Eastern Townships (Cantons-de-l'Est), Canada: An Espresso Stop at Danville
One of the road trip stops I made last year in my visit to Eastern Canada was North Hatley in the Eastern Townships (Cantons-de-l'Est in the Estrie region) of Quebec. I was nearing the end of my journey here and North Hatley was the last town I am staying.
The plan was to drive from Quebec City to North Hatley which takes about 2.5 hours. I checked the map and looked for a village to stop over for coffee. Danville came up on the list of quaint little towns along the route. It will get me there under 2 hours. There is a café restaurant that looks promising—Le Marche Public Mante du Carre. I am having my pit stop here.
Danville is a very quiet rural town of 4,000 inhabitants. The whole intersection of the town centre where the city hall, a church and a few shops and offices were located were the main highlights. It is about 200 metres x 200 metres tops, that's it. It is indeed a sleepy township and I felt like I was one of the very few people tinkering around here. Every now and then a car passes by at the intersection. Someone pulls over and goes into one of the small buildings, disappears and then gets out again and drives away.
Nothing much is going on in the centre of this town really. I read that it used to be quite a busy place. There once was an asbestos mining operation nearby. When the mining closed down, people left to seek jobs elsewhere, moving out of town. Danville became a sleepy town thereafter in the process, which is what is is today.
I got out of the car and walked over to the Mante du Carre store slash restaurant for my cup of espresso. I wasn’t hungry so I let go of the idea of eating a pastry but I spied their paper placemats with the map of the Eastern Townships. Hmm, I need to get myself one =)
Oh, I might as well visit the loo now as well, as I need another hour to get to my destination (North Hatley). Good idea.
A shot of strong coffee always helps when you are driving for more than an hour.
Travel Period: October 2015
Destination: Danville, Eastern Townships (Quebec), Canada
Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels
Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
The plan was to drive from Quebec City to North Hatley which takes about 2.5 hours. I checked the map and looked for a village to stop over for coffee. Danville came up on the list of quaint little towns along the route. It will get me there under 2 hours. There is a café restaurant that looks promising—Le Marche Public Mante du Carre. I am having my pit stop here.
Danville is a very quiet rural town of 4,000 inhabitants. The whole intersection of the town centre where the city hall, a church and a few shops and offices were located were the main highlights. It is about 200 metres x 200 metres tops, that's it. It is indeed a sleepy township and I felt like I was one of the very few people tinkering around here. Every now and then a car passes by at the intersection. Someone pulls over and goes into one of the small buildings, disappears and then gets out again and drives away.
Nothing much is going on in the centre of this town really. I read that it used to be quite a busy place. There once was an asbestos mining operation nearby. When the mining closed down, people left to seek jobs elsewhere, moving out of town. Danville became a sleepy town thereafter in the process, which is what is is today.
I got out of the car and walked over to the Mante du Carre store slash restaurant for my cup of espresso. I wasn’t hungry so I let go of the idea of eating a pastry but I spied their paper placemats with the map of the Eastern Townships. Hmm, I need to get myself one =)
Oh, I might as well visit the loo now as well, as I need another hour to get to my destination (North Hatley). Good idea.
A shot of strong coffee always helps when you are driving for more than an hour.
My route from Quebec City to Danville. North Hatley my destination is further south just after Sherbrooke and Montreal is to the west.
The silver car is my rental car.
The restaurant inside Le Marche Mante du Carre. This place is a shop of all sorts, they sell their own home-made produce, they have a bakery, a restaurant of course, a little souvenir-general store and a cafe bar as well.
The quiches, pastries, cakes and desserts. This display is quite luxurious for a small town like this, but then again, this is Quebec, the French side of Canada.
I was there just before the elections, before Trudeau became the PM. I am taking a souvenir picture here of myself in the loo. Isn't that just grand? Haha.
Eastern Townships map as placemat.
Le Marche Mante du Carre. A good place to stop over for coffee and snacks in Danville.
A very quiet sleepy town. You can count with your fingers the number of people walking on the street.
Travel Period: October 2015
Destination: Danville, Eastern Townships (Quebec), Canada
Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels
Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
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