I’ve already professed my endless love for the Eastern Townships around this time of year, as the region’s abounding nature displays the most colors of Fall, painting the landscapes in wonderful tones of warm red, soft yellow, brown and orange. The wide-open spaces, comprising forests, lakes, mountains, and fields as far as the eye can see, give me an impression of infinite possibilities and would make anyone visiting the area feel like they’re alone in the midst of nature, which in my opinion, is particularly conducive to tranquility and relaxation, but also offers a wide array of outdoors activities, ranging from hiking, kayaking and horseback riding (amongst other fun activities) in the summertime; to skiing, snowshoeing, dog sledding in the wintertime.
We spent the weekend in Eastman at Le Vertendre, a company that specializes in renting eco-chic cottages and shelters immersed in nature, at the foot of Mount Orford. And as I am typing these words, every cell of my body wishes I was still at the cottage, lying in the sofa facing the double-sided fireplace, with a steaming cup of coffee by my side, occasionally turning my head over to the large windows all around to catch a glimpse of the breathtaking Autumn landscape surrounding the cottage.
We had an amazing time at the cottage. My husband and I invited his family to spend the weekend with us and everybody raved about how beautifully-designed the cottage was, how cozy it felt and how wonderful being surrounded by nature was. Le Vertendre also offers outdoors activities such as kayaking on Lac Castor and hiking that unfortunately, we didn’t get to experience because it was raining and snowing. Of all the cottages we’ve had the opportunity to stay at, this one was honestly one of my favorites. It was luminous, a feature I always seek in a cottage; modern and decorated with great taste; located in the midst of nature, but close enough to grocery stores, restaurants, gas station, cafés and bars, which is great. One of the things I always look forward to whenever we spend a few days at a cottage, is making/eating breakfast (my favorite meal of the day) and the kitchen at this cottage was particularly amazing to gather, either to cook, or have a drink and snacks and talk about anything and everything.
Le Vertendre also offers great outdoors activities such as canoeing and kayaking at Lac aux castors which is a preserved environment; hiking, skiing, snowshoeing and biking in more than 15 kms of trails; marveling at the many waterfalls and streams. We have not had a chance to enjoy any of these activities as it was raining and snowing on our only afternoon there, but we saw the area and it was absolutely beautiful.
Take a look at all the photos we took from our stay at the cottage below:
