Our Day at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia

August 13th - Tuesday - Beautiful Day - Temp. low 70's.

Today we were up early and drove the hour drive to Louisbourg to spend the day.  Louisbourg has been perched on the edge of the continent for 300 years.  It was once a bustling seaport, a hub for trade and commerce on the Atlantic, a multicultural, multilingual community and France's prize in the new world.  Today the Fortress of Louisbourg is North America's largest historical reconstruction, where thousands of visitors interact with costumed animators immersed in the sights, sounds and smells of this once mighty 18th century French fortress.

At the time the first people arrived here at the Fort, they fished for Cod, the Cod were six feet long, can you imagine bringing in a fish that was over six feet in length?  Scott, what do you think?  They were dried and sent back to France to feed the people there.  Once they were dried, which took about six weeks to complete the process, the fish were baled and wrapped ready for the ships.

Once again, I am just going to post pictures, if the internet allows me to do so, and I will explain my pictures.  It was an amazing day and we enjoyed our eight hours that we spent there.  We ate our large meal there which consisted of a meal served with large bib for each of us, one huge pewter spoon, a pewter bowl full of delicious split pea soup and whole wheat bread, pan fried cod, with fresh carrots and turnips and coffee to drink.  Everything was delicious.

Firing the muskets

Bowl that was used for holding milk, it allowed the cream to come to the top

A kitchen in the fort

A lady making spool lace and using linen thread, she could do an inch a day and still talk to her visitors, notice the detail on her collar.

My favorite the sheep and the crafts that go with it

A hand knit mitten with yarn that was spun with a drop spindle 

More crafts

An array of knitting crafts

The children getting ready for game time

The blacksmith with a history lesson, he was very interesting

This Frenchman was a delight, can't you just see it in his face?

Just part of the Fort

A lovely lady to speak with, my favorite, she knew how to run a kitchen.