Day 4: Millbrook

6 October 2018

Today we are heading off for adventures unknown around the Port Perry area heading towards Peterboro and Millbrook – lots of ideas but no particular destinations planned.

We start the day with breakfast and lots of discussion. Eke has made us delicious ‘Dutch Babies’ – oven baked pancakes stuffed full of berries and served with maple syrup.

We head first into Port Perry to catch the last Saturday market before they close up for winter. We have a maple syrup tasting and purchase some to take home (to NZ) along with some maple roasted peanuts to be devoured later in the day. There are lots of delicious vegetables as well and we buy some for dinner.

Eke thought she had seen that there was a First Nations Festival on Scugog Island so we drove through to see if there was anything happening – there wasn’t. So we drove on further towards Millbrook, enjoying the scenery even though there wasn’t as much fall colour as yesterday and it was quite misty.

Millbrook turned out to be an absolute treat. We lunched at the wonderfully named and decorated Pastry Peddler that had a whole range of delightfully different items on the lunch menu: Thai Chicken Burrito, Butter Chicken Nachos, Bad Buddha Bowl and of course Spicy Pumpkin Soup. The whole town is decorated for Thanksgiving and the Pastry Peddler has those decorations added to its usual decor combination of bicycles and pastry making equipment.

As we crossed the street to head back to the car we heard some soaring classical music playing and went to investigate. We narrowed it down to the Barber Shop! As we stood outside, the barber welcomed us in – and what a fabulous surprise! Joseph had had this barber shop for 45 years (and others before – we put him at about 80). He had 2 massive music systems – one for outside and one for inside (there was different music playing inside). He had a collection of thousands upon thousands of vinyl records, CDs, and cassettes stashed everywhere. He also showed his collection of brass objects and shared his life story with us.

We then discovered the Butter Tart Bakery and were stunned to see that they seemed to be baking continuously, there was an endless line of people coming into the shop, and they had obviously sold a very large number throughout the day. We bought 2 of each of the remaining 3 flavours (plain, pecan and raisin) to have later.

Next stop was ZimArt on Rice Lake – another delightful unexpected surprise. Owner Fran imports stone carvings from Zimbabwe (which we learn means ‘house of stone’), supports an artist-in-residence each year, and runs sculpture workshops. There are hundreds of sculptures set amongst tall trees on her 5 acre property set in amongst farmland. It is misty and has started to rain. This gives it a mystical feel as we wander around (under umbrellas) and take in the artistry created in stone.

Fran recommended a new winery that was nearby (we had passed it on the way in) so we headed back to the Rolling Grape Winery for a tasting session. We purchased a bottle to take home for dinner as well. We had had a lovely day and were all happy to head home.

We had ham, sweet potatoes and lots of fresh vegetables for dinner, accompanied by Farmhouse Red wine and finished off with butter tarts and a cup of tea. Replete, we retired to bed.

 

Please join me over the next several posts as I take you on our Journey to the Arctic (and more).

The Joy of Business Class

Copenhagen Stopover Day 1
Copenhagen Stopover Day 2

Arctic Express: Northern Lights
Day 1: Copenhagen to Reykjavik
Day 2: Reykjavik to Constable Point, Greenland
Day 3: Scoresby Sund: Frederiksdal & Flyvefjord
Day 4: Scoresby Sund: Nordvestfjord & Ingmikortilaq
Day 5: Scoresby Sund: Eskimobugt & Immikkeerikajik
Day 6: Scoresby Sund: Danmark Island & Vikingsbugt
Day 7: Scoresby Sund: Cap Hope & Ittoqqortoormiit
Day 8: Scoresby Sund: Steward Island & Constable Point
Day 9: Constable Point back to Reykjavik

Iceland Discovery
Day 1: Reykjavik: Blue Lagoon
Day 2: Golden Circle
Day 3: South Coast
Day 4: Jokulsarlon
Day 5: Eastern Fjords & Moorudalur Valley
Day 6: Moorudalur Valley & Lake Myvatn
Day 7: Akureyri & Trollaskagi Peninsular
Day 8: Grabrok Volcano & Snaefellsnes Peninsular
Day 9: Snaefellsness to Reykjavik

Toronto, Canada
Day 1: Reykjavik to Toronto
Day 2: Toronto to Port Perry
Day 3: Lake Muskoka
Day 4: Millbrook
Day 5: Back to Toronto
Day 6: Toronto
Day 7: Niagara Falls

 

 

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For this and other similar tours see:

Explore Europe with Intrepid Travel (a range of different travel styles – see my post on travel styles)

Peregrine Adventures (Comfort tours)

Geckos Adventures (for 18 to 30s)

Note: After people telling me they had booked an Intrepid Tour on my recommendation, I now have affiliate links with the Intrepid Travel group of companies and may receive a commission if you book a tour online within a couple of months after clicking through to these sites.  So if you are enjoying my tips and stories and finding them useful in choosing your own travel, please click on these links and help me to bring you more .

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