Music, Whisky, and Scenery

I have been travelling for about 3 weeks now. My body said ‘Time to Rest’, so I did. I spent the day yesterday pampering myself with knitting, movies (old Rom-Coms) and a nap in the afternoon. The place that I have has a deep jetted tub. Yeah, pamper myself.

However, today I’m back on the discovery trail. The first stop was the Celtic Music Interpretive Center. This gave you an insight to the music of Cape Breton. The music came from Scotland and Ireland along with the dance. The French then influenced the music as well. Soon it became unique to Cape Breton. There are different kinds of music to listen to as you read the history. They even have a video to teach you some basic dance steps. (I have 3 left feet and no co-ordination, hopefully no one was video taping this!) They have a complete history of the music here and then show the different instruments that they use. This includes several fiddles, bagpipes and harps. They have a coffee shop where there are some musicians playing and I filmed a little bit for you. They also have a gift shop where you can buy some of the CD’s of local people. So, yes I did. I love this kind of music, it is very lively and reminds me of Scotland.

Next up is Glenora Distillery (https://www.glenoradistillery.com). What would Cape Breton be without a distillery or two? I signed up for the tour. (Yes, I live in Niagara region of wine and distilleries, but it is always fun.) It turns out I’m the only one on the tour so I had a private tour with Cecile and saved $170.00 which is the cost of the private tour. This distillery has several cabins that you can stay at and in the fall they offer a 3 day course in distillery. The tour is very informative. The grain used to come from Scotland but now comes from Saskatchewan. The spring water that they use comes from the mountains but flows through the apple orchards. This brings the flavour of apples to the mix. The barrels that it is aged in (10 years minimum) come from Tennessee. They are bourbon barrels that have had bourbon matured in them for a minimum of 2 years. This brings another flavour to the whiskey. The next flavour comes from the barrels again since these barrels are ‘scorched’ prior to the bourbon being in them, so this adds a smoky flavour to the final product. The barrels are stored in a warehouse where the natural elements of fir and apples permeate the barrels as they mature. This all brings a unique flavour to their whisky. Yes, I bought a bottle or two to remind me of my trip.

After the tour I take a couple of backroads (I’ll need a car wash again!) to see what I can find. The countryside is beautiful here, more like New Brunswick in the north, with mountains and valleys and beautiful beaches and a nice church. I’m starting to get hungry, so I head to The Red Shoes Pub (www.redshoepub.com). This place is owned by the Rankin sisters. If you have never heard of The Rankin Family, they were musicians that played Cape Breton music in the late 80’s to 90’s. I have several of their CD’s so I just had to eat here. They have music every evening. The food is wonderful but I don’t stay for the music. It has been a long day and I have to pack up and get out tomorrow. I’m heading for Dingwall Nova Scotia. Stay tuned.Baca lagi