St. Jacob's & Elora

That's St. Jacob's & Elora, in Ontario, for a change.   This was usually our route when we go to the music festival in Elora but this year, we decided to skip the concerts and just take our time at the markets and the shops without having to worry about making it to a concert or play.  

I love the cultural food mix, Egyptian Cuisine next to Mennonite, bagels next to pita and apple strudel.   Not to mention souvlaki, tandoori, fried rice...

I would have loved to take home some of these flowers, but they would have perished in the sweltering heat today.

On the way from St. Jacob's to Elora, we encountered a nice surprise - the covered bridge in Woolwich, also known as the "Kissing Brige" (for obvious reasons).  It is the last covered bridge in Ontario.  Built in1881, it has been around for more than 100 years.  We've gone from St. Jacob's to Elora many times before but this is the first time we came across the bridge - all thanks to the GPS, as usual taking us through unknown fields in search of the shortest route!

We visited my favourite shop in Elora, the Mermaid, an antique store that's on the site of what used to be the Elora Observer, built in 1869.   The biggest attraction for me used to be its colour divided cases of clip on and screw back earrings and I must have bought more than half of my stash here.  It no longer has the huge collection of earrings but has diversified into some quite eclectic handcrafted jewelry.  I never fail to find something I like here.

Can't resist this one -