Travel with kids – Audrey's 74 A blog by Giulia Doyle Tue, 31 Jan 2017 21:28:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.1.17 Miami /2015/11/10/miami/ Tue, 10 Nov 2015 13:44:11 +0000 http://www.audrey74.com/?p=3903 Miami 3Those of you that follow me on Instagram saw that we escaped Ottawa a few weeks ago for some Miami sun. It was a wonderful week filled with lots of swimming at the pool and beach, celebrating my birthday, the zoo, some local exploring, meeting up with an old friend from high-school and eating more food than we probably should. Our hotel was amazing – not only was it beautifully decorated, but the staff were helpful, friendly and just all around superb. I’m ready to go back any time!Miami 2  Miami 5 Miami 6 Miami 7 Miami 8 Miami 4Miami 1Miami 9Where we stayed, played and ate:

Photos by Giulia Doyle and Bruno Doyle

 

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Prince Edward County /2015/09/05/prince-edward-county/ Sat, 05 Sep 2015 17:21:05 +0000 http://www.audrey74.com/?p=3835 Prince Edward County Giulia DoylePrince Edward County Giulia DoylePrince Edward County Giulia DoylePrince Edward County Giulia DoylePrince Edward County Giulia DoylePrince Edward County Giulia DoylePrince Edward County Giulia DoylePrince Edward County Giulia DoylePrince Edward County Giulia DoyleBack in July we decided to take a week and spend it in Prince Edward County. It really is a wonderful place just two plus hour drive from us. Farms, vineyards, great food, amazing beaches, cute boutiques and lots of makers. We enjoyed perfect weather, toured the area and couldn’t get enough of the water and great food.

I’ve written a lot about PEC already on this blog, so these pictures will do all the talking this time. Just another new stop since we stopped by last time that is worth eating at – The Drake Devonshire Hotel in Wellington!

Prince Edward County Giulia Doyle

 

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Dominican Republic – Samana /2015/03/02/dominican-republic-samana/ Mon, 02 Mar 2015 13:43:32 +0000 http://www.audrey74.com/?p=3561 Dominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleWe took a much needed break from the Arctic cold and headed south to Samana in the Dominican Republic. This area is less developed than other areas in the country and only has four hotels. I don’t usually book all inclusive, but this year an easy warm vacation seemed like the right thing to do. We didn’t regret it! The hotel was very nice, the food was quite good, the staff was amazing, the amenities great and we had a wonderful room.Dominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleDR 14We mostly hung out at the beach and pool. The kids enjoyed the water immensely, however, we decided to head out on a whale watching tour, since all the humpback whales were in Samana bay for birthing and mating. Seeing the animals that close was amazing. The Dominican Republic is part of a huge research program related to the humpback whales, with very limited tourist visits and detailed tracking of the whales.Dominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleNext up a full-day excursion of the peninsula, visiting a school, plantations, marble quarries, small towns, road side restaurants and more beaches of course. It was a wonderful break from the cold. All of us loved it! Enjoy the photo overload!Dominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoyleDominican Republic Giulia DoylePhotos by Giulia Doyle and Bruno Doyle 

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Our trip to Spain /2014/08/23/our-trip-to-spain/ Sat, 23 Aug 2014 06:05:31 +0000 http://www.audrey74.com/?p=3169 Spain Audrey'sWe returned from our summer vacation 6 weeks ago, and finally I put aside some time to go through our Spain pictures. Our three weeks away really gave us a lot of images to go through. You can see our Switzerland pictures here and here.

