Tiny Ontario - Merrickville

One of our favourite things to do in Eastern Ontario is to go out for a drive on country roads to explore the many small, picturesque villages. In Mexico they have something called pueblos magicos or magic towns which are towns formally recognized for their beauty, history or legends. It's a lovely idea and Ontario, not just Eastern Ontario, is blessed with many such towns. I'm adopting this concept.

Located between Kingston and Ottawa, and just over an hour drive from home sits Merrickville, at one point dubbed Canada's most beautiful village. As one of the oldest settlements on the Rideau Canal, it boasts more than 100 historic and heritage properties. While small, it hits all the notes of a lovely day trip with pretty architecture, beautiful flowers, coffee shops, restaurants, art galleries, a bookstore and local boutiques. It has charm for days. After a long and particularly hard winter we set out for a country drive over the Easter weekend. Canadian winters are tough and you can feel the collective relief as we head back outside, feeling the fledging sun in our faces. Strangers nod and say hello. Surviving winter is a badge of honour.

We popped into some of our favourite shops and grabbed a coffee. We had started the day in Perth, another pueblo magico, about half an hour away, where we had eaten lunch at Mex and Co. a cute Tex Mex restaurant by the river.

As for the shops, I'm partial to the Wick Witch Apothecary and the Anarchy Gallery. Pickle and Myrrh is a delightful caramel shop that will test your willpower. Pablo always stops into Vinyl Destination. And there are many, many others.

Happy Spring! We made it!

Spring skies