We anticipated some of our worst weather in St. John’s, so we planned to leave the ship with layers of clothing, topped by the ubiquitous slickers. It was overcast but windless when I texted dh to find out where he was in town. He had already started climbing up the hill to the Basilica so I trudged up those steps getting warmer by the step! So much for that cold weather! When I caught up with him, breathless and warm, we climbed the remaining bit to find out that there was a mass going on in the basilica so we headed around to the far side hoping to see a glimpse of land beyond the crest of that hill. Nothing visible but more houses but we did notice the painted mailboxes on some of them. We asked a young woman where the nearest café was. She recommended The Hungry Heart which, in addition to being downhill, gave its profits to the homeless. We were glad to sit again and have coffee, a good pot of tea and an apple scone. A very good stop.
Back to the Cathedral we went where we learned that Basilica is an honorary title bestowed by the Pope. I don’t know what percentage of the population is Roman Catholic but the church looks very well supported. Just beyond the church, I had noted a very large sign for The Rooms. (I hadn’t taken time to talk to the Tourist Information people on the dock as I was dashing to catch up with dh.) When we walked over past the church we saw that The Rooms were the archives and museum. The gift shop wasn’t open yet as they are still on Winter Hours (!) but I left dh on a comfortable bench while I went off to Scobeys, a huge supermarket to look for some tea. With a packet of local decaf tea in hand, I came back to The Rooms and looked around the really lovely gift shop but didn’t buy. We were considering eating at the top floor restaurant/café but after taking some wonderful pictures from the observation deck in Full Sun, we decided to go back to Hungry Heart.
We had seen the staff setting up for a large group in the morning, and when we got back the tables were full. With all the chatter, I whispered to dh “I hope they’re leaving soon.”
Rather than leaving, the group was about to hear a talk by the folklorist of Newfoundland which turned out to be absolutely fascinating. We had a marvelous lunch of quiche for me and soup and sandwich for dh AND a wonderful chance to hear all about the work to preserve heritage crafts and stories in NFL. It was pure serendipity.
With our slickers in our bag, we headed back down towards the harbor and the main shopping areas. We walked from shop to shop and while the woolens were wonderful and hand made, we really had no need for that kind of good for our normally mild winters. DH and I then parted ways as he went back to the ship for a nap and I forged on to see the rest of Water Street. By mid afternoon, the clouds had come in and the temperature was dropping. A shop keeper said the previous Victoria Day weekend had been the nicest in 30 years. I ended up contributing a bit to the NFL economy with a fleece pullover and a wool hat. (The hat I had planned to buy turned out to have raw fleece inside and as the clerk said, was the warmest hat they had. Hmmm, not what I needed I’m afraid.)
Finally I said goodbye to NFL, and after dinner on board we time to see Slumdog Millionaire, and a welcome climb into bed. A sunny day in NFL was a real treat so much so that dh is willing to come back, By Car!!
No comments:
Post a Comment