Victorian style living by the waterfront for "the common barbarian"... part two of an unlimited series!

We had a glorious 8 days of vacation in New-Brunswick and along the St-Lawrence river. First off, thanks to our friendly neighbours (Marie and Rico) for taking care of the flowers in our absence...

... owing to your help, we are still in business for the rest of the summer!

What a great time we had along the New-Brunswick coastal area...

... and what can I say about New-Brunswick that hasn't been said before. Metaphorically speaking, I could say that the province is like a giant lobster: most impressive on the outside but even more appreciated for what's inside, i.e., its fun-loving and most welcoming people... some of them being downright huggable... they will recognize themselves!

While I was there, I took the opportunity to visit as many galleries as possible and to talk to local artists whenever possible...

... a special thank you to Amber Lounder for taking the time to share with us a few of her stunning works and those of a number of local artists through a "guided" visit at the Heron Bay gallery in Shediac (incidently, I was also most impressed by Skyrie's abstract paintings). All in all, it was more than a "common barbarian" deserved!

While in Fredericton, I was blown away by the Beaverbrook gallery : I didn't expect close encounters with works from Molly Lamb Bobak (a powerhouse in NB), Tony Scherman (his contemporary encaustic paintings have always blown me away), John Singer Sargent (an oil painting that could have been a precursor of his stunning watercolors), William Turner (yes Turner, how possible in this neck of the woods!) and Sisley, a well known impressionist to name a few.

The cherry on top of the sundae: the architecture in Fredericton. There are impressive Victorian homes all over New-Brunswick (as an example, the maison Vienneau where we stayed in Shediac) but what we saw in Fredericton was out of this world. We stayed at the Carriage House Inn...

... a good example of what to expect over there.

In a nutshell, mission accomplished for "our Canadian vacation 2010"...