Probably won't have time to finish posting this whole post in the 20 minutes I have left on my hour, but I'll get started anyway.

We've been finally having a lazy afternoon to catch our breath after three busy days in Newfoundland. The weather's turned cool and cloudy and there wasn't enough time to get out of the city properly anyway before our concert tonight. So, a good day to nap!

We flew in on Saturday morning after a busy week of work and a late night of packing. St. John's was bathed in spectacular sunshine and rare warmth, and we took full advantage: after checking in to our hotel downtown, and a nice pasta lunch down the road, we headed up the other way to Signal Hill, historic site of the city harbour's defensive battery and also the first transatlantic telegraph station. It was a nice climb but an even better view from Cabot Tower on top. We walked down to the lower trails and back around below the battery, coming out through a quirkly little cluster of houses huddled between the rocks and the water, the whole area so narrow that the path actually crossed one house's deck.

After freshening up at the hotel, we set out again in search of food. We walked along Duckworth to find George Street, a short little road tucked in between Duckworth and Water Streets. We had no trouble finding it: the George Street Festival is on, and live music was pumping out from the area, audible for blocks. There was a $10 cover charge to get in to the Festival, but after a quick scout around we decided there weren't many appetizing alternatives so we paid up and went in. We ate on the patio of Green Sleeves, one of the larger bars, but discovered that out of the sun it was actually quite cold in the wind.

Fortified with cod filets and scruncheons we wandered down the street to the stage, where an American band "High Holy Days" were trying to warm up the crowd before the headliners "I Mother Earth" came out. They were good, but nobody was really there to see them, just killing time, drinking beer, and staking out space.

By the time "I Mother Earth" came out, the crowd was packing the area full. The band was fantastic and hugely energetic and did not disappoint their fans or us. The high point of the evening was towards the end when they "screeched" a tourist, getting the hapless guy to drink some of the local rum, kiss a cod, and recite a Newfie oath, for the delight of the crowd. Great stuff.

On Sunday morning we woke up early despite the time zone change, ready for the long drive up to Trinity for the Pageant. Trinity is an old historic village about three hours' drive north-west of St. John's, in a sheltered set of bays that once harboured hundres of fishing boats from England and the rest of Europe. Now it's a quiet little community seemingly sustained by tourism. Its brightly-painted wood and stone houses were the backdrop for the Pageant, a 2 1/2 hour outdoor costume drama that takes place across the village, explaining the origins of the place, the life of the early settlers, the frequent impact of tragedy, and the gradual evolution of the fishing industry as the merchants tood over and the early government formed.

Though the weather started cloudy it brightened and cleared and we had a great day. We drove back to St. John's very satisfied with our visit. Back in the city we went around the corner from the hotel to a restaurant with the delightful name "The Crooked Crab and the Savage Lobster", where we had a wonderful meal of, once again, sea food. I had a very tasty dish of shrimp mushroom caps under a crust of cheddar cheese. Yum!

After dinner we connected with Susan, Craig and Mary for G & T's and a game of "Unexploded Cow", a card game and one of two Cheapass Games I'd bought on the Internet.

More to follow... The bookstore where I'm typing is closing up.
posted by Tom at 4:20 PM | link |