I reached the other end of the bridge by 9:45AM and stopped at the small park in Borden-Carleton. There was a small lighthouse here and a great view of the bridge. The town was pretty touristy with shops and restaurants. I had researched a few places to eat and was looking for the Handpie Company. It was showing on Google Maps but must have moved (now it is showing as CLOSED). Instead I grabbed an ice cream at the Cows Creamery. They had quite a few flavors to choose from and I picked the PEI Apple Crisp.



other end of bridge. Blah didn't realize speck on lens until later



Cows Ice Cream


Cows Ice Cream

There was another listing for the Handpie Company in nearby Albany, so headed there next. I guess with their success they have bought a new factory building. They had a few selections of Cornish pasty/empanadas. I chose the 'Breakfast All Day' which had scrambled egg, maple sausage and baked beans, and a Acadian Pork Tourtiere. The Breakfast All Day was delicious and very filling and was only able to finish half of the pork one.






I didn't really have any fixed plans for the day and decided to take my time driving towards Charlottetown. There was a 'Red Sands' route that followed the southern coast. I drove back towards Borden-Carleton before turning off onto route 10. It was a nice drive, going through farmland and small communities. I pulled off on some side roads to see if I could get a good view of the bridge, though most ended in private property.


Victoria-by-the-Sea was my first stop, a former seaport village. It was a bit touristy with cafes, restaurants, gift shops, etc. I walked around town which only took a few minutes. I stopped at Island Chocolates and had an iced coffee and chocolate-covered blueberry. The Lonely Planet dared me to eat just one, and I did. On the east side of town was a small park with access to the red sand beach.


Victoria-by-the-Sea


PEI Potatoes


Biggest tree in PEI



Island Chocolates




From Victoria I continued along the coastal road but got boring after awhile and cut it short for the drive into Charlottetown, arriving about 1PM. The old part of town had some gorgeous Victorian houses painted in different colors. I had arrived just too late for the city tour bus as I saw it pulling away as I was parking at Confederation Landing. Charlottetown is where Canada was born, in different representatives from Quebec and British colonies came in 1864 to hash out the details of confederation.

The Visitor Center had a walking map with different routes, which were easy to follow with painted stripes on the sidewalk. I picked the red Heritage route, a 3.km walk which led past the cathedral, Province House and through some of the old neighborhoods. Charlottetown had a nice small town feel to it and parts of it reminded me of some Pittsburgh neighborhoods. After finishing the walk I stopped for another iced coffee at the waterfront.











It was about 3PM now so still had plenty of time to get up to New Glasgow for dinner. I decided to make a detour and drive through PEI National Park on the way. There were two prices a 'drive through' price or a day pass valid until the next day for $7.80. I chose the day pass since that would allow me to hike some of the trails. The first stop was at Dalvay Beach. There was a huge parking lot here so in summer this place must be packed. There were a few people here sitting in the sand and a few people were even swimming. The clouds had moved in a bit though so had to wait until the sun came out again.

Dalvay Beach



I continued along the Gulf Shore Parkway to the Covehead Harbor lighthouse. The park was very narrow at this point, basically just includes the beach and dunes. The ligthouses in PEI are tiny and square-shaped. I still had some time and the lighting was gorgeous so continued through the park to Robinson Island. Brackley Beach must be popular as the parking lot there looked quite full. Robinson Island had a 3+km hike/bike trail. I wasn't sure if I'd do the whole thing or not but it was a gorgeous walk through the trees. There were a few lookouts over the lagoon.




Robinson Island





By the time I finished the hike my legs were sore and I was starving. I drove the 20 minutes to New Glasgow Lobster Suppers, arriving just before 6PM. The parking lot was already packed and there was a line out the door, smelling the town aroma of cow ..... The Lobster Suppers are served in a huge dining hall, you pick what sized lobster you want and pay ahead of time. It includes all you can eat mussels, chowder, rolls & sides and also comes with dessert. It took about 40 minutes to get a table. You can only make reservations for large groups apparently. I went with a 1.5 pounder but they had up to 4lbs available! The waitress asked if I wanted a half or full bucket of mussels... I'd picked a half sized which was still huge!