After our visit in Zurich, we flew to Barcelona. We decided to visit my dear university friend, who lives outside the city. I wanted to finally meet her kids (time flies) and she had yet to meet Desmond. As you can imagine we enjoyed the beautiful warm weather, the ocean, had great food and the perfect host. Time went by way too fast and I was sorry to leave.Spain Audrey's Spain 2 Spain 3 Spain 4We hung around the beach one day and enjoyed the board walk. My kids also jumped into the pool, which the locals thought was way too cold, but Canadian kids thought was perfectly fine. We also had the perfect guided tour of Barcelona. But unfortunately we left behind our ‘good’ camera and got to wander the city without the distraction of taking photos. Our tour was at a perfect pace with lots of stops at great food places. If you want to read about Suzy’s food adventures, you’ll find a lot of information on Foodie in Barcelona.
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After a couple of days at the Mediterranean we packed up the car and drove across the country to the Atlantic.The landscape really changed during our drive. We went from hilly to flat and more barren and then in the basque country the mountains peaked and everything turned lush and green. We made a quick stop in Pamplona on the way to San Sebastian. Pamplona is a very pretty city and it was in a frenzy getting ready for the Run of the Bulls, which was starting the next day. Truth be told, I was glad to miss that spectacle, which I don’t think I’d have the stomach for. Spain Audrey's Spain 32 Spain 33We arrived in San Sebastian in the evening and were a little surprised by the crowds in this rather small city. There was a lot of chaotic traffic and many European tourists since our apartment was smack dab in the middle of the old town. We were close to all the amazing restaurants, the beach, the boardwalk and other sites. Talk about being where the action is! Plus the world cup was going on, so you can just imagine the loud crowds late at night, cheering for their respective teams!
Spain Audrey'sSpain Audrey's Spain 9 Spain 10The weather in San Sebastian was very fickle. We had lots of drizzle, some rain, cool temperatures and sporadic sun shine. As soon as the sun came out we would head to the beach, which was just around the corner from our apartment. We also noticed that a lot of locals took advantage of the beach during their lunch hour or after work. I love how big the beach was and how it’s surrounded by many historic buildings.Spain 11On rainy days we visited the aquarium, wandered the old town and ate amazing food at many of the great tapas/pintxo restaurants. San Sebastian really is a mekka for food. We also didn’t miss our daily intake of gelato, trying to compensate for the drizzly weather.Spain Audrey'sSpain 12spain audrey'sSpain 13Spain 14Spain Audrey'sSo much good food! We loved the pintxo, but also had very good fish, meat and naturally tried some paella. The wine was good and cheap and the quality of our meals was amazing. We also took advantage of the fresh food markets, bought fresh caught fish and farm fresh vegetables and cooked some of our meals at the apartment.Spain 16Spain 20On another rainy day we took the funicular up monte igueldo, which turns out to be a home to the historic lighthouse, but got turned into an amusement park 100 years ago by the queen. It was fun to see the views of San Sebastian from above, fun for the kids to drive bumper boats, enjoy a roller coaster and other attractions. This is the only place in San Sebastian where the food was terrible, and we could not believe that in a tourist spot like this, siesta was fully enforced with all the rides shutting down for 2.5 hours! We took the bus to base of the funicular, but I walked back along the beach boardwalk and it only took me 30 minutes to get back to our apartment.Spain 26Spain 27Spain 28One day on our visit we decided to cross the border and dip into France. We drove to St. Jean de Luz, which funny enough had a completely different feel than 20 minutes south in Spain. It’s a small beach town, it has a lovely little downtown by the port with restaurants, art displays and stores. People were very friendly. We had crepes and gaufre (waffles) with whipped cream and I felt transported back to when I was in La Rochelle as a 13 year old!Spain Audrey's Spain 23 Spain 24At the beach there was this very fun kids play area set up. There were zip lines, trampolines, play structures and other circusy type attractions along with old fashioned fuzzball tables. Since it was too cold to swim, the kids took advantage of these great attractions and zipped around with the well dressed french kids.Spain 25This truly was a great trip and I think it really was worth going for such an extended time. Our kids really enjoyed it as well and talk about many parts of our trip. I can’t wait to go back.Spain Audrey'sSpain Audrey'sPhotos by Giulia Doyle and Bruno Doyle

 

