Anyway, more of the costumes later. I bought lots of extra decoration goodies and sweets and chocolates and the room looked really good after it was decorated up. I managed to track down a really big pumpkin (not so easy round here, they are all tiny little ones) and carved it out. 
However, I realised that I am a really bad pumpkin carver and must try harder next year (or rather the year after because I DO NOT want to do this again next year – famous last words!) R put on the fog machine and just made it a bit spooky 
with threads of fog hanging in the air – quite a good effect really and over all, the room looked quite cool!
I cooked a fantastic roasted pumpkin and tomato soup, a large lasagne (complete with green cheese bats on the top) and a pumpkin pie, washed down with a welcome “Zombie” and then copious amounts of alcohol!
R’s Pumpkin was the star of the show – complete with bright orange 
face paint and the sweetest little pumpkin top hat – simply adorable. He bought me a really flattering witch costume, which was very effective in covering up my weight gain! A rather Sassoonesque hairstyle and a sweep of eye shadow and I really looked rather stylish even if I say so myself! 
Everyone made a great effort – including the Gs which was great as I know that this is not really their thing – 
even puppy Lucy turned up with little angel wings on – so adorable! The night was enjoyed by all and we all had loads to eat and drink and it was a very successful evening.
got in Canada!We did go a little crazy I think - this is it all over our table - and when it is all spread out like that, I think "OMG!", but once R starting pushing me to really look and take the opportunity, then I just WENT FOR IT!!!!
genuine maple leaves (Fall leaves! Get the pun?) and other bits and pieces. I hope to be able to incorporate them nicely into my pages (reminder to self - Track down some Archival Mist). And of course, I got some local stuff which just made my day. Some Canada flags which are nice and bright and a page of Nova Scotia locations which I was so excited about. Now that I am home and looking at the list, it is lovely to realise just how many of the places we actually got to see!
The trail is really very beautiful, one minute in deepest forest and the next out in blinding sunshine walking along a precarious cliff edge where 50 metres below, white surf crashes down on the rocks. Exhilarating. The nature here was very varied with lots of small flowering plants, 
loads of insects and a myriad of trees. We saw an eagle soaring high above us although once again, could not quite catch it on film – but you have to believe me! The sky started on the horizon with the palest of grey blues and it gradually darkened as it rises above us to the deepest, clearest “sky” blue, while the ocean was a mix of white, green, blue, turquoise and, at the furthest horizon, dark, dark blue-black. Clouds were forming off the mountains and were white as snow, scudding across the sky, carried along by the strong breeze that was blowing both off the sea and from the mountains behind us.
on since the dawn of time – millions and millions of years. In and out, wearing away at the rocks, creating sand, washing up debris, providing food and shelter for untold millions of fish and water life. Makes you think.... 
probably not going to improve all 
that much for the rest of the day. Therefore, still not really recovered from the mixed experiences of the previous day, we settled in for a quiet day based at the hotel.
The evening was quiet as it has been the whole week – we sat drinking cocktails, G&Ts, cognac etc, listening to the musician play typical Cape Breton sea shanties, Irish and Scottish songs and a bit of country and western thrown in for good measure. Not something I would want to listen to all the time (or maybe ever again outside the holiday), but it was fitting for the holiday and I have really enjoyed it. I have even been known to sing along a little (in my head of course!!!).
We stopped off at a few places along the way and with each stop, the weather seemed to be improving. The clouds started to lift off the mountain a little, just wisps clinging to the trees here and there, blue skies were peeping through and the green of the trees started to show again. 
taking lots of photos and me just sitting, looking, contemplating life and the universe! As far as wildlife goes, we saw a snake which made us jump a mile and loads of these gorgeous squirrels – don’t know exactly what they are. Are they chipmunks? I need to look that up. 
Past Wreck Cove Point where we had yet another fabulous view of the ocean (if you don’t like trees and water then this is NOT the place for you!!!!), and onto Corney Brook falls. This was an 8km round trip hike which was quite some effort with the camel loads of photographic equipment that R insists on taking with him (and me!!!). We walked through some simply stunning forests and along the brook with the constant babbling of the water as company. Walking along the path, I once again realised just where we were and checked with R that we had a "bear plan". We decided that ours consists of talking at a reasonable level so that any local bears could hear us and would keep away, and in the unlikely event of coming across a bear on our path, stopping, stooping low to show no aggression, and backing off slowly and calmly (yeah right!). Sounded like a plan, even if it was rather a terrifying one! I kept my fingers crossed that we would not have to put our plan into action! Luckily for us, the only wildlife we came across were the squirrels, mosquitoes and a frog – so all ok there!
and offered to drive R into the nearest city to fetch some. I am talking that 30 minute drive I mentioned earlier – and then of course, 30 mins back! Talk about lovely, lovely people. They were a really young couple and R found out that they had just got married last Saturday and they were on their honeymoon. She told me that she just could not have gone on their hike without offering us help first! I was totally overwhelmed by their generosity.
On our way home, still shaken and definitely stirred, we stopped off at Lone Shieling which features the oldest believed maple trees in Canada (350 years old) and our final stop being Beulach Ben falls for the final waterfalls of R’s series. We had to travel along a rather precarious 2km unpaved road which I was convinced we would never make back again! But the falls were a bit of a disappointment.
