Travelsmartplanet

A historic plaque in the Newburgh, NY service plaza on I-87.

Do you see a lady applying her makeup or do you see a skull? This piece is called “All is vanity” and is found in the Jost House, one of the historic houses in North Sydney.

This is Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach. You can normally not see it from the road due to the high hedges, but when Trump hosted a press conference here concerning his nomination, the hedges were trimmed, and we were able to get this view. It was originally built by Marjorie Merriweather Post.

When visiting Fortress Louisbourg in Nova Scotia, you have the opportunity to sleep in an authentic 18th century home. Reach out to Parks Canada to set it up but be aware that in that era, they slept on straw mattresses (you can throw a sleeping bag on top, though). Test yourself to see if you can live without electricity. In Rodrigue House, this is the bigger room, fine for the lady. The other smaller room had 2 single beds.

When dining in 18th century, your napkin is worn as a bib. Great idea. We should start a trend. Here at the Fortress Louisbourg in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, you can dine on a traditional meal in authentic style with costumed servers.

In the eighteenth century at Fortress Louisbourg, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the lower class diet included locally prepared bread, spruce beer, meat or fish. Staples like butter, cheese, and rum were imported. Here I dined on pea soup and an apple tart for dessert. They ate with spoons. Gathering for a meal was not only for sustenance but also for news, companionship and games of chance.

Fortress Louisbourg, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, is producing smooth rum – a drink that would have been downed by rich and poor in the 18th century. Don’t forget to bring it home as a souvenir. Every time you feel the smooth liquor go down, you’ll remember your trip – and how lucky we are to live in this century. To buy it, just ask for Fortress Rum, what else?

Before you enter Fortress Louisbourg, Cape Breton, NS, you can visit a fisherman’s cottage and learn about their lives in the 18th century. Perhaps they were the lucky ones living outside the walls, for the aboriginals said you could smell the fortress before you arrived as soldiers rarely bathed and there were no toothbrushes. Aboriginals stayed way outside the fortress. Now we know why Louis XV court was called the “perfume court” as they needed to cover up the human aromas.

Etienne Verrier was chief engineer for Fortress Louisbourg from 1725 to 1745 and lived here, in one of the most imposing homes. The military engineers were town planners, architects and construction engineers. They laid out the streets, planned the fortifications, designed all the colony’s public buildings and influenced military tactics in the sieges. He was wealthy enough to be able to serve cocoa to his guests. A pound of cocoa cost the same as a pair or shoes. The cocoa was served hot with spices and sugar and was used medicinally and for warmth and strength.

Chocolate was hugely expensive in the 18th century and a pound would cost the same as a pair of shoes. You had to be wealthy to be able to serve cocoa to guests. the cocoa was served hot with spices and sugar and was used medicinally and for warmth and strength. Both women and men drank it. Ladies thought it was energizing. More than two centuries later, I think we still agree about that.