What a great day
in |Newfoundland. The day was absolutely perfect. After 4 days of
overcast, rainy skies and a whole day of fog, we entered the harbour
with clear blue skies. It remained that way all day. We were up and
ready as we entered through the very narrow opening of the harbour
around 7 am. This was the largest passenger ship to ever call here
and the last of the season. The captain did a perfect 180 in the
harbor and backed into the wharf right in the centre of the city.
We were ready to go ashore by about 8:30.
One of the things
that Princess has done this cruise is have the tourist people set up
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| Along Duckworth Street |
right on ship so that you can get all the info needed before going
ashore. It has saved a lineup and time. The one thing that we
absolutely wanted to do was to visit the National Historic Park at
Signal Hill where Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic radio
signal. The tower itself is at about 800 feet so it was an uphill
climb all the way. Situated on the outskirts of town it afford
wonderful views of the city, the harbour as well as the ocean. As we
walked along admiring the very colourful building, we encountered a
Tim |Horton's and had to stop for a double double!
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| On Signal Hill |
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| Walking Back To Town |
After reaching the
Marconi Tower and exploring the high point, we decided to take a
trail back into the city. It was only a little over a mile to the
park boundary but we did have many steps to go go up and down. Again
some spectacular views of the entrance and the city. The trail came
out on a narrow street filled with houses that must have been there
for many years.
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| The Trail |
We were constantly snapping pictures and we went.
We ended up in a nice harbour park where they had 2 statues of 2 dogs
– The Newfoundlander and Labrador Retriever – giving the history
of both breeds.
Walking along Waters
street we found Hollis Street. There is an alley off this street.
The Crowsnest Pub is located in this alley. It is where the people
from the warships came after coming from convoy duty in the north
Atlantic during World War II. No sign of the pub but we did learn
later that it opens infrequently and only for members. I have heard
about it many times in my old navy days and wanted to catch a glimpse
of the inside. No such luck this time.
With a ship this
size Waters street was packed with people. We wandered along and
met our friends. Off we went to find an outdoor patio to share
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| At The Pub |
a
beer. It took some doing as all the pubs along the main street were
jammed but a few blocks up, we turned into the Three Cheers Pub where
we had a drink and sat enjoying the sunshine for a bit of time.
Heading back to the ship we again wandered along.
There was to be a
special dockside ceremony but it was quite far from where the ship
was. By the time we found it, they had finished playing. Later in
the afternoon we were invited to our friends suite at the back of the
ship to watch the sail away. It is a very nice location for a
suite.
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| Leaving St John's |
The balcony runs along the back of the ship and then along
the port side. It afforded wonderful views of the harbour as we
left. The city also fired a cannon (?) as we left. Our friends
always book a suite in that location. We sat for a long time
enjoying a glass of wine.
We went to the
early production show and although a bit weird, at least the music
was updated in comparison to some of the things we have seen. A nice
long relaxing dinner follow. In fact our table was the last to leave
the dining room tonight.
Tomorrow is a sea day
as we make our way to Halifax. St John's was a great port where we
had a sense that they appreciated the ship in town. And they had a
Tim Horton's.
1 comment:
The last photo of the houses along the shore cliffs looks like an elaborate model train setup, without the trains. The way they are placed on the cliff looks really neat.
Glad to hear you had good weather for your shore day.
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