Cod's tongues on the menu Newfoundland

[RooFlyer]

Last of this stanza - touring south of St Johns (its called the 'Irish Loop'). Moving next to much further out west in Newfoundland - but still only scraping the surface! Its a big place.

All these pics are from Cape Broyle area; very scenic and suited for a lazy stay on the coast but mine was just a drive-by. At Cape Broyle, more evidence of the small town's support for the offshore oil & gas industry - hugely valuable for the economy of the area.

 

[RooFlyer]

My second big dinner out was at Raymonds - its #2 on Trip Advisor and everyone says it's really #1.

Its moderately formal and as you enter the high ceilinged dining room, with big windows overlooking the harbour, many of the diners already seated look like 'old money'. I'm out of my element! Never mind ... you only live once.

There was a tasting menu available (quite expensive) but for reasons of choice and economy I went a la carte, but got the sommelier (who is also the owner) to pair wines for me (with a request that they be eastern Canadian).

LH pic is the restaurant setting (being discrete with the pic!). And the bread and butter (!). the butter was supurb. Churned so somewhat soft, with a sprinkling of kelp grains on top, as well as some coarse sea salt. Delicious!




The chef's amuse bouche - a pork pate and RH pic my entrée (Aussie meaning) - 6 New Brunswick oysters - smallish buy very flavoursome. 4 side additives which I eschewed - ground horse radish evil, some tomato based thing, a vinaigrette and ??cucumber balls?? Just the lemon, thanks.

Wine paired was a Benjamin Bridge (Nova 7) from Nova Scotia. Its a light sparkling wine and was perfect with the shellfish.

Conceived by Canadian winemaking icon Peter J. Gamble, Nova 7 is a proprietary blend of signature aromatic whites, highlighting select Muscat grape varieties. Inspired by the European tradition of lightly sparkling, off-dry wines, Nova 7 is uniquely Nova Scotian, combining the region’s lively acidity with elegant aromatics.

For mains (LH) - Newfoundland cod - what else? this came with a shoulder of pulled pork (hard to see ) and some fairly standard veges.

This was paired with a Norman Hardie pinot noir from Prince Edward County, Ontario (near Kingston, where I spent some time ). It was fine, but we have better pinots in Tassie!

Finished with 'Peaches and cream' (RH pic) which was disappointing in that it was just slivers of peaches, not the halves that I was expecting. Paired with some Sicilian dessert wine of no distinction as apparently thay can't get the Ontarians to send over any of their ice wines ???? :shock: .




Again, an expensive night out, but a great meal. Definitely recommended.

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

Looks good ! Now you have made me hungry and I will have to have lunch - shame it is only cheese on toast !!

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Very excited RF
I spent 3 months in the middle of winter in Newfy with my parents when I was a teenager as my dad was studying ice.. great place for it...
I remember the colourful houses (we lived in one) the awesome Christmas decorations and the bays where people go to watch the iceburgs flip
If you really want to see cod's tongues and cheeks you really need to go to the supermarket and see the big vats of them lol
Thanks for the memories and the TR RF

 

[RooFlyer]

The next day I decided to head further west, with no structure - just see what's there and decide were I'd go 'on the fly'

The map shows where I went; initially a good freeway out of St John's and then an excellent main road to the northern towns. I exited at Harbour Grace. Then I used the older winding coastal roads to make my way back.




The place to exit proved to be inspired (by luck!). Harbour Grace is one of those places with many interesting things to see, but I knew nothing about them. Its at the end of a long inlet, one of a number along the coast.

First up, colourful and rustic houses of course.




Then, on the waterfront an amazing apparition. Harbour Grace today is just a quiet village of a few thousand people, but it has this amazing RC Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, built began in 1868 and completed some decades later. its huge! A true Cathedral. I suspect its presence reflects the influx of Irish immigrants in the 19th Century. The town itself dates from the 1600s.

Then, in the mud at the end of the harbour is SS Kyle, a coastal steamer that came free from its moorings in a storm in the 1960s (IIRC) and slude gracefully to the present spot, where it remains.




Then, this memorial:




Of course, we are in far western Canada, where the early trans Atlantic flights took off or made landfall (and also where Marconi received the first trans Atlantic radio signal!!).

And so, further along the shore, this:




That's Amelia Earhart who began her 1932 solo Trans Atlantic flight at Harbour Grace. And on the right is a reproduction of 'Smithy's' logbook; Kingsford-Smith and his crew in the Southern Cross landed here in 1930, having flown from Dublin. They were only the third successful crossers.

The middle pic is of the 'Spirit of Harbour Grace':

The "Spirit of Harbour Grace" was manufactured in 1943 by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Santa Monica, California and was on charge to the United States Air Force. It served in North Africa until the end of the second world war when it was purchased by Resort Airlines in the United States. Later it was purchased by Leeward Aeronautical Service Lake Central Airlines where it was used as C47 cargo aircraft. In 1951, the plane was purchased by a Canadian company and modifies as a DC-3 Douglas. The craft was owned by Quebec Air until purchased by Roger Pike in 1977. It then transported food and dairy products from Stephenville to Goose Bay under private registration. In 1983, Mr. Pike acquired ownership of Labrador Airways Limited adn the DC-3 was based out of Goose Bay transporting mail and cargo.

