Arrival : Exploring Historic St. John's Newfoundland
Our adventure began at 2:45 am, when the Airlink airport shuttle picked us up to take us to Toronto's Pearson International Airport. We ended up sharing an uneventful ride with two other couples, and arrived at the airport around 4:30 am.
After checking in we discovered that we did not have seat assignments. Upon inquiring we were informed that on this flight you received your seat assignment just prior to boarding. About 10 minutes later we were given our seats, but were not put together. Assuming that we were the only ones in this situation we boarded the plane, only to watch as half the passengers began trading seats so they could sit with their travelling companions. Not wishing to join in the confusion we both simply went to our assigned seats. After that it was a smooth 2 hour flight on Air Canada to reach St. John's Newfoundland. Just before we landed we were given a panoramic view of the Newfoundland coastline with its steep red cliffs plunging into the ocean, the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, and St. John's beautiful harbour.
We landed to find a beautiful sunny, warm, day, and soon were in a taxi headed to our accommodations in the residences at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN). Upon our arrival at noon we discovered that check-in wasn't until 3 pm, and our room wasn't ready yet, but the very nice students at the desk allowed us to leave our bags.
We found a Subway restaurant just outside the university and stopped for a bite to eat before walking downtown to explore. The 5 km walk down to the harbour was very nice, taking us through residential neighborhoods, past the Rooms, which is a large museum and art gallery, and past a beautiful cathedral.
The roads in St. John's follow rolling hills, which means that our trek alternated between heading steeply down hill or dauntingly up hill. Regardless of the challenges for two out-of-shape Ontarians, the combination of the beautiful warm weather, great views, and extraordinarily friendly local residents made our tour of the city wonderful!
Once we reached the harbour we walked along George and Water streets, and enjoyed the colourful jellybean houses along the residential downtown roads.
We then followed the coastline for a bit, and decided to head up to the Signal Hill National Historic Site, which overlooks the town. This historically important landmark is a fortification that defended Newfoundland from the 17th century until WWII, and was the site from which Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal in 1901.
The climb was on a paved sidewalk which wound its way up the hill, and in return provided beautiful views back over the city. It seems lots of locals head up the hill for a walk on Saturday afternoons.
About half way up the hill we found the Newfoundland Chocolate Company Cafe, so of course we had to stop in and check it out. I had a Strachiatella gelato while we sat outside and enjoyed the view. Sadly, walking holidays don't lend themselves to shopping too much, and the post office will be closed for the next two days, so after the gelato we headed off empty-handed. Thankfully this company provides delivery and so we may be revisiting it once we get back home.
We walked around a very picturesque pond, admiring the red cliffs towering high overhead, the colourful lichens, and the wildflowers along the path. It seems that the spring flowers are about 5 weeks behind where they are in Ontario, with the peonies and lupins just about to flower, and the phlox in full swing.
From the lake we continued up the hill until we came to the battery at the top. By Ontario standards it was really windy up there (it was constantly threatening to push me over!), but the Newfoundlanders remarked that the "breeze" was about normal. I was reminded of stories of Piglet being swept away while adventuring with Winnie the Pooh!
As we crested the hill we were afforded an expansive view of the beautiful blue Atlantic from high atop the summit. It really felt like we were standing on the edge of the world.
From this vantage point we could see Cape Spear to the south (the most easterly point in North America) and hills to the north which appeared even taller than Signal Hill. We could also see part of the East Coast Trail along the adjacent shoreline above Fort Amherst! We walked around, enjoying the various views, and then visited the iconic Signal Hill building. It is a beautiful old structure with a gift shop and museum showcasing the history of the site inside. We climbed the steep winding stairs to the top, looked out the windows, and even went outside onto the lookout deck. It was very windy out there!
After exploring the building, we headed down the steep but well maintained staircases and trails on the site to the rocks below the battery on the Atlantic side. It was very rugged and gorgeous nearer to the sea level.
While exploring we also stopped to watch the fishing boats moving around in the harbour, and to marvel that boats were able to get into the harbour through the narrows with all that wind flowing back out.
We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, but by around 3:30 we decided we should probably head back to MUN to check in. After the climb back up to the top of Signal Hill (during which we realized that the local residents are in better shape than us), and the more leisurely stroll down again we were feeling rather warm, so we stopped at the Battery Cafe for some homemade rhubarb lemonade. It was delicious, and the little cafe seemed to offer many yummy sounding treats, as well as live music on Saturday nights. Despite our exhaustion we were very tempted to spend our evening there and hear the talents of local musicians. However, despite the excitement, 30+ hours without sleep was catching up on us.
