August 26, 2025
9:14 am
As we approach Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI), I’m enjoying a breakfast of buttermilk pancakes with walnut butter and caramelized bananas.
We don’t have an excursion planned for today as we’ve been here several times previously. Over the years we’ve done a fabulous island tour, an excursion to the Anne of Green Gables house and grounds, and a visit on our own to Confederation Hall. (Plus we wanted a low-key day after yesterday’s long tour in Cape Breton.) Today we will return to 2 favorite food venues—COWS for ice cream and Peake’s Quay for mussels—and also find an independent bookstore. Books are the best souvenirs!
4:18 pm
We accomplished all 3 goals, and more.
First up, I sampled an oyster from a cart at the pier. So good!
A sign next to a large map described Charlottetown as “a city made for walking,” which is so true. It was pretty easy, flat in most areas, at least downtown.
At our son’s request, we stopped briefly at the Charlottetown Fire Department on Kent Street. There was a fire truck from 1929 outside for photos. There were also some cute little sculptures like a Dalmatian next to a food bowl and a little kid in a firefighter hat about to squirt a hose. (A big thank you again to the firefighters we met. You made his day, and ours )
There were several bookstores along Queen Street, roughly 900 meters (0.6 miles) from the cruise terminal. In the first, called Bookmark, I looked unsuccessfully for a local history book, so I asked for a recommendation for historical fiction set in the area. The owner brought me a copy of Bound, by Theresa Redmond, set during the British colonization in the 1770s. (I’ve since read it and can understand why it earned so many awards.)
We also browsed at a few used book stores. At The Book Emporium, my husband happened upon an early edition of a TITANIC book that had been on my wishlist for years.
Our next stop was COWS, its downtown location. (There’s another one near the pier.) I chose Wowie Cowie, which was vanilla ice cream, English toffee marble, chocolate flakes, and Moo Crunch.
As it was chilly, we made an unplanned stop at PEI Dirt Shirt, where I bought myself a sweatshirt. The material is dyed with a solution made from authentic PEI red rock.
We then enjoyed our lunch at Peake’s Quay Restaurant near the cruise ship dock—mussels with white wine, garlic, herbs, and cream. There must have been 2 to 3 dozen mussels in the bowl!
As we returned to the ship, I noticed a couple of shopping areas. The shop near the terminal is a former railway car shop (1910-ish) used for construction and repair of passenger carriages. There’s also the Port Charlottetown Seaport Vendor Village that’s open to the public on cruise ship days.
I could live here.
8:16 pm
We just watched the most beautiful sunset from an outside deck. Once again we skipped dinner, as we’d had a lot to eat in Charlottetown, so we went to O’Sheehan’s Pub for quick snacks. I’ll now head to our cabin to start reading one of my new books.
Next up: Our first visit to Saguenay
