cinto

We stopped here on a whim, driving from the coast back home to Ontario, and we’re so glad we did.

It’s a quaint little beach town, with a nice main street called Water Street, with shops and restaurants and don’t forget the ice cream. The people are friendly, even to us dastardly Torontonians, and it was a nice place to spend a few days, more if you’re really looking to relax and be mellow.

We stayed at the Kennedy Inn which is on the non-water side of Water Street, but with a good view nonetheless. Great rates, personalised service, I’d stay there again in a heartbeat.

Perhaps my negative opinion comes from nothing more than disappointed expectations. But the travel brochures made Shediac out to be a quaint little tourist beach town. “Quaint” it is definitely not.

It’s got a main street with some utilitarian stores (ie. Radioshack, Shoppers, groceries), a few restaurants, and a nonstop traffic jam, being as it’s the only way to get through the town.

The best thing about it is Parlee Beach, which is a lovely clean sandy beach with what is apparently “the warmest water north of Virginia.” And it was warm! A great beach for kids, not only the sand of course but a very gradual drop to the water depth – you can walk out for a long time and still only be to your waist.

If staying here I recommend finding a place within walking distance of the beach to avoid the $9 parking fees. Or arrive before 9am when the gate is open and there’s free entrance.

This place was SO worth visiting, for me. After reading about lengthy waits to enter we were planning on skipping it, but by some chance the line was really short when we walked by, so we figured we’d check it out, even though we were still skeptical about how good it could really be.

We were herded in, and stood there, crammed like sardines (this is not an exaggeration), all craning our necks straight up to see the ceiling. There was nowhere to sit, and you had to shove through people to move anywhere.

But it was absolutely breathtaking. I know nothing whatsoever about art, and never much cared, but I just felt I was looking at something really special, and suddenly I understood what all the “fuss” is about.

I’m not sure how long we ended up standing there, but it was a long time, and certainly not long enough.

If I ever visit Rome again in my life, I’ll stand in however long a line to see this once more.

This might have been our favourite place in Italy. Rome, Florence and Venice were lovely, and must-sees of course, but if we were ever to go back, we might just skip those cities but make sure to re-visit San Gimignano.