Read Part 1 HERE ! Soon, we arrived at Confederation Bridge. We pulled aside to observe the bridge from the north side, then looped into the Cape Jourimain Nature Centre parking lot on the south. A short, rocky trail led us to a wooden platform - the designated lookout point for the 12-kilometre long bridge. View the full album HERE !
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Our Maritimes journey officially commenced the next day. But just prior to departure, a visit to Cafe Taiyaki 52 was requested. I hadn't expected trendy items such as taiyaki to be available on the East Coast, let alone in the form of ahboong soft serve. We had actually stumbled upon the cafe/dessert shop hybrid the night before after having made a wrong turn. Of course, it was obvious of me immediately include it in the itinerary. Cafe Taiyaki 52 opened surprisingly early, presumably to cater to the caffeine addicts in the area as well as the late afternoon dessert crews. The interior was lovely and absolutely serene; an abundance of natural light filled the shop from the grey floors to lofty ceilings. With only one other customer in sight, service was expected to be swift. In accordance to the standard Halifax protocol though, it was slow and sweet (read: ridiculously friendly, but all too leisurely for my liking. We were on a time crunch after all.) It was too early for Taiyaki Soft Serve, which rang in at a whopping $7.50 plus tax (15% HST on this side). Instead, I opted for a trio of standalone Taiyaki: Crunchy with Vanilla Custard, Crusty with Chocolate Hazelnut, and Regular with Matcha Custard. One of these were priced as part of the When Fish Meets Water combo, which included one taiyaki and caffeinated beverage set. The girl behind the cashier suggested the T-52 Coffee, a supposedly "super sweet" coffee already equipped with milk and sugar. In reality, I craved an Iced Latte, but it was sadly exempt from the combo choices. Despite reeking heavily of granulated sugar, the T-52 Coffee was fine on its own. Consumed in conjunction with equally sweet taiyaki though, it was confirmed excessively sugary. Taiyaki were offered in three types: Regular, Crunchy, and Vegan (at an additional charge of fifty cents). The "Crunchy" variation is more commonly referred to as Croissant Taiyaki, employing a puff pastry foundation; interestingly, both Crunchy and Regular were priced equally. As Yelpers had mentioned, the taiyaki was made fresh to order, thus resulting in quite the extensive wait. I hadn't been informed of this ten-or-so minute-duration beforehand - which I would have appreciated - though it was evident that the girl manning the store at the time was making her best effort to speed up the process. Amidst her haste though, my Regular Taiyaki with Matcha Custard had been incorrectly produced with a Vanilla Custard filling. With that said, the quality was not compromised. Both of the Crunchy Taiyaki were spectacular. Served piping hot, the pastries were wonderfully crunchy and decadent. It differed from Snowy Village's and Sukoi's renditions in that brown sugar granules were substituted with a sweet glaze. Thankfully, the consumption process was devoid of the horrible flaky messy that Sukoi's trio had yielded. The fillings were average, but the pastry thoroughly impressed. Chocolate Hazelnut was a basic Nutella, while Vanilla Custard could not escape clumps of distinctly orange egginess. Snowy Village still remains superior. View the full album HERE !
Read Part 2 HERE !
Slowly but surely, we entered Prince Edward Island.
Downtown Charlottetown was the focus of the evening.
Along Queen Street were majority of the main attractions, in addition to sustenance stops. We passed another COWS location (which had closed already by the time we neared the port), a peculiar-looking Canton Cafe offering "Chinese Canadian food" (aka diner-style burgers and Westernized dimsum), Chatime (?!), and many more ethnic-based restaurants.
Braving the chilly blasts, we briefly toured the harbourfront before making stops at the Anne of Green Gables Shop and roaming the area in search of dinner options.
It wasn't until long after sundown that Merchantman was the chosen contender.
Read Part 1 HERE !
After settling into a room with a wonderful view of the next building's rooftop, we set out for our order of business: Food.
A vast assortment of eateries lined the streets of Downtown Halifax, ranging from Chinese, Korean, Middle Eastern (halal), Greek, and more.
We chanced upon an OCO Mart, which I insisted in stopping at. It was the equivalent of a very condensed H-Mart, carrying banana milk and the standard array of Korean groceries. There were no price tags on the products though, so a cost comparison could not be carried out.
Late lunch was had at a McDonald's with fanciful decor and absolutely no kiosks to maintain the novelty of old-fashioned ordering.
Appetites appeased, the group proceeded with the next item on the itinerary. Despite the dreary conditions, we were set on laying eyes on one of the most representative landmarks of the province.
The drive to Peggy's Cove wasn't a particularly short one. With intensifying rain and weakening cellular signal, this mission only proved more grueling. We drove on eerily quiet local roads for such a lengthy period of time that I had began to wonder whether we were heading in the right direction at all.
But surely enough, the lofty trees eventually faded away, revealing a port and several surrounding houses.
To describe the setting as merely being "rainy" would be an understatement. Temperatures were much lower than expected, and winds much more powerful. Braving the treacherous coastal conditions in nothing more than a t-shirt, a worn-in cloth hoodie lined with pills, BamBam's Represent cap, and unwavering willpower, I suffered tragic consequences.
View the full album HERE !
My first domestic flight in two years was marked by a planned escape to the Atlantic, instead of the Pacific. Why hello, old friend! In a way, you could say that I "tagged along" for this one, since I adopted a role of passive participation in the devising and preparation stage(s). We checked into the all-too-familiar domestic sector of the airport in the morning. The Starbucks at the far end had closed for renovations, thus we resorted to attaining our sustenance at the location in the international departure section. An Iced Latte, several z's, and a Ham + Swiss Sandwich later, we landed on the East Coast. Halifax Stanfield was less extravagant than Pearson, but there was beauty in its modesty. The interior was luminous and a decent number of retailers filled the space. There was sufficient signange guiding us to the baggage claim, and a few newly-renovated bathrooms to relieve ourselves of the cramped flying quarters.
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Who Am I?Formerly an avid owner of several interest-based portals, Random Thoughts of a Quirky Blogger presents precisely the elements expected. From experiments in the kitchen to miscellaneous musings, from IGOT7 reflections to developments in transportation infrastructure, it's all consolidated here. Welcome to the raw, unfiltered side of Quirky Aesthetics. Archives
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