Once again we freaked ourselves out by being up with the lark and managed to get ready and on the road to Sydney by 8.30! R had heard from our waitress that Sydney was the place to go round here for shopping (ha ha! More later!) and so we headed south along the coast road, deciding to take the cable ferry rather than the more scenic route. The cable ferry crosses to Englishtown and takes just a couple of minutes but is really quaint.· a Gaelic cultural centre which is not really my thing
The only other thing that Sydney has to offer is a sort of anti-tourist site – the Tar Ponds, left over from 100 years of toxic coke oven waste being dumped into the estuary. But we couldn't even get close enough to it to catch a glimpse of this curiosity. (And one of the most annoying things is that I did actually take a couple of photos of our brief excursion but they seem to have gone walkabout and I cannot find them in any of the files we have - so nothing to do and certainly nothing to see!)· St Patrick’s church (oldest and first Catholic church in Cape Breton , 1828 including a small history exhibit) – which we found and I was really up for seeing but it was CLOSED!
· Cossit House – 1787 – a restored house originally inhabited by Sydney’s first Anglican minister which we drove past and decided we could not really be bothered!
We were once again attacked by jet lag in the middle of the night (for us) and were both wide awake at 6.30 – just too freaky for words!!! With our bedroom window open, all we could hear was the gentle sound of the waves washing up on the shore of Ingonish Beach across the bay and we marvelled at the beauty of the peace and quiet while watching the daylight creep in. We were at breakfast for 8am which I think is a record never before achieved by the Hausmanns! I scoffed down the obligatory pancakes with maple syrup and bacon (SCRUMPTIOUS!!!) and then we decided to get out and explore.
The weather was totally fantastic, something we tried to make the most of. We drove north along the Cabot Trail which took us along the coast, past picture-book houses, churches, tiny communities and two boat fishing harbours. The sky was the bluest of blues and the ocean was clear and a million shades of blue, grey and green.
scenic routes which would go past – hopefully – small fishing communities where we could take some photos. First of all though, we stopped at Scotch Cove where we stood on the top of a cliff and looked down at a tiny cove right out of pirate movies. The water was crystal clear and shades of blue and green and even though we were maybe 100m above, we could see to the very bottom to the stones and sea plants. I know I am repeating myself, but it is all just so incredible!
We headed back to the hotel and had lunch on the terrace overlooking the bay and once again, we found ourselves marvelling at the beauty of the place – something which, at the time of writing - after 5 days here, has not waned whatsoever!
distinctive colour. The water is not dirty at all, just the mass of it makes it look pretty brown. Up close, it is still crystal clear and refreshingly cold. I enjoyed the time sitting and watching R enjoy himself with the intricacies of the camera and I think we must have killed nearly two hours there. It amazed me to see how many visitors came along, took a few photos, looked around a minute and then left – is this drive by tourism at force here or do they just not realise how incredible this all is? It made me think...
since kind of turned into “our place”) and sat a while watching the ocean roll in once more. The tide had come in quite a way by now and the power of the ocean was very clear. Of course, just looking was no challenge for R after a while and he decided that he just had to go in for a swim. Not having any trunks with us, what did he do? Go in with his boxers of course!!!! He was like a child, running in and out of the waves, lying down so that the waves would flow over him, jumping around and generally “frolicking” in the water! The temperature was fresh but surprisingly not too cold and I think it helped to wash out the cold that he had caught from me!
ocean view was, after all, everything they promised – clear out across the ocean and over to Ingonish Beach . And the room has a certain “charm” (photos to follow!) We are obviously in the Butterfly room as the whole room is decorated with butterflies and motifs – including the light switches, the mirror, the shower curtain, the cups – the lot!!!! We are way younger than most of the guests – I reckon the average age here is about 109, but you know that R and I are old fogeys at heart so that it ok!!!
Jet lag kicked in for both of us in the middle of the night when we both woke up, wide awake at German getting up time! Drifting in and out of sleep for the rest of the night, we both found ourselves more than wide awake at a rather unusual time for us – as anyone who knows us knows! We were up, dressed and ready by 8am – freaky!
R and I had our first “disagreement” of the holiday, the details of which I would rather not go into, but we both pulled ourselves together and stepped out into the glorious Halifax morning. Blue skies, and sun rising in the sky was just a great feeling. We were on our way to find the obligatory Starbucks for breakfast, and headed down Hollis Street. After about 25 minutes of walking, we thought that maybe we had gone the wrong way, which of course was right. But it did not matter, because the morning was so lovely and we saw some nice sights which we would not have caught otherwise. We doubled back on ourselves along Barrington Street when we noticed an art supplies shop. Ralph dragged me in saying that they must have some scrapbooking supplies in there. The shop had only just opened which was so fluky – if we had not gone the wrong way, we would never have seen it and then R could not have bullied me into buying up the shop! In fact, we did a “Hausmann”!!! Make a guess what that could be if you don’t know!
One beautiful Making Memories, pink leather tote filled to the gills with papers, embellishments and goodies later, we staggered off to finally make it to Starbucks. I have to say here and now that much of the stash that I bought was chosen by my beloved, who intends to create his own scrapbooking pages on our holiday to include in the Canada album!!!! This I have to see!!! Watch this space....
there – I would have liked to see Pier 21 and there is a museum which features the sinking of the Titanic – including many artefacts that were either picked up from the scene or washed up over the following months – because Halifax was the nearest port to the incident and was the port that received the mayday call. Maybe, one day we can get back there and spend a bit more time there - it has a load of quirky facts associated to the place. Like the Titanic thing and also the largest explosion ever (up to the time when Horishima occurred) right in the port. Just weird little things which makes the place interesting.
