Friday, June 14, 2013

I am not a huge fan of fish and chips, but we were recommended to try it at the Duke of Duckworth (apparently, as seen on Republic of Doyle, if you watch that show – http://www.dukeofduckworth.com), and it was delicious! The batter was light and soft and the fish was moist and melted in your mouth. The pub had a great atmosphere; it was packed to capacity with a lively crowd of adults of all ages. We joined in the loud chatter and had a great time.

Our room at Leaside Manor is called The Port Royal Suite, and we could not have asked for anything more! With so many guests passing through, there are also many stories to tell… Here is one: one night, the water system failed and when the owner ran through the house to check it out, she could hear yelling behind one of the doors… One guest had set her hair on fire by catching the flame from the tealights. Everybody ended up on the lawn until the firemen were done!!!! I am afraid to ask if this happened in the middle of the winter!!

Breakfast was served in a common room, where guests sat around a huge table. When you are surrounded by a dozen of travellers like you, you hear about a bunch of places to visit and eateries worth stopping by. Looks like they are shaping our visit, telling us about all the hot spots… All we have to do is a little checking on the Web, and voilà!
Breakfast menu: Spinach omelette, fresh fruit, toast and home-made jams… That will do for a while!

Today’s weather: less rain, more fog. Time for indoor activities. We started with a visit to a geological centre — the GEO Centre — also featuring a Titanic exhibit.

Our attempt to conquer Signal Hill was not very successful (other than our stop at the Visitor Centre) because the fog was covering the entire valley. We will have to go back to take pictures. On a side note, we learned that the ongoing battle between the French and the British was really about… Fish!!!!

After that expedition, we visited The Rooms, a very nicely done museum combining archives, art gallery, and museum, where we discovered the work of Mary Pratt, a Newfoundland and Labrador painter. LOVE her paintings!

Dinner at a pub on George Street: Bridie Molloy’s Pub and Eatery, where I had scallops in a maple syrup reduction, with croquettes, while Raymond had salmon. Yum! Walking back to the car, we stopped for coffee and dessert at the Rocket Bakery, on Water Street. Now, we feel like pros in the downtown core…

We booked our dinner for tomorrow night at Raymond’s (it seemed fitting, not to mention posh…).

Back to our room, the fireplace is now going with a brand new log, and we are calling it a day.

Until tomorrow,
Anna

Ray’s Perspective…
What a miserable day with fog, cold and rain. Look at Anna, all bundled up. The temperature was 7 degrees and chill through the bones. Good thing we brought our hats.
Pictures from Signal Hill overlooking the bay (I think). We will need to come back if the sun co-operates.
We finished the day with a nice fish dinner in a pub (where else). I cannot believe how many pubs there are in St Johns. Surely it is an Irish town with a huge Catholic cathedral, which we will visit on Saturday.
In all this bad weather, Anna was able to find flowers. Go figure what women can see.
The canon was not loaded by the way. Just in case someone would think I wanted to blow her up. But she stayed out of the way, just in case.
The day ended with an artistic cappuccino.

Pictures of the day