The aircraft was retired in 1988 and restored close to its original condition

An amazing collection of history in this sleepy little fishing town.

 

[RooFlyer]

Tootling down the coastal road, there was one place I wanted to go - Cupids (and not because I was looking for a change in situation!).

Cupids (originally Cuper's) is the second oldest continuously settled town in North America, after Jamestown, Virginia and was settled by the London and Bristol Company in August, 1610 with the settlers led by John Guy. Hard to believe that that's over 150 years before Sydney was founded.

Today it sustains the inevitable fishing, as well as tourism. The day I visited was a gorgeous fine and still day, which made the experience so much the better. Its at the bottom of a deep inlet, and driving along the shores you get really great views of the coastline (unfortunately I didn't stop to photograph, as the road was being repaired and there was a very long line of cars, and little place to stop)

 

[RooFlyer]

There are 15 or more TRs on the go right now. Hard to keep up!

Finishing off on the west. I think the scenery and 'quaintness' gets better the further you get away from St John's, which is probably to be expected. I only went a few hours west ... I wanted to go the full 10 or 11 hours to the north-western tip of 'The Rock', where the very early Viking settlements were, but no time of course. Anyone visiting should plan on a week, I think and get well out of St John's.

Now Brigus was the prettiest spot I visited. All narrow lanes (settled 1612) and neat, colourful houses and churches. Just a small sample.






I got back to St John's in time to visit a couple of museums. First back up to Signal Hill as it was sunny, unlike the first time.

Marconi received the first Transatlantic radio signal right here. And there's a map fo the world from Newfoundland & Labrador's perspective.



I took one of the several walks around the hill and headland and came across the 'Queens Battery', set up to defend the harbour. And a very good job it does too! Note the angling down of the cannons ..

 

[RooFlyer]

I remember quite a few years ago when our travels were less planned.We were on the coast of Maine and wondered whether we could do a trip to Newfoundland on the ferry.The fellow says sorry the ferry isn't going until the fog lifts.So when will the fog lift.July.Of course we were there in April.

I think these days, this is the type of ferry you might visit St John's on .

 

[RooFlyer]

On the way up and down Signal Hill you past the 'Geo Museum' and of course that was a must for me. Seriously, in spite of my obvious biases, this is an excellent facility, aimed at the layman and a highly recommended stop for an hour.

The entrance is through this building, but the majority of the exhibition space is cleverly hidden down, on the other side of the hill, looking as though its underground. There's a nice rock garden at the entrance, with polished slabs of classic Newfie rocks.




Inside, there is a well laid out trail taking you through well explained exhibits on all aspects of the earth, from volcanos and rock types, to tsunamis, earthquakes, minerals, etc etc.




There are some planetary exhibits, but that's a lesser focus (and un-focus for me!)




Exxon Mobil have a nice propaganda gallery off to one side (it helps pay the museum's bills).




The Titanic exhibit (the ship sank not too far to the east off St John's) is excellent and worth the visit by itself. Great explanations of what happened, and why. I learned a lot here.

 

[RooFlyer]

A final look around St John's.

As usual, a walk up the hill is rewarded with some nice colonial buildings. A vast chunk of SJ was burnt in a massive fire in 1892, so there are relatively few old buildings in such an old town.

LH pic shows the 'Rooms' Museum. The shape reflects old cod fishing 'rooms' that were established very early on in St Johns when the fishing fleet visited annually. Its a vast building, but inside the public galleries are relatively modest. I didn't like it at all - no sense of timeline of history, just lots of exhibits jumbled together, in my view. NL has an amazing history - even politically in the 19th century (it was its own country for a while; then democracy was suspended in it for a while too, when it all got too 'difficult'!!;later joined Canada before WW2 (I think)), but hard to discern this in the exhibits. Very disappointing museum. RH pic shows an early legislature building being restored.




Government House is a nice colonial pile. It was built in 1827 and hasn't changed much since. Set in nice gardens, you can just waltz through the gates and walk around the outside.




There is a very strong catholic influence in Newfoundland, reflecting the influx of Irish in the 19th Century. The Catholics managed to bag the best (highest) spot in St John's for their Basilica . Plenty of other churches nearby, including this Anglican one. More modest, but I think prettier.




LH pic below is the city's war memorial and is small, but nicely set out. RH pic shows a celebration of two of the Province's most famous exports - the Newfoundland dog and the Labrador!!




I'll let the interpretive signs do the explaining.

 

[RooFlyer]

So good bye St John's.

Check-in at the airport was straightforward, and I had an eUpgrade for the first leg YYT-YYZ (waitlisted forYYZ-YYC).

The Maple Leaf Lounge at YYT was small but OK,




... and food was the inevitable, ... soup or salad




On board, as posted before, a paxing AC FA completely ignored the safety briefing, having her nose in the paper like most of the rest of the J cabin. Not a good example. Meal was a decent chicken dish but the wine was a very stingy pour of a forgettable Spanish white. Air Canada rarely stocks Canadian wines, or at least good ones (of which there are many). Cost driven, no doubt.




