On the ferry and headed to Nova Scotia

After leaving St. Johns we headed for Argentia, NL to board the ferry for a 14 hour trip back to Sydney, NS. We had a cabin which is comparable to an inside cabin on a cruise ship, just slightly smaller.

Saying goodbye to Quidi Vidi, Signal Hill, and Jelly Bean Row. We had a beautiful and smooth crossing. Dinner was good at the restaurant as was the breakfast, even celebrated by having fried bologna, the morning we pulled into Sydney.

After a free day in Sydney, we headed out to explore Nova Scotia. Our first stop was the Fortress of Louisbourg. As seems the case with Canadian history. The fort was built by the French, lost to the British, reclaimed by the French, lost again to the British, who then abandoned it.

The main gate to the fort. This gate was used only for important visitors and to exile any criminal out of the fort. The fort was its own community with tradesmen, soldiers, scholars and people that follow them. The people relied on the ships from France to bring them everything they needed and anyone caught stealing was subject to being pilloried then exiled. The exiled could not survive outside the gates and would therefore have to board a ship back to France and leave Nova Scotia. Once word got out that the person was exiled for stealing their life became very difficult in France.

Today, the park employees and other workers dress in period dress and carry on as though the fort was still in operation. Here we can see a thief being paraded to the front gate to be exiled. Citizens will boo him as he is paraded down the main street. The criminal shown has a sign hanging from his neck that says "thief." The crown loved booing when instructed.

Some "French Soldats" in their uniforms.

The fort has a bakery, restrauant and a gift store. The hand baked bread was delicious but sold out by the time we finished lunch and got to the bakery. They try to make the experience here an interactive one. Citizens are seen herding sheep, goats and swine through the streets, business men interact with the visitors and in the buildings, you have costumed guides that explain what is going on.

Our lunch at the fort restaurant, Restaurant De La Marine, we were served a typical soldiers meal of vegetable soup followed by a meat dish of chicken with root vegetables and a piece of Kings bread. Dessert was a small piece of cake. The servers were all in period dress and we ate off pewter bowls and plates with a pewter spoon. This would have been the working mans tavern back in the 18th century and would have been full of cheer, wine and ale along with hearty plates of meat, root vegetables and bread. Did you know that in the 18th century, bread accounted for about 85% of a persons diet?

One of our servers.

This lady was a guide inside the house of one of the businessmen at the time. She was very interesting to talk to and loved coming into work in her period costume.

It was going to be a moving day to Halifax the next morning so we all headed back to our rigs for some rest and dinner and get ready to move on down the road. Hope you will join us there!