A colourful journey through The Gentle Island

On Canada Day, we arrived in PEI via the Confederation Bridge after a long drive from Halifax, which also included a detour to Hopewell Rocks. Stepping foot in three provinces in one day was a cool way to celebrate this damn-fine country of ours.

Crossing the Confederation Bridge.

Our first evening in Charlottetown was spent at a great little restaurant called Fish Bones where we devoured the absolute best lobster dinner. Well, until the next day that is. After filling up on food from the sea, we strolled over to the actual sea to “Ooh” and “Ahh” at the fireworks. The light show wasn’t extravagant, nor was it long, but for us it was a fantastic finish to one heck of a memorable day.

The most delicious lobster supper at Fish Bones in Charlottetown, PEI.

Boom! Pop! Fizz!

Jellyfish dodging at Brackley Beach

Since we only spent one full day in PEI, we were on a mission to make the most of it. The weather was sunny and hot, so our first stop was Brackley Beach in Prince Edward Island National Park. The beach there is a long stretch of warm red sand with grassy dunes and COLD COLD water. We’ve never stepped foot in the North Atlantic, so there was no way the frigid temps were going to keep us out.

As we waded around, we noticed large shadows in the water. They turned out to be big red jellyfish. (I guess everything is red in PEI.) As they were easy to spot, we just kept our eyes out for them and dodged any that came near. We also discovered one of those suckers lying on the beach. We found out later that these particular jellyfish do sting. Good thing we didn’t step on it!

Beware of jellyfish.

Swimming in the ocean!

Too cold to go all in. Brrrr

Found a little crab claw on the beach.

Let’s talk lupins

Seriously? This is your ditch weed, Prince Edward Island? Seriously?! Seeing the island in its full lupin bloom was amazing. It’s like the saturation level was set to 100. I was so enthralled that I had to find some artwork to remember this gorgeous place. I found the perfect piece at Village Pottery, it’s a thread and fabric creation by local artist Margaret England.

Move over dandelions, just keep walking thistle, there’s a prettier invasive plant in town. I wonder if the locals love their lupins as much as visitors do?

The beautiful rolling farmland of PEI.

The lupins sway in the warm summer winds near French River.

In the lupin meadow. A thread and fabric painting by Margaret England.

Just fields and fields of lupins everywhere.

Walking into fiction at Green Gables

After a morning relaxing on the beach, we continued along PEI’s Central Coast Drive to Green Gables Heritage House. To be honest, Anne of Green Gables isn’t our thing, but it was a lovely place to explore. The Haunted Woods was a particularly pretty walk.

Hanging at Anne’s house.

Captivated by the quaint

Whether it was driving along the coast, stopping to snap photos of fishing villages, rambling through ruby-red farmland or exploring the old lighthouses, we were having our breath taken away around every turn. Next time, and there will be a next time, we will stay longer and do it right.

Walking through the Haunted Wood.

Old news.

The tiny fishing village of French River.

The rich red soils of PEI.

Whale skull resting place.

Lighthouse in PEI National Park.

Weeble Wobble houses.

Point Prim lighthouse. The first and oldest lighthouse on PEI. (1845)

The Rose of Charlottetown

The best way to take in the charming island of PEI is to stay at a Bed & Breakfast. After scouring TripAdvisor looking for the top reviewed places I finally decided on the Charlotte’s Rose Inn. It ended up being an excellent choice. The room had the three C’s: cozy, comfortable and charming. What more could you want? Oh, how about some gourmet breakfasts served on fancy plates? drool

The Charlotte’s Rose ruined every other place for the rest of the trip though. Even Chuck couldn’t stop the comparisons: “The bed was more comfortable in PEI. The breakfast was tastier in PEI. The sitting room was cooler in PEI.” And so on. He even appreciated all the Englishy knickknacks. I might need to change the decor at home now.

The beautiful B&B we stayed at.

Breakfast at Charlotte’s Rose Inn.

Fresh flowers in our room at the Charlotte’s Rose.

Special touches in the Confederation room.

Antiques and lace.

We loved this room!