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A trip to Switzerland Part 2 /2014/08/06/a-trip-to-switzerland-part-2/ Wed, 06 Aug 2014 13:06:36 +0000 http://www.audrey74.com/?p=3106 Maienfeld Audrey'sI’m back with the second batch of my Switzerland photos! I still had trouble narrowing them down, so here’s another picture heavy post. On a particularly rainy day up in Flims, we decided to drive down into the valley to a small town called Maienfeld. I lived in Maienfeld for several years as a tween and teenager and it was very interesting to go back to the old stomping ground and show my kids where I went to school, the path I walked home, the small town square and expansive vineyards.Maienfeld 2.jpgMaienfeld is an odd little town. It's the third city on the Rhein because it has remnants of the historic city wall. While it's history shows it as an important city back in the day, with the town hall, the castle and many historic buildings, it also has a farming community surrounding it. Both worlds seem to collide in one small place and you can find a majestic vineyard mansion and turn the corner and see a working farm next to the elementary school. Maienfeld 3.jpgMaienfeld Audrey'sMaienfeld is an odd little town. It’s the third city on the Rhein because it has remnants of the historic city wall. While it’s history shows it as an important city back in the day –  the town hall, the castle and many historic buildings – it also has a farming community surrounding it. Both worlds seem to collide in one small place and you can find a majestic vineyard mansion and turn the corner and see a working farm next to the elementary school. Maienfeld Audrey'sMaienfeld 4.jpgMaienfeld Audrey'sMaienfeld Audrey's Maienfeld 5.jpgDue to it’s favourable climate and south facing hills, Maienfeld is a large wine producing region in Switzerland. I remember enjoying wonderful fall weather, which would help the grapes ripen to their full potential. I also remember picking those sticky grapes, one of the toughest jobs I ever had. We only stayed in town for the afternoon, strolling from street to street and picking up some wine at my old winery. It was lovely to be back.Maienfeld 6.jpg Maienfeld 7.jpgMaienfeld Audrey's Maienfeld 10.jpg Maienfeld 12.jpgOur last stop was Zurich. We stayed at my mom’s apartment and explored the city a little. We didn’t overdue it, just walked the streets one day and visited the zoo the next day. Other than that we met up with a few of my friends and spent some quality time together as a family. Probably the place I miss most in Switzerland is Zurich. It’s the city I spent part of my adult life in, where I got my first real job, my own apartment, where I have friends and an identity shaped outside of my family unit. It’s a really beautiful city and has so much to offer.Zurich Audrey's Zurich 2 Zurich 3 Zurich 4 Zurich 5My kids were fascinated by all the fountains they found on our trip through Switzerland. They took every opportunity to drink some water! This concludes our Swiss leg of our Europe trip. I’ll share photos from our visit to Spain soon. I really hope we manage to get back to Switzerland soon, we had the best time!

Photos by Giulia Doyle and Bruno Doyle

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A trip to Switzerland Part 1 /2014/07/23/a-trip-to-switzerland-part-1/ Wed, 23 Jul 2014 13:30:41 +0000 http://www.audrey74.com/?p=3047 Audrey's SwitzerlandThis summer we decided to bite the bullet and pay for four plane tickets to Europe. Going back home to Switzerland was going to be a big focus of this trip. With our kids being dual citizens we want to make sure they get to know their far-away home a little while growing up – seeing places where their mom grew up, experiencing different foods, high mountains and a different language.

After our long flight to Zurich, we decided to jump straight into a rental car and drive to a small alpine village called Flims, about an hour and a half away from Zurich. It’s where my dad grew up and where I spent many winters and summers as a child. It’s small, quaint and a place many would call typically Swiss – with high mountains, cows and lot’s of cheese.Audrey's Switzerland Audrey's SwitzerlandAbove images are around our rental apartment. Note the year on the first building!

