After our ramble through the remote north central region of New Brunswick, we traveled west across Route 17 to spend the evening in Edmundston. Edmunston is a predominately francophile city of approximately 16,000 people that sits on the St. John River. The mainstay of the economy here since it’s founding to the present is the paper industry. Logs were driven downstream to the mills by rivermen known as log drivers. Today the logs arrive by truck.
The mill in Edmunston dominates the cityscape as it sits right in the town along the river. The mill in Edmunston produces pulp which is sent via a milelong pipe that winds its way through the city and across the river to a paired paper mill in Madawaska, Maine.
As interesting as pulp and paper may be, we actually stopped over in Edmunston to visit the Jardin Botanique and then travel south along the St. John River before crossing back into the United States at Fort Fairfield.
The botanical gardens are relatively small at 17 acres but includes 12 thematic gardens. The gardens are surrounded by an arboretum which makes the setting very tranquil and peaceful. There also a number of topiaries skillfully configured as animals to complete the setting.
We had the opportunity to meet with one of the artists in residence. Guylaine Dufour is a gardener at the Jardin Botanique and one of the artists in residence during the summer months. She works primarily with glass and staining; many of the pieces she creates during the summer are utilized in the gardens to complement the plantings. Below is a glass piece embedded in a wooden bench and glass pieces embedded in stone used as stepping stones in one of the gardens. We enjoyed meeting Guylaine and learning about her techniques and approach to enhancing le jardin.
We were just in Edmuston for one evening to position our drive south along the St. John River before crossing into Maine. However, that is no excuse for the seasoned traveler to forego fine food or coffee.
Because Edmundston is about 95% francophile (French is the primary language with English as a second language) we were confident fine dining would be at hand. We were quite pleased with ourselves when we were able to obtain a reservation at the Chantal Steakhouse. The restaurant has a bit of continental flair with several amuse bouche dishes selected by the chef and served prior to your appetizer and dinner selections. We had an excellent meal and Chantal stopped by our table to make sure we were happy with our dinner and service. Chantal and her daughter own and operate the restaurant. Lovely!
Ideally, our first and last activities when visiting a city is the consumption of good espresso and tea products. Bruliere du Vieux Poste operates a small cafe and roastery and was a two minute walk from the hotel. This happy circumstance made our brief stay all the more pleasant. The name translated by Google into English is The Burning of the Old Post Office — “pas sur” on this traslation
Okay — that is our report from Edmundston. We will be doubling back to chronicle our two weeks on the fascinating island of Cape Breton in our next post.
Be seeing you.
ON THE ROAD with Maria + Stephen 