But I digress.....
As per usual, I feel it's most useful to break this post up into 10 categories, rather than share every detailed moment. It won't be short, but hopefully it's still a good read!
Without further ado.....
My trip to Newfoundand
#1: The Conference
This was why I was in St. John's in the first place. A professional organization I belong to holds an annual national conference and I applied to present at it this year. My proposal was approved in January, and so began hours of work over the course of many months in order to prepare my 90-minute presentation.
It was one of the most academic things I've done in recent memory. I convocated from my undergrad nearly 3 years ago, and I can't remember working so diligently on something indirectly related to my job since then. It was a great thing to sink my teeth into, I prepared extensively, and on Friday June 7, off I went to St. John's, Newfoundland.
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| Bags are packed and ready to go. |
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| Our first view of "The Rock" from the plane. |
My presentation was on the final day, Monday June 10. It could not have gone better! The room was full, people were engaged and asked meaningful questions, I felt really good about my "performance", if you will, and the feedback I've received since has been very positive. I'm really proud, and it was a great experience, personally and professionally.
#2: Rally in the Alley
Another great part of the conference was how well-organized it was. This fact culminated on the final night (June 10) with the "Rally in the Alley".
There were a few social events on the other two evenings of the conference, which I attended, but I didn't go all out being that my presentation was on the last day. On top of that, an old colleague of mine - T. - was at the conference and we spent a lot of time 1-on-1 together, which I preferred anyway. Imagine that! (For the record, I still made lots of great connections with people.)
Anyway, the last night I had the freedom to go all out, and I'm glad I saved it until then. The Rally in the Alley was basically a concentrated St. John's experience. The delegates at the conference were split into 3 groups with associated colours (mine was red!), and with a different musician leading each group (snare drum, bagpipes, and ours - bass drum).
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| Some of the "Rally in the Alley" musicians. |
Next we went off with our groups to one of three locations. Our group started at a pub - can't remember what it was called - where we watched three young women do traditional Irish line dancing. They were great!
Next we followed the bass drum to a place called Rob Roy to get screeched in. From my understanding there are only two places to get screeched in in St. John's, and I don't think Rob Roy is usually one of them, but again, for our group some special arrangements were made.
Anyway, for those who don't know, getting screeched in makes you an honorary Newfoundlander. To do so, you have to repeat a phrase ("Indeed I is, me old cock, and long may your big jib draw!"), kiss a frozen cod, and then take a shot of screech (sort of a rum-like liquor). I was determined to do this during my trip, and it was a hoot!
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| Me kissing the cod! |
From there it was back to Club One where the tables were out of the way, a band was on stage, and the dancing began. What a great night!
#3: Sightseeing in St. John's
I spent 5 full days and 4 half-days in St. John's, 3 full days of which were the conference. Not a tonne of time and there's so much to see, but I made a concerted effort to see as much as I could, and I think I did pretty well. For the record, it's beautiful!
On my first full-day there, Saturday June 8, I went to the St. John's farmers' market with my girlfriend K., our friend Lauren who I stayed with for part of my trip, and K's fabulous new friend, Erin. The farmers' market was delightful and charming; it was basically a crowded portable, full of food, artisans, and other vendors. We browsed, and then I got some delicious food, which I enjoyed with K. and friends outside in the sunshine, with a drum circle playing nearby. A fantastic start to the trip!
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| Inside the "portable". |
That same evening was the opening reception for the conference, held at The Rooms, a museum in St. John's I had heard so much about. The exhibits were open, though I wasn't able to check all of them out, but I did take the view in, which was excellent! It's definitely worth checking out; a gorgeous view of downtown, the harbour, and St. John's in general.
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| View of St. John's harbour from The Rooms. |
We struck a deal via the Delta Hotel with a cab driver who would drive us to Cape Spear, wait for 20 minutes while we looked around and took photos, and then drive us to the top of Signal Hill; all for a reasonable cost, we were assured by the staff at the Delta.
So off we went with Rick to Cape Spear, learning history along the way. Cape Spear is the eastern most point in all of North America, which I think is really cool. The weather wasn't bad, and we were dressed appropriately, so we enjoyed ourselves, taking photos and spending some time absorbing the fact of where we were in the world.
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| Me at North America's most eastern point. |
From there, Rick drove us to the top of Signal Hill. We climbed up Cabot Tower, learning about Marconi (who sent the first transatlantic wireless signal from Cabot Tower), and then taking in the fantastic view of the city. It was really nice climbing back down the hill, too; a good (downhill!) walk with great views, and finishing with Mile Zero, where Canadian hero Terry Fox began his run across Canada. That was quite touching actually, and amazing to think he dipped his foot in the water right there.