Now completely stuffed, I headed to my hotel in nearby Cavendish. I'd booked the Cavendish Motel with a hotels.com credit. The room was clean and fine and turns out the motel was sold out for the evening! I walked across the street to the convenience store to get a drink and noticed there were fireworks being set off at the nearby Marco Polo campground, they went on for a good 15 minutes!

hauteboy

Sep 2, 2018
Flight: Halifax, NS, Canada (YHZ) to St. Pierre et Miquelon (FSP); Air St. Pierre; ATR72 economy
Hotel: Auberge Quatre Temps; St. Pierre; 88 EUR
Today was going to be another long day, waking up in PEI, driving to Halifax, then flying to St. Pierre this evening. It was another gorgeous clear day this morning. The motel didn't have a restaurant so I asked about a good place. They said something that sounds like 'Shady Vaughns' but turned out to be Chez Yvonne. I was just in time as soon after I ordered a group of 70 foreign exchange students and their hosts arrived!

Before leaving PEI I planned to visit the Anne of Green Gables Heritage place. Though a fictional story it was based on places in and around Cavendish. The house didn't open until 9AM though so I still had some time. I drove up to the beach north of Cavendish for a bit before arriving at the heritage place right as it opened. It is part of the National Park but charges an extra entrance fee. There is a huge parking lot and they were in the process of building a new welcome center. And the house was surrounded by a golf course, so didn't quite seem so authentic anymore! There are lots of other green gable houses throughout PEI. The house itself was fairly small and takes just a few minutes to walk through.


Cavendish Motel



Green Gables Heritage Place







After visiting the house, I walked down a few of the hiking trails following the creek. There were quotes from Lucy Maud Montgomery along the trail. Arrived back at the house by 10AM. 'Anne' was now here. I find her portrayals in the video versions I've seen to be annoying and this one was too, heh. Mrs. hauteboy was a bit mad that I visited here without her though since she and miss hauteboy are more fans than I am! I definitely think PEI is worth another visit in the future so will have to come back with them another time.

Next, I set out for the drive back to the bridge and to the Joggins Fossil Cliffs. Google Maps had it about 2hr drive. I passed the Handpie Company again and stopped to get a PEI Pasty for the road. Arrived at the toll booth about 11AM, 25 hrs after arriving in PEI. There was a bit of a line but it moved quickly (except my lane of course). I got stuck behind a slow RV for the entire length of the bridge and there was a fair bit of traffic until Port Elgin.

Tollbooth Leaving PEI

Finally got on the Trans-Canada Highway and crossed into Nova Scotia before turning south towards the cliffs. The drive took about 30 minutes, arriving about 12:20. The Cliffs are a prolific site for finding fossils from the Carboniferous era. They are located on the Bay of Fundy, which has the highest tides in the world, over 33 feet between low and high tides. The welcome center offers different tours of the cliffs or you can walk down on your own. There was a 2 hr tour set to depart at 12:30 but it was already full. The next 30-minute tour left at 1pm. I decided to walk down to the beach as the clouds were moving in. The tours are recommended as otherwise you don't really know what you're looking at. I caught the tail end of the 12:00 tour and heard the explanations and saw some of the fossilized leaves and tree trunks. I decided not to bother with the 1pm tour after all and went through the museum before heading off for the drive to Halifax.










It was now past 1PM, with a 2 hr drive to Halifax. My flight to St. Pierre left at 8PM. So didn't really leave a lot of time to see much else that afternoon. I thought about going into Halifax but by the time I got near the airport I was fighting staying awake. Pulled in at a rest stop to have a bit of a nap, I barely fall asleep when a RV pulls up next to me and they left their yipping dog in it, ugh. I pull into a new spot and passed out for nearly an hour.

It's after 4PM now so I figure just go to the airport and hang out. Originally I was returning my car, then picking up a new one tomorrow morning. But the upgrade from Moncton was a nice SUV and I planned on going cheap and sleeping in the car my last night since the flight left so early. So I pulled into the car rental return but asked if I could extend the rental an extra day. It was cheaper than having to rent the next day but ended up paying airport parking so it was a bit of a wash.



