We've Come From Away and Started our Adventure!

Well, after a very long journey from the west to east coast including one of the most turbulent flights I have ever been on between Calgary and Halifax, finally I have "come from away" and made it to St. John's.  We are staying at the Sheraton and, while I know there are probably more "charming" places to stay here, this is convenient (free parking) and modern with an elevator (essential for me these days hauling luggage around).  Luckily, I have a room with a view of the harbour and we are not far from the town centre.  This morning, my sister will arrive here from Sydney, Nova Scotia, on the car ferry to Argentia.  It is a 16 1/2 hour crossing and, thankfully, she managed to get a cabin so she was able to get some rest on the crossing.  It is about a 1 1/2 hour drive from there to here.

St. John's Harbour from my hotel room

She arrived about noon - great to see her after more than 4 weeks - and once she'd dumped her stuff in my room, we headed out to explore.  The hotel is up a bit of a hill but it wasn't too bad walking down.  Coming back up might be another story!  We wandered along Water Street which for most of it is closed to traffic from 10 am to late evening which makes it a great pedestrian walkway.  There are lots of souvenir shops, pubs and restaurants - many of which looked very tempting.  Before our 3 pm appointment at the Tourist Information Office (you have to make an appointment right now rather than just walk in because of the pandemic), we stopped at Harbourside Park for some photo ops and then at the Yellow Belly Brewery, one of many pubs along Water and George Streets, for a much-needed cool drink as the temperature was 28'. 

We headed back for a bit of a rest and to get her checked in as by then her room would be ready.  Later we ventured back to the downtown - using a taxi this time ($10 from our hotel which saved us about 25 minutes) and checked out a number of pubs with live music before settling on Kelly's Bar which was very casual with a good folk singer.  The menu was typical pub food but the drink list had lots of beer choices but for wine, it just said "wine" - no details given.  So, I decided my preference for French Cotes du Rhone probably would land on deaf ears so opted for a cooler instead.      

Friday was overcast and a bit cooler, thankfully.  As we needed go to the airport and changed the car rental agreement to add me as a driver, we decided to see some places more easily reached by car.  Our first stop was the National Historic Site of Signal Hill.

As St. John’s most popular landmark, Signal Hill recalls the town’s historic past and communications triumph, as well as offering coastal hikes and sweeping views overlooking the Atlantic. Signal Hill was the site of St. John’s harbour defences from the 17th century to the Second World War.  It is also where Guglielmo Marconi received the world’s first transatlantic wireless signal in 1901.  We spent some time wandering around and taking photos although some of the coastline was obscured by low cloud.  Even so, the views were pretty amazing, including looking back into St. John’s Harbour which is really protected by a narrow entrance.  

Cabot Tower is at the top of Signal Hill.  Construction of the tower began in 1898 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Cabot's discovery of Newfoundland and Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.  We didn’t go inside as it appears to be a gift shop and, because of the pandemic, numbers in the shop were limited.

From Signal Hill, we drove to the Battery, a small neighbourhood within St. John's city limits sitting at the entrance to the harbour and on the slopes of Signal Hill.  It is sometimes described as an outport and is noted for its steep slopes, and colourful houses.  Be aware Battery Street (and the even smaller sides streets off it) is a very narrow, almost single-track lane and the driving here is certainly not for the faint of heart!.  I expect you would be able to get a better perspective of the houses as well as a good view of them from the other side of the harbour.  We might try that in a couple of days.

Next up was Quidi Vidi, an historic fishing village on the outskirts of St. John’s and on the northeast side of Signal Hill.  We had intended to walk there along Quidi Vidi Lake but the weather was looking changeable so we decided to just go by car.  It is a tiny sheltered inlet known locally as the “gut” with closely spaced houses, quaint building, colourful fishing structures and wharves.  Pronunciations of the name vary even amongst long-time residents but "Kiddy Vidi" is the most common.  When it was settled cannot be definitively dated but there are historic structures which date to the early 19th century.  Other information on Wikipedia indicates that from around 1600, fishermen arrived each spring on the fishing ships from South Devon (Dartmouth, Teignmouth, Totnes, Dawlish, Torbay) and made their way to Quidi Vidi where they established fishing rooms.  While most went home each fall, a few overwintered to take care of the rooms and procure timber for construction and for fuel.  Gradually, some began staying permanently and houses were built.  Even as late as 1835, migratory men from southwest England and from southeast Ireland were still engaged in the cod fishery at Quidi Vidi. 

Q

The Quidi Vidi Brewing Company, founded in 1996, has become the main draw for visiting this village.  Located in a former fish plant, the company brews eight different beers, including Iceberg Beer said to be made with water from pieces of icebergs harvested off the coast of Newfoundland.  Naturally, we had to stop and do a tasting.  I had the Iceberg beer but mixed with some Sprite to make it more like a Radler or Panache.  Kath, on the other hand, enjoyed three pints of it and said it was one of the best beers she’d ever had.  I expect there will be some coming home with her!  

While we were there, the mist turned to a light drizzle so we decided to head back to the hotel.  Besides, we need to rest up, we're getting "screeched in" this evening!