On day one, my sister and her family came up to visit along with my mom. We decided to head up to a mountain valley called Bargis. It turned out it was quite a steep hike! What a way to kick that jet lag. Once we made it up we had a hearty meal and then cooled off in the freezing stream. The kids had a blast and were exhausted after a day in nature. Look at that sky…looks like it goes on forever.Audrey's SwitzerlandAudrey's Switzerlandflims 7Audrey's SwitzerlandAudrey's SwitzerlandAudrey's SwitzerlandAudrey's SwitzerlandOne of my favourite places is the Caumasee. It’s the most beautiful emerald coloured alpine lake. When I was 16, I had a summer job there selling swimming tickets and ice cream at the kiosk. The water is freezing cold, but it’s a great place to spend a summer day, ride a pedalo boat or enjoy the new kids playground. It’s an easy walk from the parking lot, so anybody can get there. The kids had a great time canon balling into the lake from that raft.Audrey's SwitzerlandAudrey's SwitzerlandAudrey's SwitzerlandAudrey's SwitzerlandWhile in the alps I wanted to enjoy more of the view from above. At first we wanted to go up to the glacier, but it turned out the gondola only runs on the weekends in the summer. Instead, we decided to take the chairlift to Foppa and then hike over to Fidaz. It’s a pretty flat hike, while it’s a bit long for our 5 year old, we did get the most beautiful view. Unfortunately the restaurant we were planning to eat lunch at was closed for renovations, so we had to hike a little further for sustenance ;).Audrey's Switzerland
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Another place worth hiking to is Conn. You actually hike down, which doesn’t seem to make sense, and after you’ve hiked down for an hour or so, you end up at these crazy cliffs that go straight down to the Rhein gorge. It’s called the little grand canyon. There’s a really good restaurant there and there’s an observation deck that hangs over the gorge, in case you didn’t get scared enough of the height.While we were there, someone came for lunch with their helicopter. The kids and Bruno decided to take the horse drawn carriage back to the village, while my mom and I walked back with the dogs.

We had an amazing week in the alps. It was incredibly relaxing, the food was amazing, it was great to see old and familiar things and the weather was pretty good.Audrey's SwitzerlandAudrey's Switzerland flims 17Audrey's SwitzerlandAudrey's SwitzerlandPhotos by Giulia Doyle and Bruno Doyle

I have a few more pictures to share with you in a separate post. I decided to split this trip into multiple posts since they are so picture heavy! So, stay tuned for more Switzerland photos and photos from Spain.

 

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New York – New York! /2014/05/14/new-york-new-york/ Wed, 14 May 2014 13:38:52 +0000 http://www.audrey74.com/?p=2865 Audrey's New YorkI mentioned last week that we visited New York. I had a conference to go to and my family joined me a couple of days later to spend the weekend. You can find a couple of the earlier photos on Instagram. Do you follow along?

We were very lucky that the weather was great – it was sunny and warm and we really enjoyed that it allowed us to wander the city without umbrellas and the general hassle of rain in a big city.That being said, visiting Manhattan with a five and six year old can be tricky. We live in a more suburban type city, and while we live very central we have to use the car to get to most places. For that reason my kids are not very enthusiastic urban walkers – add the crowds to the equation and we got a few complaints trying to move from point A to B. While I tried to keep my irritation at bay (walk already kids, come on!), we took advantage of the subway and taxi cabs, which both of them thought was great.

The other challenge I find while visiting large cities with kids, is the balance of seeing/visiting attractions that are interesting for the kids, but also for the adults. We had to make a couple of compromises and at times they were not that interested, but us adults were. I still find it valuable to travel to big urban cities with the kids though, even if play is a bit more challenging and it’s not as easy as going to the beach. Having these experiences I’m sure will be memories they’ll have and it shows them different ways of living, in this case a much more fast paced environment.

