At first it was strange to be in the city again. After almost a week in rural and remote areas, we were not used to stopping at traffic lights, sharing the sidewalk with other pedestrians and hearing city noises. Still, we got used to it quickly and started really enjoying P.E.I's capital Charlottetown.
The city is small, with 35 thousand people, but if we count it's surroundings, there are about 65 thousand people living in Greater Charlottetown. That's just less than half of the province's population (140 thousand).
The city is adorable.
The buildings are really cute, colourful and well preserved.
If you are visiting P.E.I. and don't have too much time to spare in the city, one day is enough to see the basic tourist attractions. Besides just walking around, here are the places you must go:
- the Province House
- the Confederation Centre of the Arts (first photo)
- St. Dunstan's Basilica (photo above)
- Victoria Park
Another great suggestion is the Culinary Institute of Canada. I had a wonderful meal there about 10 years ago when I visited P.E.I. with my parents. But we were not so lucky this time. The school's restaurant is closed for the month of September, like many other things on the island. (Another tip: try to avoid visiting P.E.I. at this time. A week earlier, in August, makes a huge difference).
I found out about this place by calling the Culinary Institute of Canada. While chatting with a girl on the other side of the phone line, she told me that there are a couple of restaurants opened by former students of the institute. The Terre Rouge (72 Queen Street) is one of them (the other was right beside it, called Sim's).
At first we hesitated to go in with the kids because we thought it would be hard to enjoy the fine lunch experience with them bouncing around and with a sophisticated menu, but we decided to try it anyway. Well, it was a pleasant experience in the end.
Although the food is delicious and high end, they carry simple things on the menu, like grilled cheese and mac n' cheese. Perfect for the children.
I had Chowder and Biscuits.
Mike ordered House Cured Charcuterie with Artisanal Cheeses.
The girls shared a grilled cheese sandwich with salad.
After trying the mussels from my soup, Juju found another favourite seafood. She demanded that we ordered a bowl of P.E.I Mussels with wine and garlic sauce, which I didn't contest. My "Manezinha da Ilha" now shares the same seafood taste as her mamãe.
The day was so beautiful that we enjoyed a walk by the water in the afternoon.
We needed to stop at COWS, P.E.I.'s most popular ice cream place. They are huge in the island and own a bunch of other businesses, a clothes line being one of them. I could not resist to post a picture of this incredibly creative t-shirt.
The rest of the day was spend at Victoria Park, by the water. The park overlooks the ocean and has a beautiful boardwalk.
The kids obviously loved its playground and its free swimming pool.
Mommy was "forced" to get in the extremely cold water with them. Urrrgggghh!
On the day that my mind was consumed by the tragic photo of the little boy who drowned close to Turkey on his way to seek refuge in Europe from devastated Syria, I met this adorable boy. I didn't ask his name, but he told me he learned to play violin in Syria before coming to Canada, a couple of months ago. He and his family are safe in Charlottetown trying to make a new life in this country. And he was a good violin player as well.
Urban (clear) message in Charlottetown.
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