- Feb 3, 2021
- 2 min read

An Afternoon with Anne

I spent the summer of 2016 in a place not many Australians would think to live when they decide to move to Canada. Many choose mountain towns like Whistler or Banff, bustling with tourists and nightlife and people from their neck of the woods. I'd done a winter in the Rockies twice already, so for my summer in Canada, I wanted to go somewhere entirely different. So I chose the maritimes.

One of my favorite childhood stories still to this day is Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery. I can't explain why it moves my soul to the people who have never read the books or watched the 80s three-part series, so I speak directly to those who have grown up with the headstrong orphan Anne with an 'E', her beloved Green Gables and of course the dashing love interest Gilbert Blythe. It is because of its innocence, its simplicity and its heart that we adore Anne's story, and it is the reason I chose to move to Nova Scotia for a summer - the most enchanting summer of my life.

I managed to secure a job at a luxury golf resort on the north shore of the province, facing Prince Edward Island. Though the movies were shot in Toronto, the author gleaned her inspiration for Anne's world from the red-sand shores of Prince Edward Island, and I could see it from the window of the dining room inside which I worked. The resort was called Fox Harb'r, and it was as naturally stunning as it was homely, a place where Canadians would fly in on their private jets to play golf for the weekend, where everything was sustainable and the very trout served at dinner was farmed upon the grounds of the resort. I had many adventures in and around Nova Scotia, where I tasted crisp white wine at Jost Vineyards, explored the scottish highlands of Cape Breton, took coastal drives through lobster towns and watched the tide roll in through the Bay of Fundy. And one day, my friend and I drove across Confederation Bridge to explore PEI, and if you are a fan of Anne's story, I reccomend you visit. It was a step into her world, from the Lake of Shining Waters to Lover's Lane. I fulfilled my childhood dream that day, but it was Nova Scotia that took me by surprise.

Now, as a travel agent, when someone asks what they should do and see in Canada, I don't just talk about the Rockies (though they are breathtaking and unforgetable) or the wilderness of the Yukon (another story for another time), I sweep my finger across the map and say "the Maratimes is the real Canadian treasure."