St, John's, Newfoundland - Day 1 - Excursion Around Conception Bay

July 21

We had breakfast at the hotel and all 3 days it was awesome. Greg had the touton sandwich, and I had bacon & eggs. After 2 mornings of donuts, it was good to have a real breakfast. (no offense Tim Horton’s…lol)

touton sandwich

bacon & eggs

We had a later start today which was welcome. I booked 3 tours through McCarthy's Party. https://www.mccarthysparty.com/ The van came, and it was just a small group of us today.

Today we are doing their Excursion Around the Bay- It was to see the sights around Conception Bay. Larry was our guide and he was very interesting, informative and passionate about Newfoundland. (always pronounced NewfunLAND)

George Cove Mountain in Holyrood was our first stop. We probably spent more time here than needed, but I think our guide was trying to manage our time to get to lunch during our timeslot. (the other van had the earlier time)

George Cove Mountain

beach was all pebbles

Marine Institute

across the street from the beach

church in the distance

Common Loon

Our next stop was to see the Holyrood shipwreck in Conception Bay.

Holyrood Shipwreck

kayak tour getting ready to start

beautiful field of wildflowers

wild roses

Brigus was our next stop and was a walking tour. What a picturesque town this is!

Pinkston's Forge

St. George's Anglican Church

our guide, Larry at the picnic table

Captain Robert Abram Bartlett - monument

Greg in the background

pretty granite rock with aqua striations

The tunnel was built for the famous Captain Abram Bartlett. Bartlett frequently made trips to Labrador to partake in the summer fishery but due to an overcrowded harbor would often have trouble finding a dock to unload his catch. After purchasing a larger ship, his previous berth at Riverhead was no longer usable. The only remaining suitable deep-water berth nearby was in Brigus Harbour. Brigus' sheltered and deep-water harbor was ideal for holding large ships but finding a place to dock a ship was often difficult due to surrounding cliffs. A tunnel through the ridge would give Bartlett access to his ship and allow for easy offloading of the catch.

The Brigus Tunnel

trash box

sign on trash box - Beware of Dog - the Cat is Shady Too

The Devil's Footprints

World War I & II Memorial park

After our lovely walking tour, we got back in the van for the short drive to the town of Cupids. Cupids is a town of 699 people, and it is the oldest continuously settled official British colony in Canada.

Here we had an awesome Homemade 3 course meal at Skipper Ben’s B&B & Restaurant. Our hosts Viola and Clyde put together a lovely meal and make sure everyone is happy and has enough food. Skipper Ben’s is a lovingly restored building from 1889 and is filled with traditional east coast charm.

Skipper Ben's

small dining room (there were 2 other small tables)

squash soup

fish cakes

crepe stuffed with a scoop of ice cream and blueberries

After lunch we went for a short walk around Cupids.

One of Newfoundland’s earliest Methodist churches, built in 1875 and still in operation. First service was for the victims of the schooner “Water Witch” disaster.

Cupids United Church

The van picked us up at the meeting place and we continued on to our last stop to sample some Traditional Newfoundland snacks and enjoy some live music.

We were served freshly made toutons and offered drinks with a pink liquid that was very tasty. (a local berry syrup) All while we took in the gorgeous views!

we remarked how clear the water was everywhere we stopped, but it really was clear here

small fish swimming in the clear water

They then came around with a platter of Capelin (fish) for those that wanted to try them. Of course, Greg grabbed one.

Capelin (they run like Grunion and swarm the bay)

After the entertainment finished it was time to go back to St. John’s. The group before us ran late and the lady was eager to leave for her hair appt. (we all can understand that one)

We stopped at the room to adjust layers and went next door to Vu. It was rated one of the top restaurants and since it was right next door (they were the ones that made our breakfast that was served at the Courtyard) we tried it. We weren’t very hungry after our large lunch today, so we got small plates of Cod Tongues - Tempura Battered and served with Korean Miso & Honey Sauce, Sesame Seeds and Pickled Cabbage and I had Pan Seared Scallops with House Smoked Pork Belly, Sour Cherry Chutney and Parsnip Puree. It was so good, I wished it had been a larger plate….

scallops

cod tongue

After our meal, we went to explore St. John’s.

We walked up the hill to Military Road in search of Moo-Moo's ice-cream, but it was closed. (maybe permanently since it was for sale) We passed another one and were glad we stopped in. It was called The Parlour Gelato & Coffee. It was really good, but later at night they were out of a few flavors. One that I tried was the peanut butter gelato with chunks of gooey fudge brownie all through it. The other was a Triple Chocolate, both were good, but that peanut butter was OMG.

We passed a couple of local guys sitting on a bench and they stopped us to strike up a conversation. People there are very friendly.

We passed some of the many Jellybean Row Houses. So pretty but getting later in the evening it wasn't the best lighting for photos.

The Colonial Building

St John's Courthouse

Supreme Court

axe throwing at a bar, what can go wrong?

Newfoundland National War Memorial National Historic Site (hopefully, we'll see it in better light)

The three main streets to walk are Water & George& Duckworth. We wandered further up to Military Street looking for ice cream and that is where we found the Parlour. 

Water Street is the bustling business area of St. John's. While a handful of tall buildings like the Scotia Center dominate the street, there is a strict building policy in place by the city to restrict skyscrapers from crowding out views of The Narrows. 

George Street is one of St. John's claims to fame and walking through in the daytime is an entirely different experience than at night. The street has reputably more clubs and pubs per square foot than any other street in North America,

Duckworth also had many restaurants and shops. 

We wandered our way back to the hotel to get some sleep as we had an early morning boat tour. I scheduled 2 tours for tomorrow. A Puffin & Whale Watch tour in the morning and the Historic St. John’s & Cape Spear tour in the afternoon.

For larger photos:

St, John's, Newfoundland - Day 1 - Excursion Around the Bay https://photos.app.goo.gl/jcs2mkfXBe58k7U79