Another stop-over at the MLL in Toronto, then on board the flight to Calgary, with no upgrade. I bought an evening meal and a white wine, which were eventually delivered - with the meal presented as per LH pic. Charming ... and no cutlery. Underneath there was a dry-ish salmon dish, which at least kept the worms at bay.

 

[RooFlyer]

Just conclude, some after-thoughts.

* St John's is a very nice town and there is lots to see and do within just a couple of hours;

* I think Raymond's is the pick of the restaurants I visited (I also went to a couple of smaller places for lunch). Rocket, in the main drag is also recommended;

* O'Reilley's pub for Newfie music and beer, in the evenings; not for food or during the day;

* 3 nights in St John's would be enough for me;

* Next time I definitely want to explore the west of The Rock. There are regular air services (eg from Toronto and Halifax) to Gander, in the middle, and Deer Lake in the west; also a ferry services from Channel Port-aux-Basques on the south-west tip of Newfoundland island, and Sydney, Nova Scotia (this is regarded as a link in the Trans Canada Highway). That said, I hear you aren't supposed to take hire cars on the ferry.

* I'd drive up to the far northern tip of the island, to St Anthony and then check-out the remnants of the 1,000 year-old Viking settlements at L'Anse aux Meadows; a World Heritage site.

* The mountains and coastal scenery in the west are said to be second to none (by Newfies ). Fog permitting, I guess!


And as a special treat for those who have stayed this far , a place that sounds incredible (as well as rather expensive!!): Fogo Island Inn, on an island off the north coast of Newfoundland :shock: . It sounds much like Saffire at Freycinet in Tasmania. Have a good look through the web site then tell me you can't wait to go.

 

[RooFlyer]

Post script.

Just noticed that Raymond's Restaurant has been labelled:

* #4 Restaurant in Canada, 2015; (out of 100)

* #1 restaurant in Canada 2014 and 2015 (out of 50)


(And it's #1 on Trip Advisor for St John's, not #2 as I said above).

 

[clazman]

Rooflyer curious have you done the train from Toronto to Halifax?

 

[drron]

I have looked at Fogo Island Inn and a possibility if we are ever in those parts.

Some local news of interest-at the national tourism awards both Saffire and the Frogmore Estate restaurant won their respective categories.Frogmore for the best regional restaurant in Australia.And we heard about it first here on AFF.

 

[RooFlyer]

Rooflyer curious have you done the train from Toronto to Halifax?

No, sorry; no trains.

 

[RooFlyer]

I have looked at Fogo Island Inn and a possibility if we are ever in those parts.

Some local news of interest-at the national tourism awards both Saffire and the Frogmore Estate restaurant won their respective categories.Frogmore for the best regional restaurant in Australia.And we heard about it first here on AFF.

Thanks for that drron

 

[RooFlyer]

Think I'll close the loop with the trip home YYC-YVR-HKG-MEL-HBA.

Every time I go through Calgary airport I have a grizzle and this is no exception. its probably because I'm at the end of a work trip and generally tired and impatient to get home, so apologies. I'm in CX J YVR-HKG and staying at the Cordis Langham, with dinner reservation at the Michelin hatted Ming Court, so things will improve .

As usual, the priority check-in for Air Canada is busy and as usual, there are Economy check-in agents a few metres away, not doing anything. But the priority people suddenly cleared up, so I checked in with them.





As usual, Calgary security is slow and tedious, but now they have refined the torture, as I recount here. Gee, I hope it doesn't catch on elsewhere, or you can add 10 minutes to every security trip.

At least with a domestic flight, there is a Maple Leaf Lounge. If you are flying to the USA, tough luck. As I've reported before, this MLL is undergoing one of the most drawn out renovations in lounge history. Much over a year now, and no signs of completion (of course its more likely to be the airport's fault than AC, but still..





It was 11am, so the bar was propped up with laptops.



I moseyed over to the snacks area, and saw the hot servings thing-os had something in them, and as my whY flight to YVR wouldn't yield anything approaching lunch, I took a look.

Oh, of course. Corn chips in one and some other sort of dry chip in the other. :evil: But then again, there was also 'soup or salad'.

 

[RooFlyer]

So its goodbye Cowtown




with an hour E190 flight to Vancouver. There, I remembered that the CX lounges were a bit hard to find, but I couldn't remember the trick. So of course I sailed right past them and had to double back about 15 mins. if you ever have to find them, this sign to the left of the elevator is the ONLY sign indicating the Cx lounge, anywhere. If you are walking from Domestic, you actually have to look 120 degrees behind you, as they are in a bend in the walk way. But best to look for the Maple leaf Lounge opposite security; the elevator is next to that. The lounge is about 20 mins walk from the gate that CX usually uses.




The CX Business lounge at YVR isn't much to write home about. the First lounge is entered through the Biz lounge and is pretty much the same, but quieter, and with Champagne. Exact same foods on offer. Exactly.





Steamed prawn dumplings were nice.



There is more ... I'll post a few more pics next time.

 

[amaroo]

Just catching up on your TR - excellent as always.