I checked in for my Air Saint-Pierre flight and was through security quickly. No Priority Pass lounge unfortunately so I had a long wait ahead. The flight boarded on time. The ATR72 flight from Halifax took about 75 minutes to fly to France! Immigration was quick and I met my hotel transfer. When we first landed I had picked up a cell phone signal but apparently it was coming from Newfoundland (which was in a different time zone 30 minutes ahead of St. Pierre). The streets were quiet and dark as we drove across town to the Auberge... though 'across town' was all of 2 miles even from the airport.



I dropped my bags in the room then set out to walk around a bit since I was only here for 12 hrs. Everything was closed though on a Sunday night, even the bars. The town population is about 6700, the houses are painted bright colors. It didn't feel very French 'colonial' though like New Orleans, Haiti or parts of West Africa.

hauteboy

Sep 3, 2018
Flight: St. Pierre (FSP) to Halifax, Canada (YHZ); Air St. Pierre; ATR72 economy
I didn't have much time this morning as my flight left at 11AM. After a breakfast of croissants and baguettes I set out walking around town. The Auberge was at the upper end of town and I noticed a nearby trail heading up the hill to a belvedere which gave a good view out over the town. Still very quiet this morning as I walked back down the hill into town.





I wandered about 4kms in total, visiting the Calvary Cross, Monument aux Morts and the cemetery before arriving back to the hotel by 9AM. I asked about shuttle to airport and if he could drive me around the rest of the island. Instead he recommended a taxi tour, which took a few more minutes to arrive. Normally the tour lasts 1h15 but I only had 40 minutes! But I'd already seen a fair bit of town so it was the express tour. The taxi driver spoke good English as he'd lived in Canada for many years. We drove out to Cap Broussard with a view across to Langlade island, then to the ATM as I didn't have any Euro. The driver pointed out the old airport runway. The 'new' airport was almost 20 years old, built with a longer runway to support direct flights to France, which only ended up starting this year. The weekly flight only ran in the summer and sold out quickly. As we were coming back to the airport, the tiny plane from Miquelon was arriving.

















There was already a long line for checkin for the Halifax flight. Security and immigration were quick though, it was the only flight today other than Miquelon! Flight was on time and after takeoff the pilot gave us a scenic tour, backtracking across the ithsmus between Miquelon and Langlade islands. Miquelon only has a population of 500 or so and is mainly descendents from Acadians after they were kicked out by the British. Other Acadians went to Louisiana and became 'Cadiens -> Cajuns.










On arrival in Halifax there was a fairly long line for immigration. I picked up the rental car and started the drive towards Grand-Pré, one of the other UNESCO World Heritage sites. It was sunny blue skies in Halifax but had become overcast by the time I reached Grand-Pré an hour later. This was a former Acadian settlement dating from 1680 on the Bay of Fundy. The settlers had used a series of dikes and valves to drain the salt marshes for agriculture. The settlers were eventually expelled by the British during the French and Indian wars. The site became a World Heritage site in 2012.

There is a small museum here describing how the settlers reclaimed the marshes, and a nearby memorial garden and chruch. There is a statue of Evangeline here, from the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem about the Acadian Expulsion. Neat history but kinda meh on interesting things to see.



Evangeline Statue





Next, I decided to drive towards Lunenburg, the last UNESCO site in Nova Scotia. This was an old British seaside town dating from the 1750s. As I was leaving Grand-Pre, a truck threw up a rock and chipped my windshield! The drive took about 75 minutes. The route was cloudy all the way but cleared up again right as I arrived into town. The old town is 6x7 square blocks and was fairly touristy. There are several companies here offering cruises around the harbor but had just missed the 3:30pm one.

I was fairly hungry now too and had lunch at the Old Fish Factory. The wind had kicked up and was knocking over umbrellas and glasses! I had a lobster roll and half-dozen oysters, yum! Spent awhile longer wandering around town, stopping for an ice cream. The houses were gorgeous, most had a plaque describing when the house was built and who owned it. Most had a characteristic 'Lunenburg dormer' window on the top floor. I was debating taking one of the later afternoon cruises. I found a sign that said where the UNESCO monument was, and glad I did as there was a photo there of the Lunenburg academy. This was a gorgeous building on the hill west of town.












