Final Thoughts

Our final evening was spent at an Irish Pub on Water Street. The performers weren't great but it was fun and a good way to pass a rainy night.

Our final thoughts on our trip are very positive. We are glad we came to see Newfoundland. We saw a lot in a short amount of time. Next time we would fly into Deer Lake and out of St. John's and save that second drive across Hwy. 1. We would have rented a car that you could drop off at a different airport and we would have unlimited mileage. We would spend more time in the southern part of the Avalon Peninsula-Irish Loop. We wish we had spent 2 days in Woody Point area in Gros Morne so we could have explored the Tablelands. Of course it is weather dependent what you are able to do each day. We were lucky for the most part and we were able to do what we wanted. We missed out on actually going to the Tablelands and we missed going to the Garden Party and Mutiny plays in St. John's. I wish we had gone to Bonavista but we made the choice to stay in Trinity for their pageant.

Some highlights were:
Our boat tour in St. Anthony's where we saw icebergs close up
Prime Berth in Twillingate
Anchors Aweigh in Rocky Harbour
Our visits to L'Anse aux Meadows, Colony of Avalon, Beothuk Interpretation Centre
History tour and pageant in Trinity
St. John's The Rooms, Signal Hill, Geo Centre, Cape Spear,
All the small fishing villages
All the whales we saw!
All the cod we ate!
Elaine's B&B, Hillside B&B, Evergreen B&B
The Newfoundlanders we met with that great sense of humour!

After our visit to Quidi Vidi Village we walked up to The Rooms. This is a controversial museum/art gallery on the hill overlooking the harbour. It dominates the skyline in some ways but we have come to really like it. It is about Newfoundland past and present. There are archives there that researchers can access. There are exhibits that change regularly as well as a few permanent displays.
The architecture is interesting with three wings that reach out to the sea. It represents the early "rooms" that settlers created for their fishing business.

We had a late lunch in the cafe. The views from there are wonderful and there is a walkway along the outside. We spent about 3 hours there and we didn't really see everything we wanted.

Our Last Full Day - The Rooms

After our visit to the Johnson Geo Centre, we drove a short distance to Quidi Vidi Village. It is just about 10 minutes from St. John's downtown but in every respect it's miles away! Of course it is where Quidi Vidi Beer is brewed and it is a very quaint, small fishing village. The harbour is tiny with a very narrow opening to the sea. There were a few quirky spots along the way (see the door and the tiny house photos below). There are new houses being built all around so it's changing rapidly.

Our Last full Day - Quidi Vidi Village

Our Last Full Day - Geo Centre

Today we went to the GeoCentre near Signal Hill. It is a remarkable geological museum. The presentations and exhibits provide so much information about the earth and the unique character of Newfoundland's and Labrador's geology.

The photo on the left is a rock from the Tablelands in Gros Morne. It is from the earth's mantle that was thrust up from an ancient sea. It is very rare to have the mantle exposed like this. It is almost as old as the earth itself.

The photo on the right is of the exposed rock of Signal Hill. It too is very old and tells an interesting history of Newfoundland.

George Street Music Festival

Last evening we went to the George Street Music Festival. It wasn't as busy as other nights and there weren't any big headliners but the two bands we watched were very good. The band shell is out in the open and everyone had a good time. It has been going on since Thursday and ends this Tuesday.

Petty Harbour

Cape Spear

Top left is a plaque commemorating the first wireless transmission to North America. Thanks, Marconi!

Middle right: During WWII the Canadians and Americans lived in this most easterly spot in bunkers to help guard the east coast.

Here are two lighthouses, the oldest historic one is the red stripped one on top of the lightkeeper's house. The other one is currently in use.

Videos from the Tattoo at Signal Hill

Signal Hill

View of St. John's harbour from Signal Hill

Infantry firing on the enemy

St. John's Photos

Middle right is a closeup of a mailbox. Bottom right is our B&B.

St. John's

Our arrival in St. John’s yesterday was interesting! We managed to find our B&B, the Bluestone Inn, and traipsed up the three flights of stairs to our room. The best thing about it is its proximity to the downtown historic district. We can walk everywhere. And we felt like we did going up and down the hills. St. John’s residents who walk around here must be in great shape! We found George Street where a music festival is on and planned to return in the evening. We had missed Blue Rodeo by a few nights unfortunately. We went out for dinner-I have had enough cod so we went to a pizza place called Pi’s Gourmet Eatery. It was really good and after lots of pizza and ½ litre of wine we were ready to head home rather than to hit the bars!

After a good night’s sleep, we headed out to Signal Hill. We watched the Tattoo, toured the site and then headed up to Cape Spear. Both were very interesting and well documented. We saw whales and puffins at Cape Spear. The views from both were wonderful and we had good weather!! On the way back to St. John’s we saw a sign for fresh lobster rolls and followed the arrow going off the highway. We ended up at Petty Harbour, a quaint fishing village (quite a distance) and enjoyed the village, some locals who wanted to chat, and a lobster roll! It was a long way from the original sign but it was fun and we were happy we went. We got back to St. John’s and I looked up the dates/times for a theatre production that I wanted to see only to find out it had started 10 minutes before and is not to be shown again until Weds. (the day after we leave). It is called The Garden Party and is written and directed by Mary Walsh from This Hour has 22 Minutes fame. I hope we get to see it. There is another called Mutiny but the dates on that don’t work either. I am very disappointed to miss both.

More from Avalon

Top left is the actual well that was built in the 1600's and there is still sweet water at the bottom. Here we are standing on the cobble stone road that went through the village back then. On the bottom right is the wharf remnants that at that time went right up to the water for loading and unloading. On the bottom left is the privy that was located in the wharf building and it had automatic flushing twice a day as the tides came into it! In the middle is the pool as it was referred to but today it is much smaller and doesn't come up to the wharf area of the 1600's .

Colony of Avalon

Top right is the kitchen garden replica as it might have been. Top left is the Mansion that Lord Baltimore lived in for a short time. It was either one and a half or two stories high. Bottom left is the fireplace remains and bottom right is the beach where all the cobble stones must have come from. The kitchen is a reproduction of a middle class kitchen.

Elaine's B&B Photos

Views from our B&B-priceless!

Witless Bay and the Colony of Avalon

Yesterday we arrived in Witless Bay and checked into Elaine's B&B. It is right on the shore overlooking the ocean. We had another fine cod dinner at the Captain’s Table Restaurant and ran into the same people we met at our last B&B in Twillingate. We had just said goodbye to them in the morning after breakfast! This keeps happening to us and others. We met the people we had seen while on a boat cruise in Saint Anthony’s at the dinner theatre in Twillingate. It’s happened so often it’s like we are all on the same tour but don’t realize it.

Elaine's B&B was great! We could sit on muskoka chairs and relax, read, chat with guests, and enjoy the views. The mosquitoes joined in at dusk but we were ready to go inside anyway by then. We enjoyed our stay overnight and decided to head south to the Colony of Avalon in Ferryland about a half hour from Witless Bay. It is the settlement that was established in 1621 by Lord Baltimore. Lord Baltimore didn't stay there too long before finding the winter too harsh and heading south to Maryland, USA! The Colony was amazing. It is an ongoing archeological site right under a very small fishing village. They needed the cooperation of the home owners to proceed and they were given permission to start the dig! We are so glad we went and had the tour of the site. You really got a feel for the small community of the mid 1600's and onwards.