Traveling Gaspese (Part 4)--- Baie-Saint-Paul

Situated on the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence river, the quaint little city of Baie-Saint-Paul is known for it's thriving artist community.   This tiny little town is also famous as the home of the  internationally renowned Cirque du Soleil, where the first production was held in the early 1980's~ 

 Baie-Saint-Paul is one of Quebec's oldest cities

and is famous for the charming boutiques

and art galleries that line the streets~

just over an hour's drive from

Quebec City--

visiting this quaint little town

can easily be done as a day trip

while you are in the area~

this little town loves to

"dress UP"

 and goes all out to decorate

the shop displays, streets, and homes

within the city~

This small town has over 30 galleries and studios,

 along with historic houses

 converted into attractive restaurants and shops.

 With its prosperous, holiday atmosphere 

and its location among wood-covered hills 

 Baie-Saint-Paul is one of Quebec's

 most appealing towns~

Come along with the Gardener and me

 as we stroll along the narrow streets

lined with quaint boutiques and art galleries~

 the whole town is in

"cute" overload!

I think I took photos of almost

every storefront in this town!

we visited last fall,

and the entire city was

decked out in beautiful autumn displays~

 seriously,

how cute is this little woolen store?

 the city was filled with

beautiful blooming bushes and flowers~

 the city is famous for it's 

annual artist festival

that is held every 

Autumn

~

one of our first trips to the city,

(a few years ago)

was during the annual art festival.  

every street was filled with artists

and their displays...

the city was a wonderland of color 

and artistic impressions.. 

around every corner

is a pretty little painted

mural~

no shortage of "green thumbs"

in this city,...

the blooms were amazing!

one of my favorite photos

taken as we strolled around town~

some of the "century" old homes

in the city,

have been converted into

art galleries~

one of my favorite shops..

I fell in love with the garden display

(it was a tad bit cool that day!) 

 

 in the early 1920's,

a group of Canadian artists

known as the 

"Group of Seven"

lived in this tiny little cottage 

within the city~

the "Group of Seven"

 is best known for its paintings

 inspired by the Canadian landscape..

 their continued residence in

Baie-Saint-Paul

helped to establish this town's reputation

 as an artist community~

  this cottage,

now turned "art gallery"

houses some original works of art

from the "Group of Seven" artists

and contains original furnishings

dating back to the period 1920's

when the artists were in residence~

a beautiful mural is in process

at the flood wall on the 

outside of town~

situated on the highest ground within the city

stands the beautiful
Place de l'Église

church 

the banks of the

Saint Lawrence river~

 on our way back to

Quebec City,

we followed curvy country roads

in search of this historic

 covered bridge~

 and ....

we ended our wonderful day

like this~

~~~ In my next travel post, we are seriously on the road as we begin to make the circle around the Gaspe Penninsula.... thank you for traveling with us on this amazing adventure. We travel past ancient churches, picturesque settings on the bank of the Saint Lawrence ,and our very first hotel outside of Quebec City.  Wait till you see the incredible scenery just outside our hotel door!

We will meet all types of weather, days in the 80's, days in the 20's, and everything in between!  We will have calm days, and days with gale force winds,... if you are packing to travel along with us you will need to prepare for all the situations! 

~~We have beautiful blooms in our yard and 4 baby kittens roaming around on our back sundeck --- both are sure signs that Spring has finally come to our little corner of the world!

While I am working on the next set of travel pictures, I have one more nesting post I wish to share with you--- next up will be some photos from this seasons beautiful Shabby Treasure nests.  I made 6 of these special nests and sent them off to new homes. I'll share one of the personal stories relating to this "commission" only nest  and some photos in my next post~

Love,love,

Vicki