I finally left Lunenburg after 6PM for the drive back to Halifax, taking the slightly slower route via Mahone Bay. It was already getting a bit late to visit Halifax itself, and most of the restaurants I checked out were going to be closed by the time I arrived, especially after stopping at a Tim Hortons for a catnap and coffee. I just decided to skip visiting the city itself for another time and found a fish & chips place open on the way back to the airport. I filled up the tank then just parked in the gas station lot to sleep for the night.

Out of my Element

Great report and great pix. I've always wondered about those French Islands and now I know more!

hauteboy

Sep 4, 2018
Flight: Halifax, Canada (YHZ) to Toronto, Canada (YYZ); Air Canada; economy
Flight: Toronto, Canada (YYZ) to San Antonio, TX (SAT); Air Canada; economy
Already my trip was almost over. I slept a lot better than expected, waking up about 3:45AM and driving the short distance to the car rental return. The office was closed so I dropped the keys in the box... I figured I would get a repair bill later for the windshield crack.

Once through security it was too early even for the Maple Leaf lounge but Tim Hortons was open of course and I spent the rest of my CAD on a breakfast sandwich and coffee. The flight to Toronto left on time. It took awhile to get through security and US preclearance even with Global Entry. So that didn't leave me much time once I got to the Maple Leaf lounge. I'd hoped to have a shower but both of them were in use. The Priority Pass lounge supposedly had showers too but must have been under renovation as there was only a temporary lounge area.

The flight to San Antonio was showing on time until we approached Waco then did a big looping detour to the southeast over Victoria before landing from the southwest.. there was a big thunderstorm cell just to the east of the airport. The San Antonio airport renovations are complete and now they have a car rental center in the garage instead of shuttles to remote lots, so that made picking up my car quicker. I drove to Austin, passing through the thunderstorm and lucked out with traffic, even going through downtown Austin wasn't bad. I was back at work by 1PM after a crazy 4 day trip.

757

Wow, what a trip! Looks like you had a great time and great photos. My wife and I were actually considering a trip to PEI this year, but decided to visit Ontario instead. It looks beautiful where you were - and that water in each of your pictures look chilly!

Thanks for sharing.

hauteboy

Thank you! I really lucked out with the weather overall which helped with the photos! I'm definitely going to revisit PEI at some point.

1P

Great TR! Thanks for it, I've often wondered about that little bit of France off the Canadian coast....

AJO

Great report, thanks for sharing! FSP has been high on my list, especially since the CDG-FSP flights commenced this year.

Antonio8069

As a Canuck who has visited St. Pierre et Miquelon, hats off for a fantastic TR! The photos are great, showing the true heritage value of the area. Did you see the gendarmes in France with their cute hats?
I had to laugh at the expectation of a PP lounge in YQM! Also, its common knowledge that PEI is deserted by Labour Day i.e. whoever said there would be a crowd on the bridge was delusional!
For other FTs considering a similar trip, I have a possible add on. From Souris, PEI, you take a ferry to Iles de la Madeleine. Its a long island in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, in Quebec with stunning scenery and ferocious wind! We seem to be the only Anglos in Canada who visit the place. Its truly special.

hauteboy

St. Pierre was pretty dead overall, though to be fair it was a short visit at night/morning.... didn't really get to see anyone on the streets. I've seen the police in Pondicherry, India which still wear the kepis.

There were still quite a few tourists in PEI, at least at the Lobster Supper (or were they locals?) and my hotel and others were full up in Cavendish at least.

I actually was looking at Iles de Madeline, I'd never heard of them before but Air St. Pierre ran a route there this year. It had already ended on Aug 20th. Logistics with the rental car would have been tough anyway to go that route with the time I had.

Yes they sold out very quickly from what I heard. Hopefully they will offer again next year.

It's an interesting quirk of political geography for sure!

deuce1

Loved this report -- the colors are amazing!