Wednesday, August 17, 2011

International Road Trip - Part One


I just put 1500 miles on my brand new car.  That's like driving halfway across the U.S.  It's like driving most of the east cost.  It's equivalent to about a month of my normal commute.  It was worth it (especially considering that E did most of the driving).

Two weeks ago we hit the road at 5:00 a.m. on a Sunday and drove to Montreal.  We stayed in Canada for three nights, then spent two nights at a bed and breakfast in Vermont on our way home.  It was a great choice for a summer road trip and I highly recommend this little Canada/New England loop for any of my Northeast/Mid-Atlantic friends who want an out-of-the ordinary road trip experience.

How in the world did we decide to go to a French-speaking province in Canada and then re-enter the U.S. in a very rural New England state?  Well... I like Canada.  It's the only country that we can reasonably drive to (about 8 hours to the border) and it's a bit cooler than the mid-Atlantic region during the peak summer heat.  People rave about the French-influenced culture, cuisine and of course, the novelty of the French language in Quebec, so we figured this was a cheapie way to get a little European flavor in our lives.  As far as Vermont, I had never even visited New England until I was in my 20's (despite the fact that we are less than 6 hours away) and I had never been to Vermont.  Back in April I connected with some nice folks from Cabot and I was encouraged to take a trip up to Liberty Hill Farm in Vermont.  We decided to do a two-for-one and we mapped out a Canada/New England loop and hit the road.


The trip was a fantastic blur of rich meals, walking for miles, speaking pathetic broken French, helping with farm chores and of course plenty of good cheese.  More details coming soon... this road trip definitely can't be described in one blog post!

Have any of you ever stayed at a bed and breakfast?  Do you enjoy road trips?  We tend to stick to a ten-hour limit before we insist on taking an airplane.  Anyone else thinking of moving to Canada?  Is it just me, or are people really, really nice up there?

5 comments:

  1. That sounds awesome!!! I would totally do that if it were in driving distance for me. I've always wanted to stay at a bed and breakfast, but it just seems difficult to get good information and choose a nice one. They also can be much more expensive than a regular hotel room. I want to stay at one before this year is over though. Can't wait to hear about your travels and food.

    tiannamae.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can't wait to hear all about it! You already know how much I love Montreal! We visited two years ago and we immediately wanted to move there! Last time we took Amtrak, but if we go again, we're definitely driving. I bet the scenery is gorgeous as you drive through New England area.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cool, cant wait to hear more!! We wanted to go to Canada last year but it by the time we would have gotten the kids passports our vacation window would have been closed. Maybe next year

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've forgotten how great a good road trip can be, and I really must get myself to Montreal. I can't wait to hear more about this trip, especially based on the pics I saw on fb!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails