27th July: On the Hill, the Signal is Obscured

Waking up at 7am, from a fantastic well-earned sleep, each of us showered and dressed for having breakfast at 8. I had preordered the breakfast burritos with very tasty herbed potatoes and my wife preordered the full breakfast. We, and everyone else at the huge table, really liked their breakfast according to the yum yum noises. Those of us staying another night were looking forward to the blueberry pancakes the next day.      

After some ablutions and writing yesterday’s email, we started walking to Signal Hill. On the way we visited the Terry Fox monument where he started his walk across Canada. The trails up were rough in some parts yet manageable. The ever-present fog obscured our view, but lent a perfect atmosphere to this city connected to the sea through its history.

Although it is often foggy here, its altitude and ability to view what ships were approaching the harbour was crucial for defence. Later, it was a boon for the fishing and shipping companies to let them know their ships were coming in. At the Signal Hill information centre we found out more about the history of this hill. I also took advantage of the Newfoundland Chocolate company to order the ‘Smiling Land’ hot chocolate (wild berry dark chocolate with whipped cream) and a dark chocolate dipped oat cake for the next stage of the hike. My wife had a nut bar so she was ok.

The pathway for the rest of the way to the top, and Cabot Tower, was much wider and sturdier. On the way there was a small powder/bunkhouse with fortified crenelations and old cannons that were used to defend the harbour entrance. The tower itself was interesting and would have had grander views…if it wasn’t foggy. The closer in views, however, were moody and we were glad this area has not been developed.

Heading North from Cabot Tower, we hiked along the Women’s Lookout and Burma Trail. The coastline was rough textured with greenery clinging to the edges. It's quite something and showed how defensible Signal Hill was and why it's a great hiking trail. On the latter part of the Burma, there were a great number of various forest mushrooms.

At the end of the trail, at Cuckold’s Cove, there was a strange site…a serving desk with a shelf and gadgets. Coming closer, we saw it was for ‘Salt and Spruce Mobile Beverage Co’ and was a little way off the trail with a video camera. It looked like they were taking a break from shooting an ad or promotional video. my wife and I then saw a distant black furred fox, but only her zoom camera got a good view of it.

Another short walk by road took us to Quidi Vidi, a very small fishing community in a tight harbour. We went to the brewery there, aptly named Quidi Vidi Brewing Co. This was our late lunch from 2-330pm because the breakfast was so filling and the bar/oatcake enabled us to last without being too hungry. I ordered fried cod tongues and my wife got the fishcake croquettes. We also ordered local beers to slake our thirst, myself a ladler and my wife a flight.

Walking back to our B&B only took us 25 minutes via the roadway and we rested our legs for ~90 minutes while we discussed what we were doing next. We decided to visit a place for a small meal and settled on the Celtic Hearth as many restaurants were closed on Monday, had only fried foods, or didn’t have a good selection. The ambiance was nice and had a ‘lived in classic Irish pub’ feel. It  didn’t have any loud band inside, just 80’s/90’s music on low.  We were happy with the lobster roll and salad we ordered, which was just the right amount of food. I would have liked a tablespoon less mayonnaise, but it was better than most of those consumed in my youth while living in the Maritimes. Those had way too much celery filler and gobs of Kraft fake mayo…ick.

On the way back we met Darth Vader, projected on the sidewalk, selling…vaping items. Time must be tough for the Empire and dark side users.

At the end of the foggy evening, we were greeted by the warm pyjama glow of our B&B’s lights. While composing our day’s emails in the guest kitchenette area we chatted with a lady also staying here. Then the day was done. 11.2km walked and 61 flights climbed.

25-26 July: Beginnings on the Rock

This time around, our evening of traveling was better because our house sitter had arrived the previous day. For a pre-flight meal we drove past the airport for a delicious meal at the “Surely Mermaid” in Sydney. We both had the eggplant lasagne with mushrooms, zucchini and ricotta cheese on top. They must have roasted/fried the vegetables because I expected lots of moisture and instead was pleased at the firm consistency of the veggies. For dessert the apple n’ cranberry crumble called to me and was not disappointed.

      After the required check in, security, and pre-flight dry Irish Stout we waited for our 1025pm flight. Boarding went smoothly and they started serving snacks and our flight’s meal. I chose the omelette and afterwards my mind was wisked off to sleep as my body travelled East.

       We landed in Toronto and stayed in the Air Canada lounge for an hour with coffees and healthy light snacks. After boarding, we had another breakfast (I chose the omelette again). More snoozing led to a wake up to put our trays away and seats in the upright position before our landing. As I was in the aisle seat it was my wife that took our first arial photos of Newfoundland.

    Thankfully our luggage made the journey with us and after a short cab ride we were at the Postmaster’s House B&B, which would be our temporary residence for the next few days. We were quite thankful that the owners let us check in early (130pm) so we did some unpacking and planned what to do next. Stretching our legs for a walk, we walked the streets near us to observe the foggy harbour and sat in a cafe for a drink and pastry. To those visiting, there are a lot of cafes and bakeries in St. John’s!

Returning to our room we dressed for the colder evening and our walk to supper. On the way we checked out a fantastic record store (Fred’s), admired some shops from the outside, saw a large ad for an RPG live show for charity (Dungeons and Dragqueens), and saw the outside of the abundance of bars on George Street before arriving at the 'One Eared Goat' for Basque inspired food.

      Because we did not have reservations, and the place was fully booked, we sat at the bar and was helped by the knowledgeable bartender. Starting with a bottle of 2019 reserva Campo Viejo Rioja we ordered two of each Pintxos on the menu: caramelized onions with goat cheese, brie and bacon jam, smoked salmon and herbed cream cheese, fig jam with prosciutto and whipped cheese, and finally cod Piperade. Not quite full, we then ordered two each of the Paprika infused chicken skewers and Arancini balls. These Basque inspired bites are the best I have tried since my visit to Bilbao last year. Eating here is also a historical way of being introduced to Newfoundland because the fishermen of the Basque region of Spain frequented this area before John Cabot “discovered” it and likely after the Vikings met the Archaic, Groswater, Dorset, Beothuk and Mi’kmaq First Nations here. Archeologists and historical researchers are still unsure when the Basques first fished in this area.

      On the walk back the air was chilly because the nearly ever-present fog had rolled back in making for a moody walk back to our rooms. Once there I was having an extremely difficult time staying awake. I eventually surrendered to the urge and was in bed by 9pm. 

Ugly Duckling Restaurant

I was treated to a birthday supper at Ugly Duckling recently and it was my first time eating there. I was impressed by the nice decor and great service. Their menu is based on tasting bites.

After taking our order, a fresh bun and house made butter was provided. A tasty start.

A trip of welcome snacks came out next: potato croquette, tuna tartar with citrus jelly cubes on top, and a liver pate with herbs arrived. All excellent wake ups for the taste buds.

Next was a Haida-Gwaii sablefish with frisee, trout roe, and smoke. The sablefish was perfectly cooked and nearly melted in the mouth. The sauce complemented the fish very well.

Then came the Stillmeadow Farms Tamworth pork with Japanese turnip, fermented daikon, and XO sauce. Very nicely done.

The last large portion that came was the Yarrow Meadows glazed duck with charred cabbage and duck confit croquette. So delicious.

As a palate cleanser before dessert was a fruit sorbet. The duck foot shaped mini bowl was quite cute.

As it was my birthday, a cake and assortment of chocolate delights came out: Fraser valley hazelnut mousse with milk chocolate and malt. It really hit my chocolate needs in the bullseye.

Finally, with the bill, came chocolate fortune cookies and macarons.  

I quite liked the smaller portions with each serving. It filled me up and allowed a range of tastes to be experienced. I would come back here again.

Sushi Langford's Garry's Poke Bowl

I dropped into Sushi Langford a few weeks ago and ordered Garry's Poke bowl with tuna, salmon, ebi, oshinko, seaweed, tamago, inari, and mixed vegetables. It was a very filling and delicious lunch. I normally order the bento box so this was a good change of my usual. 

Day 4: Last Morning and Drive Back to Victoria

A more cloudy day today which does not matter as much. This is because we are travelling back to our home in Victoria. 

For breakfast I had the same as yesterday, the delicious scrambled egg croissant and fruit bowl. We had a lazy rest of the morning while packing and watching the winter olympics until it was time to check out at 11am.

On the way back we stopped at Tigh-na-Mara to have lunch at the Cedars Restaurant and Lounge. There I ordered the West Coast chowder with cream, salmon, clams, prawns, and herbs. Yummy.

From there it was a hilarious drive with podcast episodes of CBC's "The Debaters" playing in the car. A good podcast makes the drive go by quicker and shared laughter creates a nice epilogue for our weekend getaway.