Days 124, 127-129 (September 3, 6-8): Saint-John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

Well, I've done it... Coast to coast, all 10 provinces, all provincial capitals, save one (Regina, which is not on the Via train line). And Saint-John's is a great place to conclude this little trip.  It is my first time visiting:  what an interesting city.  Along with Québec City, this is the most distinctive Canadian city, very much with its own look and feel and where the history of the city is palpable.  Some pictorial illustration:

The Saint-John's harbour entrance, as seen from my hotel room.

Victoria Street, from Queens Road, provides an example of the colourful architecture in downtown St-John's.

Taken from Signal Hill, this would give a great view of downtown St-John's, had the most amazing fog not rolled in.

I took a couple of van tours which took me to some coastal areas outside St-John's:

Flat Rock, NL.

Petit Harbour, NL

I also walked around the campus of Memorial University, and happened upon this:

A few additional comments:

- The tourism industry in St-John's is, well, let's say, 'quaint', as opposed to, say, unprofessional.  There are about a half-dozen tour companies operating out of St-John's advertising a fair number of full-day and half-day tours. Granted I was not visiting during peak season (and I appreciate that), but none of the tour companies I contacted were actually offering the full-day tours (or even some of the half-days) they were advertising whilst I was there. (I did work something out with one of the tour operators on one of the free days I had; while it was not the tour which I wanted, it was still a plus.)  Both tour operators I used operate solely on a cash (or cheque!) basis, which just sends tax evasion shivers up my back. In addition, there seems to be a habit of operators, shuttle bus companies and the like answering phone calls with a simple 'hullo', which just inspires so much confidence.  Add it all together, and it just seems, well, very 'quaint', which after four months of travelling, left much to be desired.  (As a basis for comparison, I did not encounter those elements in Saint-Pierre.)

- So, yeah, George Street.  It came exactly as described: bar after pub after club after bar.  Sitting in a pub until 2 AM listening to live music on a Tuesday night is definitely different (and appreciated); paying a cover charge pretty much everywhere in downtown St-John's on the week-end seems a bit much.  Hopefully, the bands see some of that cash.  As far as the entertainment, they were mostly cover acts, and mostly Celtic/folk, as you might imagine; there was a mix of talent, the best playing at the Shamrock (on Water Street) and O'Reilly's (on the afore-mentioned George Street).  Oh yeah, there is a strip joint on George Street in a 150+-year-old building that was, in the late 1800s/early 1900s, a Catholic school for girls, of course.

- A couple of other notable establishments, that I enjoyed:

1) The Club, a restaurant that opened last November on Duckworth Street.  The décor is brick and hardwood; the food is a mix of seafood (including a raw bar) and a higher-end take on comfort food. I had a baked potato soup with bacon and cheddar and 'Stewed Cod à la Spanish Bay', basically cod stew with chorizo, mussels and other goodies.  Both were really hearty and tasty.  They also serve products from both of the area's craft brewers.  Service was a bit slow, no doubt on account of a table of 20 that were seated a bit before me.  I was very pleasantly surprised at the atmosphere and the approach to and quality of the food.

2) The Yellowbelly Brewery and Public House. While I was a little disappointed at the wood-burning oven pizza I had (good, but bland), the Yellowbelly brews four flavours, a stout that tastes like Murphy's, a Pale Ale, which tastes a bit like a weakly-hopped IPA and is quite drinkable, and a Red Ale and a Wheat beer, which were both OK but unremarkable.