Saturday 20 December 2014

Newfie Land



From North Sydney, Nova Scotia, we drove the trusty Grand Prix onto the ferry for a very expensive 5 hour crossing to Port Au Basques, Newfoundland. 


In Corner Brook we stopped at the Crown & Moose pub for dinner. Though I've always been resistant to seafood, I decided that it was important to try the local cuisine: Classic fish n chips made gluten free without the battering of the fish..haha. But it was delicious! I was impressed with everything but the mushy discolored veggies. We learned that fresh veggies are really not all that fresh in Newfoundland, and they can be pretty expensive too!


Gros Morne National Park promised an epic hike, but delivered an easy boardwalk. 
It was still beautiful!


We had a beautiful day for photos and exploring the outdoors!


For a hefty price (we were not willing to pay) you can ride the ferry out to the cliffs for an amazing view. 


We passed a teensy tiny community quaintly named "Sally's Cove" on our way back from the park.
It was the picture-perfect Newfoundland site, so we were really embarrassingly touristy and jumped out of the car from some photo ops.




Next stop was a pull-out on our way to Rocky Harbour. We walked down to the beach to explore and dip our toes in the Atlantic!




These red chairs were everywhere!



We stopped in Rocky Harbour for a bite to eat. It was a little more touristy, but still cute.


We headed in the direction of Gander that evening, stopping along the highway at sunset.
Fly fishers were out enjoying the beautiful weather. 


Katharina and Mal both had fancy schmancy cameras and a good eye for photography. 


This beautiful beach was so calm and peaceful in the morning. 


A community dock.


Rugged Newfoundland scenery along the highway on the way to St. John's. 


It was so fun to see the "Jellybean Houses" downtown St. John's! 


They really reminded me of Ireland, though you'd never see an SUV there ;)


This house was unreal ugly...but awesome!


We spent quite a lot of time in the downtown center, browsing the shops, eating, and sight-seeing.
In the evening we decided to hit up the (in)famous George Street...a tiny section tucked away in a far corner of the city dedicated entirely to bars and clubs! 


We decided it was imperative to our Canadian experience to be officially "Screeched In", so we popped into O' Reilly's Irish pub for a couple of drinks and asked one of the servers to perform the ceremony for us! What is involved, you ask? In order for it to be official you need a Newfie to preside over the following: you must kiss a cod fish, recite the Newfie's creed, and take a shot of Screech rum. The order of events may vary.


This horrifying specimen had been frozen specifically to render this service to ridiculous tourists such as myself. I had flashbacks to the revolting tradition of kissing the Blarney stone.
The Newfie's Creed goes something like this...you are asked, "Are ye a Screecher?" and you must answer,
"'Deed I is, me ol' cock! And long may yer big jib draw!" 
Simple, right? WRONG. At the time it was quite difficult to remember and say. Hmmm...
However, three of us completed the ceremony and I have the certificate to prove it!
We're honorary Newfies!



To celebrate our accomplishments we wandered to the Karaoke Kops, where Mal impressed the staff with her rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", and we all enjoyed a few duets from Kat and Mal. I almost, almost considered busting out some Backstreet Boys "I Want it That Way", but even Screech rum has its limits. 


The best part of the evening definitely came in the form of gluten-free pulled pork poutine from Smoke's Poutinerie. Ever since I missed out on the Montreal Poutine experience, I had been craving some good ol' fries, gravy, and cheese curds. Smoke's Triple Pork Poutine was even better than I could ever have imagined! I unabashedly admit to devouring the entire portion. 

2 comments:

Maureen said...

Love your travel tales!

ALSmithey said...

I gotta go there - those Jelly Bean Row houses look good enough to eat! Your pics are always so awesome. Can't wait to read more about Peru and your future travels. Cheers, A.L.