Hello everyone!
In my previous post, I shared the first part of the Newfoundland trip Andrew and I had this September. It included the stops in Twillingate, Bonavista Peninsula, and other beautiful towns like Trinity, Brigus, and Dildo (Yes, Dildo. You can check the story in the first post.) The last part of our trip was the capital where we stayed for three nights, St. John’s!
St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
I must admit St. John’s did not meet us with perfect weather. It was quite rainy and windy most of our stay here. In fact, St. Johne’s expected the storm associated with the approaching hurricane Earl. The storm, indeed, was approaching on the day of our departure. Yeah, the ferry crossing was quite…fun LOL.
It is believed the place was discovered in 1497 – not as an established settlement, but as the fishing grounds. In 1583 the area was claimed as England’s first overseas colony under Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I; however, there was no permanent population. It was growing slowly in the 17th century, and by 1670s St. John’s was Newfoundland’s largest settlement.
North America’s Most Easterly Point
St. John’s is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, on the northeast of the Avalon Peninsula. In facts, the area around the Cape Spear Lighthouse is North America’s most easterly point.
St. John’s architecture has a distinct style different from the rest of Canada, and its major buildings are remnants of its history as one of the first British colonial capitals. Starting as a fishing outpost for European fishermen, St. John’s consisted mostly of the homes of fishermen, sheds, storage shacks, and wharves constructed out of wood. Unfortunately, due to 5 major fires in the 19th century, a large part of the city was destroyed. The most devastating was the Great Fire of 1892 destroying most of the downtown core.
Heritage Colours & Jelly Bean Row
Also, St. John’s is often compared to San Francisco due to its landscape which is the hilly terrain and the houses painted in bright colours, earning its downtown the nickname Jelly Bean Row. It was not always like that, of course. Because of the limited choices, St. John’s in the 19th and partly 20th centuries looked different – mostly dark shades of green, red, brown, and grey. But Newfoundland takes its colourful personality and heritage very seriously. Please check these fascinating websites giving your more information on historic colours and their evolution:
Home – Historic Paint Colours of Newfoundland & Labrador (historicpaintnl.ca)
nl-historic-paint.pdf (heritagenl.ca)
Literally, anyone can find their favourite colour!
Quidi Vidi
Another beautiful place worth stopping is a village Quidi Vidi, one of the oldest fishery settlements in North America!
That was a short but definitely interesting stop. We checked some beautiful parks and trails and also simply browsed the cute little residential streets. Now, I would like to visit St. Johns during the winter (Although it could be risky due to winter storms – you can get stuck in there for a while.)
I hope you enjoyed reading about our Newfoundland trip, and it is now on your bucket list. Trust me, it’s worth visiting! Thank you for reading and see you shortly – now with my first autumn recipes.
Cheers!
Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.
Those colorful houses are amazing! Sorry about the weather, but that’s sometimes what happens when we travel. We were really lucky to have almost perfect weather when we were in Spain, but it could’ve been either really hot or really rainy… You seem to of made the best of it! thanks for sharing your travel story with us.
I echo every one else’s comments about the colourful houses Ben! Thanks for sharing these pictures and a re-cap of your recent holiday!
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Such beautiful landscape with all the green and the beautiful cliffs!
i love the photos. love the colours of the houses; love the history. this has always been on my bucket list, and one day …
I thought after looking at the title they were dogs :) Got excited as I got a puppy over the weekend. Anwways nice to know these names exists as a place as well and they surely are colourful and vibrant
WoW very very different and interesting! I loved those colorful houses alot. Thanks for the photos. Happy October. Greetings.
What gorgeous photos Ben! So interesting to learn some history of Newfoundland and see how beautiful it is. All the colors are absolutely stunning. What a fun vacation!
Shannon recently posted…Grilled Potato Pesto Quesadillas
It’s beautiful! I’m heading to Maine this weekend and this is just how I expect it to look. We were in western Canada this summer, but I’ve never explored the eastern provinces. I hope to one day!
Ben, thanks so much for sharing stories and photos from your Newfoundland travels in this and your previous post! So many beautiful places and I loved seeing you and Andrew too. I had to laugh at ‘Dildo’ – it’s the best that they have a Hollyw00d-style sign to announce it. And your comment about needing a vacation when you get back from vacation (particularly and active one), it’s so true!
Such beautiful photos!!!
This looks like quite an interesting place. I love the colors of the buildings, and I especially love those cliffs at the water’s edge.
What a fun trip! I’ll be honest that the thought of a ferry crossing with an approaching hurricane sounds pretty terrible. But the reward was definitely worth it! I love the colorful houses there in St. John’s, and I think Quidi Vidi looks like an awesome place to curl up with a book and watch the sea. Thanks for sharing, Ben!
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It looks so pretty and vibrant. And like you, I’m not sure I would want to be snowed in there.
Tandy | Lavender and Lime recently posted…The Tavern Broom
Those colourful houses are for sure different and interesting. The first picture of St. Johns looks spectacular.
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