Port Hope Chamber of Commerce

Join me for another virtual trip to one of Ontario’s most picturesque and charming historic towns, PORT HOPE, that sits on Lake Ontario, just 50 minutes east of Toronto. With the Ganaraska River flowing through the downtown, it’s a photographer’s delight, as you will soon see here. My PR intern Gabriella Luchetta is a talented young photographer and most of the photos featured here are hers. So let’s get started….the first stop on any trip to Port Hope is always Queenie’s Bake Shop. The food, the staff and customers all contribute to that warm welcoming “olde worlde” feel and I recommend Queenie’s for all your refreshment needs. Check out the foodie fun Gabs and I enjoyed with master baker, chef and owner Adam Pearson (below) doing his best “meals on wheels” impression!. Next, we went next door to visit the king of bling…the god of glitz himself, Kenneth Bell. I can always find something fabulous there and Ken makes everyone feel so welcome. You HAVE to visit his wonderful jewellery and accessories store – you can find something for every taste from Audrey Hepburn to Rihanna – Ken will kit you out perfectly! www.KennethBell.com

After Gabriella and I injected a little moolah into Ken’s cash register, we went up the street to visit a few more retail friends of mine….here we are at Bubbles & Gems checking out some cool cushions and their “Purse Gallery” bubblesandgems.com Had a blast playing store clerk with Tammy at Susan Dewhurst Limited, a fab fashion boutique that carries so many stylish yet easy to wear designers….and I always buy a pair of their cute socks each time I drop in. Sadly the store will be closing in the Spring as owner Susan is retiring so get your butt in there soon as the deals are going fast.

see my new Buddha socks!

Further along Walton Street, we passed the stunning floral display in A.D. Holton Flowers. They always put on a fantastic show in their windows. Diane, owner of Joie de Vivre, the sweet smelling bodycare and aromatherapy shop, welcomed us and told us that she’s in the process of moving into a larger store further down the street (45 Walton) in the Spring. The product lines she carries are so lovely and luxurious (see below), and I wish her continued success as she moves into the new space.

We decided to stick our heads in the gorgeous old Capitol Theatre (www.capitoltheatre.com), an historic building that rivals Toronto’s Winter Garden Theatre. This year’s calendar of shows and concerts include Broadway hits like The Wizard of Oz, Mamma Mia, Crazy For You, August: Osage County and they welcome many professional touring companies. We were greeted by Lynn (with me below) who gave us a tour of the lobby bar and popcorn concession as well as the beautifully decorated theatre itself. Now it was time to drop in on Teri who runs G. Facey’s, one of the coolest fashion boutiques in PH…they carry both men’s and women’s fashion-fwd clothing and accessories and it was so nice to be welcomed in such a warm fashion (Gabs, you really shouldn’t photograph me from behind…argh!) http://www.gfaceys.com/ We then wandered the streets checking out the sights and signs of the town…. Now this sign in the window made us giggle way too much. A couple of locals walked by and gave us a wide berth as Gabs and I were making suggestive comments about how we need to experience “a handful of fun”…haaa haaa haaaWe headed down to the Ganaraska River to take the obligatory “touristy” shots like these… and here’s my “touristy” video of the fast-flowing river.

By now, it was time for afternoon tea so back to Queenie’s we went for some sustenance before we hit the beach then home to T’rona! Just time for a few more snaps before we left…. You can check out our visit to the Port Hope beach in the previous blog – what a fun day and both Gabriella and I look fwd to the next visit when we can check out other stores, the B&Bs and maybe the nature trail & boardwalk once the weather gets a little warmer. See you soon, Port Hope!

www.porthope.ca

On the one sunny day of this past week, my bestie, Erena, and I journeyed back to our favourite country town about an hour east of Toronto: Port Hope. It was Saturday and it was Farmers’ Market day in the parking lot behind the Municipal Offices so we tucked Erena’s vintage ‘vette into a shady parking spot and strolled the market stands, grazing our way thru the yummy treats and picking up some new treasures from the craftspeople there, too. The overpowering fragrance of bacon beckoned me on towards The Social’s stall….yes, one bacon sandwich, please. Mmmmmm….Erena enjoyed some homemade perogies from the lady opposite the bacon…they were apparently so good that her eyes rolled back as she noshed away on half a dozen…LOL

I found some lovely local wines to wash down the bacon when I stopped in to say hello to Tim Kuepfer (below) of Broken Stone Winery in Pr. Edward County. www.brokenstone.ca I found the pino noir very tasty and the other guests loved the chardonnay. Apparently Broken Stone participates in local wine tours so do check out their website to discover this emerging new wine region in Ontario.

We then discovered Gary & Robin from the Tallboots Farm who were selling an awesome selection of jams, preserves, pickles, tarts, cookies and….oh boy….hand-crafted chocolates!! www.tallbootsfarm.ca The jams were delish and both of us purchased a jar of the triple raspberry jam (I just had some on my toast for breakie this morning) and the chocolates we bought didn’t last long either!

One lovely young local serenaded us as we all walked around…

…and we enjoyed meeting many of the farmers and vendors (below). As we got there a bit late (around 12 noon) most of the produce was long gone but we did see some massive radishes and lots of live tomato plants. We gotta come back earlier on summer Saturdays to grab the veggie deals.

Desperately needing a good cuppa coffee (and a quick tinkle) we left the market, walking thru the historic streets (below)…

…and found our fave cafe, Queenies Bake Shop, the happiest shop on Walton St. The food and bevvies are superb and the hospitality warm and friendly. Thanks to the ladies and chef Adam (below) for looking after us once again.

No trip to Port Hope would be complete without a quick visit to Kenneth Bell‘s fabulous bling boutique just a couple of doors down from Queenies. www.kennethbell.com Ken was heading off on a road trip with his wholesale treasures so we hung out with his assistant, Sherry (below) and played dress-up with young model, Madi (bottom pic) who showed us a very Rhianna-ish multi-strand chain necklace.

We also spent some time (and dollars!) with the ladies of Bubbles & Gems, another few doors down from Ken’s store. Erena picked up some lovely jewellery there and I enjoyed browsing thru the groovy purses. http://www.bubblesandgems.com/

We decided to take a quick nature break and visit the lakeside boardwalk just a little east of the downtown core as well as visit the beach at the foot of the Ganaraska River, so after a quick visit to our friends at Facey’s and Engine Gallery (see my previous blog posted in May), we headed off into the wilds of Northumberland County and look what we found…..sheer leafy bliss!

And we weren’t alone. One bold as brass chipmunk came right up to me, posing for pics and obviously looking for some nibblies. Next time we go, I’m taking peanuts with me as I have a feeling this little guy would take them right out of my hand.

We walked back to the car, then headed off towards town and hit the beach.

I had fun paddling in the cool waters of Lake Ontario…how clean and clear it was, too.

We decided to end our day in Port Hope by dining at Crawford’s Lakeview Cafe, just up from the beach. What a charming cafe with a lovely wrap-around porch where we dined on fish and chips (me) and a gourmet burger (Erena), topped off with homemade desserts of apple pie and icecream (me) and a lemon slice (Erena) …yummmm.

Apparently Crawford’s serves THE best breakfast for miles and Chef Pino Ruberto told us that his French toast and pancake stacks attract diners from miles around! We’ll be back for breakie soon, that’s for sure.
As we left the cafe, we witnessed what, to me, looked like a scene out of Jurassic Park: strange dinosaur-like creatures invading the streets. I never knew baby Canadian geese looked so weird!