[trip style = beach]
My sister first told me tales of St. Andrews by the Sea when she was stuck in a windowless room at the Fairmont Algonquin while working on the CBC documentary The Week the Women Went. Other than balancing our sightseeing-intensive get-to-know-Canada-better trip with some relaxation, I'm not really sure why we went to St. Andrews. Maybe it was instinctive, or maybe it was the draw of a quintessential Maritime experience. Either way, what better place to spend a few days (or weeks) in New Brunswick during summer's hot, lazy days.
Towering over the resort town is the historic Fairmont Algonquin. In the early 1900's the resort was marketed as a health retreat to city-dwellers promoting a reprise from hay-fever allergies among other things. Between biking around the picturesque town to spending time along the seashore, St. Andrews' pace of life and enough-but-not-too-many amenities is already making me consipire to return, and not just because my allergies were miraculously kept at bay. Here are a few hightlights:
St. Andrews by the Sea
{The Fairmont Algonquin. See my review here.}
{Town of St. Andrews by the Sea.}
{Cute gift shop find: 'sea glass' lamp base.}
{The Hungry Whale Cafe, a seaside coffee and ice cream place.}
{Whale watching with Fundy Tide Runners.}
{A finback whale!}
{Seals!}
{Watching whales trying not to be seasick...wasn't that bad given I get motion sick on chair-lifts.}
{Captain 'McGee' posing with my husband Nathan...}
{I turned into a purple people eater in front of the local sweet shop.}
{The Lobster chair, or waiting area, at The Gables Restaurant.}