 |
| View at Drake Devonshire |
I loveee a good weekend road trip. For my birthday this year, I took Friday off work and we drove to Prince Edward County for 3 days. Enamoured by the endless rows of vineyards, chic inns (Hi, Drake Devonshire) and classic small-town-Ontario Main Street shops, I knew it would be a great getaway.
Finding a place to stay in the summer right near the "downtown" of Picton isn't easy or cheap, so Joseph found a lovely spot at The Owl's Nest Suites in Belleville which was about a 10-20 min drive from all of our desired attractions. I’d recommend staying either in Wellington or Picton if you can. This would allow for more walking and less driving, but the winding roads are still very fun as you get to see pretty fields, cows and horsies.
One disappointing fact was that it rained all day on Sunday, and it wasn't very warm overall. Because of this, we didn't get to visist Sandbanks and we avoided walking through the Provincial Parks due to the risk of flies and mosquitoes. I would love to go back again to enjoy the beach on a warm day.
The Owl's Nest has 3 "straw bale" suites, each a unique work of art. The sinks, shower tiles, back splashes, dishes and lamps are all hand made out of pottery by the owner, Janna. A lot of the furniture has been lovingly crafted out of salvaged barn wood. Each suite has its own entrance, washroom and kitchenette. Guests are welcome to bring their own goodies and prepare their meals in the suite kitchenette.
- County Canteen in Picton – visited for our last dinner, good food – got ribs, a bit salty
- Miller House for lunch – located at Lake on a Mountain, beautiful view, not much else to do there but go to restaurant/cafe
- We had a drink and dessert at the patio of Miller Inn after lunch - great view!
- The Drake Devonshire for weekend brunch – so good, got Eggs Benny and Classic Breakfast
- Prince Eddy Brewing Co – pretty patio with beach volleyball court, could be a fun place to hang around at or around dinner time. We went in the rain, so we just bought some beers and moved on.
- Winery Tour at Sandbanks Winery – paid $45 ppn for 45 min yoga with Vicky, personal stone oven pizza and a wine tasting
- At Sandbanks Winery we learned that even though Malbec is traditionally from France, some of the best ones are now from South America, and pair very well red meat. We learned about late harvest vs. ice wine (different degrees of sweetness), and I was also recommended Hinterland Whitecap VQA sparkling white wine, which I haven't tried yet - but definitely will over the holidays.
- Souvenir idea? I ended up buying the ingredients for a new cocktail recipe while visiting different wineries and distilleries, recommended by our wine tour leader Grace: Love Rosé, Juniper Gin from Kinsip, Orange Bitters and garnished with an orange peel
Check out my video for a play-by-play of the weekend, and see below for some recommendations on food and outings:
Here are a few things we did during the weekend:
Food
- Started off with buying some bagels and a chocolate banana loaf at What a Bagel along with some peaches and drinks/snacks for the road since there was no breakfast/restos close to our Inn- County Canteen in Picton – visited for our last dinner, good food – got ribs, a bit salty
- Miller House for lunch – located at Lake on a Mountain, beautiful view, not much else to do there but go to restaurant/cafe
- We had a drink and dessert at the patio of Miller Inn after lunch - great view!
 |
| The Drake Devonshire Brunch |
- The Drake Devonshire for weekend brunch – so good, got Eggs Benny and Classic Breakfast
- Prince Eddy Brewing Co – pretty patio with beach volleyball court, could be a fun place to hang around at or around dinner time. We went in the rain, so we just bought some beers and moved on.
Outings
- Sunflower Fields at sunset and ice cream - $5 entry per person, they also do yoga in the sunflowers, so cute- Winery Tour at Sandbanks Winery – paid $45 ppn for 45 min yoga with Vicky, personal stone oven pizza and a wine tasting
 |
| The wine we bought |
- At Sandbanks Winery we learned that even though Malbec is traditionally from France, some of the best ones are now from South America, and pair very well red meat. We learned about late harvest vs. ice wine (different degrees of sweetness), and I was also recommended Hinterland Whitecap VQA sparkling white wine, which I haven't tried yet - but definitely will over the holidays.
- Souvenir idea? I ended up buying the ingredients for a new cocktail recipe while visiting different wineries and distilleries, recommended by our wine tour leader Grace: Love Rosé, Juniper Gin from Kinsip, Orange Bitters and garnished with an orange peel
Want to do next time
- Alpaca farm in Wellington (bad weather but would have gone, close to lavender fields which were no longer in season)- Presq’ile – no time to visit, we went to yoga instead. You must pay $20 to go in. It's a big provincial park to walk/hike around.
- Sandbanks beach – would have loved to go but we had bad weather
- Lavender – all gone for the season, next time (visit before mid-August, more sunflowers will be alive then too)
- Slicker’s Ice cream – a few locations, they close at 9 so you must go quick after dinner!
-County Cider Company – my colleague recommended the blood orange cider – really unique, didn't try it
Happy travels!
xx
No comments
Post a Comment