Today we are in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. Roy in French means king, and royal means members of the royal family. So there is still a French influence here. But Nova Scotia means New Scotland, and there’s a Scottish influence here as well. But we also passed though a town called New Germany and we went to the German Bakery for lunch. It’s starting to sound like a melting pot.
This is the entrance into Port Royal.
Our first stop was Port-Royal National Historic Site. Back in 1603, the French created a settlement here for fur-trading. They built a large square building with a large interior courtyard to protect themselves from the cold winter winds.
There was a well in the center. The doctor had the first door. There was a blacksmith as well. The kitchen is to the right with the dormitory above.These were the gentleman’s quarters, meaning they had more money than the guys who did all the work.
The reason the French were at this location was to obtain furs, mainly beaver pelts to make into top hats back in France. They would hunt, but would also trade iron tools with the local first nation people. A typical trade was one iron sledge hammer for 6 beaver pelts.
This was the trading post with the iron tools on the shelves. The floor was interesting – stones set in the dirt. The other rooms had wooden planks for floors.This is the main dining hall. Since they were still dying of scurvy, the French attempted to combat it by having a monthly “Order of Good Cheer” meal to create good will and harmony between all the men. Since the Mi’kmaq, the First Nation people, didn’t have scurvy, they were also invited to learn what they ate. Turns out the Mi’Kmaq drank spruce tea which was high in vitamin C. The highest ranking officials sat at the head of the table like these 3.This is what a table setting looked like back then – pewter plate, bowl, cup and spoon. A fork and knife are missing. This is the same table setting we had at the colonial restaurant a few days back.This is the whole table. The total number of settlers here were about 45-50 which is the same size as our caravan.This corner house belonged to the Governor. He had an office, living room downstairs and bedroom upstairs.I thought wooden shoes were worn by the Dutch, but this is the second time I’ve seen wooden shoes associated with the early French.And to get the tourist shot in with the two costumed interpreters.
We all know how the story ended… The nasty English came and burned it to the ground like all the rest of the early Arcadia settlements we’ve visited.
We returned to the town of Annapolis Royal and had lunch at the German Bakery.
We had our choice of bratwurst or schnitzel. It came with sauerkraut and potato salad. I wonder what the Germans would have thought of that menu.
Right across the street from the restaurant was Fort Anne. This was also hotly contested with the Scottish, French and English all in residence at one time.
It wasn’t too elaborate – just trenches to hide behind and barracks.
Also right in town was the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens. You can tell it’s getting late in the season. The flowers are starting to look a little worn out. In fact, I’ve even seen a few trees turning color.
It was a nice peaceful walk through the gardens.A giant red hibiscus.Always my favorite. But I think this is a type of sunflower, not a black-eyed Susan.They had a recreation of a little French cottage with the bread oven outside.This was something new to me – Scottish heather. It came in all different colors.And a bee on a bright pink cosmos.Here’s a little glimpse of our life in the campground. This a travel meeting. We meet before a travel day to hear about the route to be taken, what’s available at the next campground and what we’re going to see next.