I leave you with a bunch of pictures, and you’ll find a list of places we visited, including restaurants below.Audrey's New York
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Circle Line: Great views of the city, easy because you sit. Wait to get on the boat is long and boring for the kids and the tour might be a little long for them. Great opportunity to get some great photos and to see the Statue of Liberty without standing in line and going up.

Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum: My son loved it, my daughter was a little less enthusiastic. Great place to see things up close and have the kids run around. A lot of things are outdoors. We took advantage of our Ottawa museum membership and were able to enter for free.

Central Park Zoo and Central Park: The zoo is small and quaint and the kids really liked it. While it’s not exactly as in the Madagascar movies, the grounds are beautifully maintained and the tropical birds are wonderful to see. We also happened to be there when they were feeding the penguins. We got there at opening time so there was no wait to get in. After the zoo, we wandered the park a little and enjoyed the green space and flowering trees and then stopped by FAO Schwarz to view all the big toys.

American Museum of Natural History: If you decide to visit this museum, note the sheer size of it. Make sure you know what exhibits are on which floor, because there is no way you’ll get to see all of it. I find the museum a little old fashioned and stuffy and maybe even a little run down, but the Dinosaur exhibit is quite good, as are the African animal dioramas and if you can see the large scale whale hanging from the ceiling you’ll like that as well. Also the museum offers great views of Central Park.

Rockefeller Center: We decided to see New York from the top from the Rock, rather than the Empire State building. If you get your tickets ahead of time you have a time slot where you go up. This eliminates waits and line-ups and it great. My husband and I really liked the view, the kids were a little less excited ;). I still believe that seeing the expanse of the city and the park from above is amazing, so I would recommend it.
We also visited the Lego store right off 5th Avenue, which everyone really enjoyed.

Madison Square Park: We played there the first evening and wanted to eat at Shake Shack, but the line-up was too long. The park is a great little spot.

El Camino: Modern Mexican Food. Great Service, loud enough so the kids didn’t bother anyone, no line-up and food was very good.

Vezzo Pizza on Lexington: We were lucky to get a table right away, the line-up started afterwards. Amazing mac&cheese and great thin crust pizza. Very good service as well.

Mangia: Close to Central Park, great service or get your own sandwich place. Food was really good and location was ideal.

Serendipity: We were meeting a friend here and had not realized what a popular place this is. People were lining up to get their picture taken with the quirky interiour. They are famous for their ice-cream desserts. Make a reservation or the wait is quite long. Go for dessert, because that’s what they do well. We also had dinner and the food was fine, but it isn’t cheap. They don’t have a children’s menu, but they offered to split a meal on two plates and serve it with a less spicy sauce.

Le Pain Quotidien: I ate brunch there with my friend and had a great meal and good service. We went to the location close to central park around 10 am on a Monday and didn’t have to wait for a table.

On the list for next time: Brooklyn Bridge and Dumbo, Children’s Art Museum, High Line and Bronx Zoo.

photos taken by Bruno Doyle and Giulia Doyle

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Pumpkinferno /2013/10/11/pumpkinferno/ Fri, 11 Oct 2013 10:16:26 +0000 http://www.audrey74.com/?p=1926 Pumpkinferno Giulia Doyle

Disclaimer: I received a travel stipend and am paid to write about Pumpkinferno by The Great Waterway. This is one of two articles. The articles will also appear on The Great Waterway blog. I chose and organized my own itinerary and all opinions are my own. All photography is my own.

Even though Pumpkinferno is only in its second year, the event is definitely considered a huge success for Upper Canada Village. With 35,000 visitors in their first year, they were looking for ways to improve the festival, making the family-friendly event an even better way to get into the Halloween spirit.

This was the first year we attended and we were lucky enough to  be able to have a guided tour with the manager of customer service and corporate communications. This year the festival uses almost half of the Upper Canada Village space, allowing for crowds to spread out more and giving everyone a chance to admire the multiple installations, featuring close to 7,000 carved pumpkins.

If you attended last year, you’ll recognize installations, but the route has changed and things are set up differently and in a different order. A brand new exhibit called House of Horoscopes, featuring more than 1,000 carved pumpkins in a stunning overhead pumpkin-carved skyscape of stars, constellations and the signs of the zodiac, is the new showcase display of the event.Pumpkinferno Giulia DoylePumpkinferno Giulia Doyle

All the pumpkins (which are faux) were carved by college and university students enrolled in arts programs. They started working on the event in May of this year and carved pumpkins all summer. In addition to the faux pumpkins a rotation of 800 real carved pumpkins are part of the tour – these pumpkins were carved by students in the area and are rotated in over the weeks of the event since they wouldn’t last the full time the festival is on.

While we had the advantage to enter the event without lining up, be aware that lines are long since the event only opens at 7pm. If you can manage to get there later, you won’t have to line up. You can also buy tickets in advance to avoid ticket line-up. We found parking to be really easy and had no issues finding a spot. Since we did attend right at opening hour, the first wave of people was quite intense – meaning we had to keep a close eye on our kids in order not to lose them. Once things spread out a little it was easier to navigate the space.

My kids both loved the pumpkin installations and loved to follow some of the search/count instructions found in the displays. My son has a tendency to want to touch things and run off ahead, so we had to manage that, but going back to the beginning of the walk before leaving, allowed all of us to see the first displays with less people.

As an adult I really enjoyed the event as well – My favourite were the luminary type pumpkins hung in all the trees. I think it’s a great way to extend the season for this historic location and to get into the Halloween spirit without being too scary. It was a special treat for our kids to stay up late and we had a great time.Pumpkinferno Giulia DoyleFestivals and Events Ontario named Pumpkinferno Ontario’s Best New Event earlier this spring, and it is one of three finalists for the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario award for Tourism Event of the Year. You can visit the Pumpkinferno festival at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario from from October 5th to November 3rd, 2013 – 7pm to 10pm on select nights.  You can buy tickets in advance.Pumpkinferno Giulia DoylePumpkinferno Giulia Doyle

Disclaimer: I received a travel stipend and am paid to write about Pumpkinferno by The Great Waterway. This is one of two articles. The articles will also appear on The Great Waterway blog. I chose and organized my own itinerary and all opinions are my own. All photography is my own.

 

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A Cape Cod Vacation /2013/08/26/1632/ Mon, 26 Aug 2013 09:36:54 +0000 http://www.audrey74.com/?p=1632 Cape Cod - Audrey'sWe loved it so much last year, that we went back to Cape Cod this summer. There’s something about that place – it relaxes you immediately and everyone is content, happy and friendly. We did some of the same things as last year and a couple of new things and it ended up being the perfect vacation – I didn’t want it to end.Cape Cod Audreys Cape Cod Audreys 3 Cape Cod Audreys 23The weather was great all week, except for one rainy day. We started off with the small beach five minutes from our rental cottage. We brought our bikes this year, so zipping to the beach was a breeze. We enjoyed the sun, the water and had to collect our shells.Cape Cod Audreys Cape Cod Audreys 7This was our rental cottage. It was wonderful and perfect size for the 7 people staying there (we went with my mom and my grandparents). The house was completely renovated and the owner appointed it with lovely things – the perfect combination of old charm with modern conveniences. Plus a very large yard at the end of a long driveway, so the kids could play safely. Cape Cod Audreys Cape Cod Audreys 5 Cape Cod Audreys 8The amazing thing about Cape Cod are the beaches – there are many of them – a lot of small ones, some larger ones – ones on the bay, others on the Atlantic. We made sure to check out a couple of them. Both Maëlle and Desmond enjoyed the water and were not afraid to dive right into the salty waves.Cape Cod Audreys Cape Cod Audreys 15 Cape Cod Audreys 22One day we spent at Nauset beach, which was on the Atlantic facing part of the cape. While the beach is very popular and very crowded – the water is crystal clear, the waves are much bigger and people are having a ton of fun with their boogie boards. We were told that weekends are crazy and that the parking lot fills up by 9 am! The kids got a Frisbee with their lunch, which made for great entertainment and exercise.Cape Cod Audreys Cape Cod Audreys 13 Cape Cod Audreys 21Right past main street Chatham, there’s the lighthouse beach. While we didn’t spend the day there, we visited while the sun was setting and caught some of the pink skies. Maëlle’s neon pink dress was glowing in the dark and I had to fiddle with the camera settings quite a while to capture what I was really seeing.Cape Cod Audreys Cape Cod Audreys 16 Cape Cod Audreys 20I can’t go to the beach without having seafood. We ate our share of fried clams, lobster rolls, halibut, shrimp and one night we steamed a 5.5 pound lobster. It was delicious! We even managed to go out to a restaurant for date night – what a treat.Cape Cod Audreys Cape Cod Audreys 12Our last day on the cape we wanted to take a fishing boat out, which we had done last year. But the winds were too strong and they weren’t sending out the boat. So we decided to try the sea kayaks. While I was useless at steering a tandem kayak, it was fun nonetheless. A little exercise, fresh ocean air, paddling on the water…relaxation!

