The Tait House – Shediac
After we left Mont Jolie on the Saint Lawrence we traveled South on Highway 132 into New Brunswick on our way to Cape Breton and Charlottetown. Again it was amazing how rural this part of the country is. There are so few people and the towns are so small.
Along the way we passed a stand of birch trees which were just too pretty to just drive by without a photograph so we pulled off the road for a few minutes. I
got lost in my picture taking and Susan became somewhat annoyed so we got on our way again.
It was our plan to make Shediak that night. It would be a good jump off point for Cape Breton and P.E.I. and it was close to Moncton and the airport when it was time to head home.
This is the stand of birch trees along the highway that caught my camera’s attention. I wandered around in the trees for about half an hour taking pictures.
Shediac is a small community North East of Moncton on Highway 15 about a 15 minutes drive away from the Moncton airport. When I was born in Belleville in Ontario my father was serving at the airforce base in Trenton. But within months he was transfered to the airforce base in Moncton and so we all moved here in about July of 1942. He was serving here when he finally was posted overseas and Mom and I came out to Fort Langley. But all of that is another story. But, I had been to Moncton before.
When we got to Shediac we needed to find a place to stay. The selection was not great but as we drove into town there was an old mansion that had been converted into a small hotel that looked very inviting. This was the Tait House. We decided to stay there and it was a marvelous choice.
The old house is in a wonderful state of repair and the entrance way is magnificent. Looking towards the front door the Parlour and Living Room on both sides of the hall have been set up as dining rooms. The stairs leading up to the right take you to the rooms upstairs.
Lisa, the hostess, made us feel very welcome from the moment we arrived. She suggested we have dinner there that night and that was another good decision we made. Chef Gilles is a master! We had the most incredible meal.
Our room was modern with every convenience but it still held
an old world charm. It was very comfortable. The picture on the right above was taken standing outside our room looking to the front of the house. At the end of the hall by the windows is a delightful little sitting room well stocked with books and magazines. The furniture was chosen to suit the style and age of the house and the effect was most elegant.
The next morning, the 20th of April, we left for Cape Breton but we made reservations to return here for the night before our flight home. And return we did, on the 23rd of April. And again we let Chef Gilles cook us our dinner.
Chef Giles took our picture for us during dinner on our second night at the Tait House. Not only can he cook but he is a great raconteur and host.
And one last picture: the meal Gilles prepared for me on the last night of our holiday. The steak was perfection. But the most impressive for me were the vegetables. Restaurants do not do vegetables well. But these were amazing. Simple. No sauces and loud flavors. Just vegetables and a little butter. Not over cooked, not raw, just right!
That was the Tait House. And our last night before we went home after three months of continuous travelling. We had been in Budapest, Vienna, Venice, Tuscany, and Puerto Vallarta, but the Tait House was the most soul satisfying.