Thus fortified, we continued our climb back to MUN. When we were checked in we discovered we had an airy and bright residence room, with a lovely soft bed.
After checking in we discovered that we did not have seat assignments. Upon inquiring we were informed that on this flight you received your seat assignment just prior to boarding. About 10 minutes later we were given our seats, but were not put together. Assuming that we were the only ones in this situation we boarded the plane, only to watch as half the passengers began trading seats so they could sit with their travelling companions. Not wishing to join in the confusion we both simply went to our assigned seats. After that it was a smooth 2 hour flight on Air Canada to reach St. John's Newfoundland. Just before we landed we were given a panoramic view of the Newfoundland coastline with its steep red cliffs plunging into the ocean, the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, and St. John's beautiful harbour.
We landed to find a beautiful sunny, warm, day, and soon were in a taxi headed to our accommodations in the residences at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN). Upon our arrival at noon we discovered that check-in wasn't until 3 pm, and our room wasn't ready yet, but the very nice students at the desk allowed us to leave our bags.
We found a Subway restaurant just outside the university and stopped for a bite to eat before walking downtown to explore. The 5 km walk down to the harbour was very nice, taking us through residential neighborhoods, past the Rooms, which is a large museum and art gallery, and past a beautiful cathedral.
The roads in St. John's follow rolling hills, which means that our trek alternated between heading steeply down hill or dauntingly up hill. Regardless of the challenges for two out-of-shape Ontarians, the combination of the beautiful warm weather, great views, and extraordinarily friendly local residents made our tour of the city wonderful!
Once we reached the harbour we walked along George and Water streets, and enjoyed the colourful jellybean houses along the residential downtown roads.
We then followed the coastline for a bit, and decided to head up to the Signal Hill National Historic Site, which overlooks the town. This historically important landmark is a fortification that defended Newfoundland from the 17th century until WWII, and was the site from which Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal in 1901.
The climb was on a paved sidewalk which wound its way up the hill, and in return provided beautiful views back over the city. It seems lots of locals head up the hill for a walk on Saturday afternoons.
We walked around a very picturesque pond, admiring the red cliffs towering high overhead, the colourful lichens, and the wildflowers along the path. It seems that the spring flowers are about 5 weeks behind where they are in Ontario, with the peonies and lupins just about to flower, and the phlox in full swing.
From the lake we continued up the hill until we came to the battery at the top. By Ontario standards it was really windy up there (it was constantly threatening to push me over!), but the Newfoundlanders remarked that the "breeze" was about normal. I was reminded of stories of Piglet being swept away while adventuring with Winnie the Pooh!
As we crested the hill we were afforded an expansive view of the beautiful blue Atlantic from high atop the summit. It really felt like we were standing on the edge of the world.
From this vantage point we could see Cape Spear to the south (the most easterly point in North America) and hills to the north which appeared even taller than Signal Hill. We could also see part of the East Coast Trail along the adjacent shoreline above Fort Amherst! We walked around, enjoying the various views, and then visited the iconic Signal Hill building. It is a beautiful old structure with a gift shop and museum showcasing the history of the site inside. We climbed the steep winding stairs to the top, looked out the windows, and even went outside onto the lookout deck. It was very windy out there!
After exploring the building, we headed down the steep but well maintained staircases and trails on the site to the rocks below the battery on the Atlantic side. It was very rugged and gorgeous nearer to the sea level.
While exploring we also stopped to watch the fishing boats moving around in the harbour, and to marvel that boats were able to get into the harbour through the narrows with all that wind flowing back out.
We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, but by around 3:30 we decided we should probably head back to MUN to check in. After the climb back up to the top of Signal Hill (during which we realized that the local residents are in better shape than us), and the more leisurely stroll down again we were feeling rather warm, so we stopped at the Battery Cafe for some homemade rhubarb lemonade. It was delicious, and the little cafe seemed to offer many yummy sounding treats, as well as live music on Saturday nights. Despite our exhaustion we were very tempted to spend our evening there and hear the talents of local musicians. However, despite the excitement, 30+ hours without sleep was catching up on us.
Thus fortified, we continued our climb back to MUN. When we were checked in we discovered we had an airy and bright residence room, with a lovely soft bed.
By this point we were feeling rather tuckered out from all the fresh air, and not going to sleep last night at all, so we decided to find dinner at the nearby Smitty's. We enjoyed some tasty and truly enormous omelettes provided by a very friendly server, and then headed back to our room.
Although we had good intentions of heading back downtown to see the city at night, exhaustion caught up with us, and we ended up having a early night.
Tomorrow we will continue exploring this beautiful city.
See you on the trail!
Remember to follow our entire adventure here : www.comewalkwithus.online
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