To Dream A Great Dream

It was never my intention to come to Prince Edward Island,infact i would have to admit i hadn't even heard of the place until i started to look at other prospects of work.The island is the smallest province of Canada but probably the one thats steeped the most in history,and is commonly known as the "The Birth Place Of The Confederation".Anyone who wants to research Canadian history will find straight away how much this tiny island resting off the east coast has played a major part in how Canada is today.Having been here since December, although i frequently travel into Charlottetown i haven't really took time to take in the history of the place so today my mission was to do just that.Charlottetown is our capital city but on the scale of other capitals is relatively small, more like a big town in UK size,the lifestyle here as the rest of the Island is slow,but does attract quite a few tourist, as i said in a recent post we have cruise ships visiting throughout the summer which hepls bolster the coffers.One of our main attractions is "Province House"which is now a national historic site of Canada.In september1864 23 political leaders began the discussions that led in 1867 to the Dominion of Canada.For five days the delegates met privately debating the merits of the Canada plan,by the end of the conference all the delegates had reached an agreement of the Union.Although nothing was actuallly signed in Charlottetown, all further details were hammered out in Quebec a month later, then in London in 1866.On july 1st 1867 the Dominion of Canada was born ironically Prince Edward Island rejected the colonial plan which resulted in the island not becoming part of Canada till 1873 some 6 years later.Province House was designed by a yorkshire man Isaac Smith, there was a competion held to design this colonial building in which he won first prize.All visitors are allowed in the building for a tour (free of Charge)and a brief film,feel yourself being transported back into history to when this memorable event took place,the building is still used to this day for the seating of parliament. Outside the Province House each afternoon throughout the summer,there is an reactment of the Confederation all characters are dressed as they were in the 1800's it gives you a taste of how things were.Throughout Charlottetown you will come across Malls shops,bars and restaurants most giving you the opportunity to sample PEI's delicious seafood,as you are probably aware by now fresh Lobster is a must but around the island we have an assortment of seafood,whether you like mussels,oysters,cod,haddock you will find most are freshly caught to please your taste buds.What i have found since ive been here is how laid back it is,its definately not like the hustle and bustle of the larger citys making Charlottetown a rather pleasureable and safe place to visit.

As you walk along the streets you will find a mixture of brick and wooden building many stemming back into the relms of history it doesn't take long to realise how quaint the place is. St Dunstans Basilica is a prominent church in the city and very beautiful it is.Just on the edge on the city we have Peakes wharf, there is an abundance of gift shops etc and each day various artists will perform a concert in the Pavillion gardens(weather permitting),so take a seat and enjoy while eating some of the fantastic ice creams COWS has to offer.When you live in an area you tend to take it for granted and not appreciate the Architure and the history thats goes with it,unfortunately the weather wasn't on my side and i had to cut my trip down memory lane short.