The one rainy day we ventured back to Provincetown. It was crowded, as expected, but we took a trolley tour this year and got to see a bunch of things we didn’t see last year. We did some shopping,sightseeing and ate more seafood.

I know I’ll be back one day, there’s something special about Cape Cod. I could go on and on about the trip, but I think I’ll let all the pictures speak for themselves.Cape Cod Audreys Cape Cod Audreys18

 

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Some fun places to visit in Prince Edward County /2013/06/26/some-fun-places-to-visit-in-prince-edward-county/ Wed, 26 Jun 2013 13:14:02 +0000 http://www.audrey74.com/?p=1211 Audrey's Prince Edward County

Disclaimer: I received a travel stipend and am paid for writing about Prince Edward County by The Great Waterway. This is one of five articles. The articles will also appear on The Great Waterway blog. I chose and organized my own itinerary and all opinions are my own. All photography is my own.

This is the last Prince Edward County post. As you can imagine, we had a great time discovering wineries, breweries, distilleries, the food , amazing beaches and rural landscapes.

But there are a couple of other gems you might want to see when visiting the area. First up is the Prince Edward County Lavender Farm, very close to the Grange Winery. While we were a little early in the season to see the fields all cast in purple, it was still great to see the intense green that day and the little purple buds – there’s not much that can beat the fresh smell of lavender. There’s a small store with a wide selection of lavender products – be it soap, t-shirts or trinkets. And you can buy different types of lavender for your own garden.Audrey's Prince Edward CountyIf you drive to the Black River Cheese company, you can get a selection of different cheeses in the store (mostly cheddar) and some great ice cream. You can peek through the window at their production, but unfortunately there are no tours. You probably will also meet the handsome cat pictured above trying to sneak into the store. However, he belongs to the Galloping Goat  across the street. It’s a quirky little store housed in a century old barn right by the river – perfect to finish your ice cream and browse the curiosities.

Unfortunately, Fifth Town Artisan Cheese was not open yet. They are not producing yet, but do have a retail store. The cheese selection looks amazing and I’m really interested in their Green Cheese Initiatives.

If you’ve had enough of drink and food, you can also do some boutique shopping in Picton or Bloomfield. You might want to stop by Cranston Gallery on Main, Pottery 31, or (my favourite store name) Dead People’s Stuff Antiques. There are also quite a few home decor stores, glass, wood and other artists’ studios in the area. There was more to see than we had time, so another visit will surely happen.Audrey's Prince Edward County

Disclaimer: I received a travel stipend and am paid for writing about Prince Edward County by The Great Waterway. This is one of five articles. The articles will also appear on The Great Waterway blog. I chose and organized my own itinerary and all opinions are my own. All photography is my own.

 

 

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