Tag Archives: Royal Caribbean

December 2, 2019 · 5:35 am

Fall Foliage Cruise — Prince Edward Island; St. Augustine Church


St. Augustine Catholic Church

Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas arrived into Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.), on October 10 of this year. Here we joined up with several other passengers for a privately arranged tour with a really fun chap, Cyril Arsenault, who owns and operates Cyril’s Tours and Tales. Cyril has some really great tales. Indeed, listening to his fantastic life, it appears he’s done just about everything short of brain surgery or bank robbery. The man has done most everything else, including commercial fishing, commercial crabbing (think: Deadliest Catch), and working the oil sands of Alberta.

Cyril’s Tour and Tales — Cyril Arsenault

One of our stops this day was near the small town of South Rustico for a visit at the St. Augustine Catholic Church, and the nearby picturesque Farmers’ Bank of Rustico (1864-1894) and the Doucet House Museums. Alas, the lighting was pretty bad for the Farmers’ Bank. Even so, I’ll post a photograph of it on Wednesday. Here is Doucet House:

Doucet House Museums

Right next to St. Augustine is a charming property, which I assume may have been the vicarage (clergy house) for the church:

South Rustico, Prince Edward Island

St. Augustine Catholic Church was built on this site back in 1838, and it is the oldest parish church within the Diocese of Charlottetown. It’s also one of the oldest Catholic churches on P.E.I.

Built in 1836 — St. Augustine Catholic Church

Next to St. Augustine, to the west side, you’ll find a graveyard worthy of a picture or two:

St. Augustine Graveyard

Here are two photographs of the interior of the church:

St. Augustine Catholic Church

St. Augustine Catholic Church

Going back outside and heading slightly east you’ll find these vantages:

St. Augustine Catholic Church

St. Augustine Catholic Church

But one of my favorite images depicts the stone entry arch to the church grounds, the vicarage framed inside the arch, and the church forming a dramatic backdrop:

St. Augustine Catholic Church

 

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November 29, 2019 · 5:35 am

Fun Photo Friday — Québec Favorites Part 2


Quebec in Fall

One last look at Quebec City before we move on to our next destination aboard Adventure of the Seas:

Spider on the Window

Quebec Night Colors

Lower Town Decor

Lampposts

Samuel de Champlain

Clouds and Reflections

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November 27, 2019 · 5:35 am

Fall Foliage Cruise — Lower Town Québec and Lunch at Côtes-à-Côtes


Lower Town Quebec

Way back in June 2014 Ursula and I took a similar cruise to this one, except that cruise was neither a reposition down to Florida, nor was it during fall foliage. During that cruise, we experienced for the first time poutine while we were in Montreal. It was a disaster. Soggy, uninspired, grease-laden fries swimming in an insipid brown gravy.

Basse-Ville Fountain and Statue

After Montreal on that cruise we hit Quebec with no desire to try poutine again. But after a long trek around Upper Town and then Lower Town, we were rather parched. So we found a café with an outdoor seating area and ordered some drinks.

Lower Town Quebec

It was while sitting here, waiting for our drinks, that we saw at a nearby table an entirely different take on poutine, one that was topped with pulled pork. The establishment was Côtes-à-Côtes Resto Grill, and you can read about our first visit at Québec Part 4 — Lower Town for a Poutine Break.

Côtes-à-Côtes Resto Grill

We placed an order despite our first lackluster experience in Montreal, and were pleasantly surprised. The fries were crisp, the gravy flavorful, the cheese curds al dente and tasty, and the pulled pork was an exquisite touch. here’s what that order looked like back in 2014:

Poutine Delight

Because this experience so changed our mind, we looked forward to hitting once again Côtes-à-Côtes for a repeat. Unfortunately, the outdoor seating area was closed, and the interior was packed with the lunch crowd.

 

Ursula perusing the Côtes-à-Côtes menu

Looking over the menu I decided to begin with a local beer. This one came from a brewpub just up the road in Montreal, La Blanche Cheval Blanc, a Belgian-style wheat. So far, so good.

Cheval Blanc at Côtes-à-Côtes Resto Grill

Alas, the poutine description varied from our previous visit. Rather than pulled pork, the latest poutine offering was topped with duck. Not a bad thing, necessarily, but I’m a sucker for a good pulled pork. Nevertheless, we placed a couple of orders. I probably should have taken a clue from the crowd, but more on that in a moment.

Lunch crowd at Côtes-à-Côtes Resto Grill

What I’m hinting at is that we should have prepared for disappointment. Today’s poutine was bad, per se. It just wasn’t a good as our first time here. The fries were far from piping hot fresh from the oil, and the duck paled in comparison to the pulled pork of five years earlier. The cheese curds were still quite good, but the gravy seemed lacking in comparison to our previous visit. On reflection, I’m going to give Côtes-à-Côtes the benefit of the doubt and chalk up this latest experience to an overworked kitchen and stressed staff that may have let the poutine sit just a tad longer than it should before delivery to our table.

Côtes-à-Côtes poutine with duck

Back onto the streets for one last look around and two final photos before we finish up with Quebec during this week’s Fun Photo Friday of Quebec favorites:

Lower Town Quebec

A Lower Town Quebec outdoor café

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