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| Cabot Tower. |
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| View of St. John's from Signal Hill. |
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| Terry Fox Memorial. |
Here's something I haven't yet mentioned about St. J's assuming you don't know this already: it's got some hills (understatement of the year). If you're spending time downtown, you're gonna have to climb a hill to get home. If you're staying with friends on Garrison Hill, that's a pretty intense hill to climb at least once daily. And if you go on a walk with Josh, you may just turn red in the face while climbing some intense stairs followed by some intense hills.
Honestly though, it was amazing. Beautiful sights, amazing insights and history from Josh, and a lovely time spent with him!
#4: Food!!!
More sightseeing and cultural experiences - and my favourite part of travel - happened by eating the food of St. John's and Newfoundland.
The first place I grabbed a bite was at Rocket Bakery & Fresh Food, which T. had seen on "You Gotta Eat Here" and K. had already been frequenting herself. I ended up going there three times throughout the trip. It's an excellent spot for coffee, a bite (I recommend the sausage roll), or some yummy baked goods.
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| Rocket Bakery. |
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| Toutons: mine is the one on the bottom, the Cape Spear. |
But we got our second shot at the Duke of Duckworth on June 11, which I was glad for because I was told they had the best fish and chips (a.k.a. fi' n' chi') in town. I felt I could probably tell since I'd already had fi' n' chi' twice at that point, and the Duke of Duckworth's fish and chips were by far the best I had in St. J's... and maybe ever (though nothing beats Penrose). In Newfoundland, you can have your fi' n' chi' with d' n' g', a.k.a. dressing and gravy. Delicious, and I highly recommend it.
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| St. John's best fi' n' chi'. |
That day was full of yummy food. We capped it off with a big treat to ourselves of dinner at Bacalao; fancy, expensive, and totally worth it. It's nouvelle Newfoundland food, with great service and atmosphere. I had two glasses of wine, an outrageously delicious seafood chowder (huge chunks of mussels, scallops, and more!), moose bolognese, and a little cookie sampler for dessert with coffee. It was decadent, rich, indulgent, and worth every penny. Thank you to our server Tracy for making it extra special.
**This meal was too special to take photos.
On one of my days away I went to the Bonavista Social Club in Upper Amherst Cove, about 40 minutes away from Port Rexton (more on that shortly). It had come very highly recommended by a lot of people, so I made the special trip to visit. It was charming; in the middle of nowhere, with a fenced in area for their goats right outside the restaurant. It also had a great view of the water! They had a wood-burning oven and it was so cozy and lovely inside. I had a pizza, preceded by an incredible parsnip soup. Yum! Well worth the trip!
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| If you look closely you can see goats in a fenced-in area. |
On my last full day (June 15) I ate with K. at The Sprout, St. J's vegan/vegetarian restaurant. I had the pad Thai and it was pretty darn good. Definitely good value.
Aside from Rocket's delicious coffee, I also visited two other awesome cafes: Fixed and Post. I spent a couple hours at Fixed in the morning before my 48-hour solo trip, and the coffee and service was delicious. I visited Post twice and they have the most excellent espresso. It's owned by a guy in his early twenties and is so cute and simplistic and - for lack of a better word - hipstery. I loved it!
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| Coffee and a bagel with cream cheese and jam at Fixed. |
#5: Fishers' Loft Inn
The Fishers' Loft Inn in Port Rexton was recommended to me by a few people, but especially my parents who had stayed there when they visited Newfoundland. Also, they didn't recommend it to me personally, but I know for a fact that Dame Judi Dench and Kevin Spacey stayed there when they were filming The Shipping News. If it's good enough for Dame Judi, it's good enough for me.
My plan was to spend 48 hours away from St. J's on a little solo trip, and the first night of that was spent at the Fishers' Loft Inn. I rented a little car in St. John's and took off midday on June 12. It was a 3-hour drive and very enjoyable. I arrived at the Inn around 3:30 pm. It was a beautiful day out, but I was tired from driving and excited for rest, so I decided to lay low and enjoy the Inn.
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| Along the drive to Port Rexton - blue skies and open road. |
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| The view from my room at the Fishers' Loft Inn. |
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| The quaint porch at the Fishers' Loft. |
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| View from the porch. |
The next day I got up earlyish, and then had a simple breakfast at the Inn, and then packed up and checked out in order to go to the...
#6: Skerwink Trail
This is what brings many people to Port Rexton, and was another big recommendations from my parents and friends. The Skerwink Trail is a moderate to difficult 5.3 km hike along the coast on high cliffs in many places. Full of a good breakfast and energized from a great sleep, I was so ready for it.
I hit the trail at about 9:20 am and took my sweet time with it, finishing in about 2 hours. I might say it was the best part of the whole trip. The views were spectacular; I took tonnes of photos and soaked it all in myself, too. I only once saw other people on the trail, and they were way behind me. The whole time it was majorly quiet; just me, my breath, and my footsteps. I loved it.
#7: Outside St. John's
So I already mentioned the Fishers' Loft Inn in Port Rexton, and the Bonavista Social Club in Upper Amherst Cove, but I did some other travelling outside St. John's.
After lunch at the Bonavista Social Club, I drove from Upper Amherst Cove to Placentia - a 3-hour drive. My drive from St. John's to Port Rexton had been novel and exciting; the weather was incredible and I was amped up about it all. My drive to Placentia, on the other hand, was rainy almost the whole way, and I was tired after a long hike, and just anxious to get there. Driving is not always that much fun... especially alone.
But I got to Placentia around 4:30 and arrived at the Rosedale Manor, a relatively last-minute decision as I hadn't always planned to stay away two nights. It was no Fishers' Loft, but it was full of charm. When I arrived, no one was there, but there was a note to call the owner when I arrived, which I did, and she checked me in over the phone; telling me where to find my room and keys and what all the amenities were. Very relaxed and a seemingly Newfoundland-esque approach.
I hadn't planned on going out to eat because I'd brought my leftover pizza with me from the Bonavista Social Club, but after a bath (third one!) and some downtime, I felt stir crazy and needed some fresh air and to see a bit of Placentia. So I walked down the road to the Three Sisters Pub (hilarious! Their website has music!) for a drink and snack. The service was subpar, but the atmosphere was authentic, and I enjoyed a cold glass of Iceberg there. I also gave cod tongues a try; they were fine on principle, but despite only trying them for the first time, I don't think Three Sisters prepared them all that well. Then it was back to the Manor for bed.
After a good night's sleep, I had breakfast at the charming Philip's Cafe; Philip is the husband of Linda, the owner of the Rosedale Manor, and they serve breakfast to guests out of his restaurant. It was simple, fresh, and clearly homemade. I was able to check out of the Manor there, too.
And then I was on my way to the...
Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve. Yet again, this was highly recommended by friends, so I drove the 45 minutes or so from Placentia to Cape St. Mary's to see the birds. The Ecological Reserve is home to literally thousands of birds, the likes of which you've never seen. The most obvious - and the ones at the top of the hierarchy - were the Northern Gannets, and they were perched on Bird Rock, flying through the air, and making tonnes of noise. I was totally transfixed; it was so hard to leave. It was pretty spectacular!
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| To be clear, those white specks on the rocks and in the sky are BIRDS!!! Thousands! |
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| Same with those! That's called Bird Rock and is covered with birds. |
#8: Josh & Lauren's
In my blog post about my trip to France, I regret that I didn't dedicate enough attention to the hospitality of my host in Paris: Karen. When I look back on the trip, that's one of the things I reflect on most: how at home Karen made me feel, how she never made me feel like I was putting her out, how much I enjoyed her company, and how she inspires to be as gracious and as hospitable a host whenever I get the chance to have someone in my home.
In St. John's, I had much the same experience. As you can tell by now, I stayed with two friends named Josh and Lauren. I had the pleasure of attending Josh & Lauren's wedding, and the two of them are just so warm and loving and giving, it's palpable. Staying with them in their home in St. John's was yet another example of that. They made me feel totally at home, had a fire going and tea brewing when I first arrived, made me feel comfortable, and most importantly, shared their space with K. and I, for which I will always be grateful. They also cooked for me one night - moose stew, which was incredibly delicious! And, they were great to spend time with and get to know better. It was a really wonderful experience.
Thank you, Josh & Lauren!!!
#9: Kate
Aside from travelling in order to attend the conference, I was also incredibly lucky because my time in Newfoundland was about in the middle of my girlfriend K's 6 weeks there for an opera program. So, without a doubt, reuniting with her and any time spent with her were highlights of the trip. We vegged out together, went to restaurants and cafes together, laughed and caught up... it was so nice to be with her.
Thanks to K., I also got to see an opera that her program was putting on: La Traviata. I'd heard of this opera but knew nothing about it or its story. It was wonderful! The production was fantastic, the leads were amazing singers, and the story was so intense and sad. I love opera, and need to learn more about it. Thankfully I have the best teacher in K.
#10: Home is where the heart is
And that leads us back to where it always does: home. My journey home wasn't exactly smooth, but the moment you walk back into your home - especially if you have a cat greeting you there - is always wonderful. I always say that the best trips are the ones where when they're over, you suddenly feel so ready for home. I was! I missed my routine and my bed and my coffee and my cat!!! But, I have the greatest memories of Newfoundland, and that's what travel is all about.
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