St. John’s

As we drove off of the ferry into the sunny afternoon, I slipped on my sunglasses and said, “Alex, we are living our best lives.” And he agreed. I couldn’t believe I had wanted this, made a plan, and it was finally happening. 

We were immediately in awe of the unique landscape- steep hills and abundant greenery and clear, dark blue lakes. Alex said it reminded him a bit of Alaska. 

When we arrived in St. John’s, we went nuts over how picturesque it was. I love how Alex’s enthusiasm matches mine; he gasps and exlaims, “Erin!!!” When something catches his eye, and he’s always happy to stop for a picture. When we were in Charlottetown, we agreed that it was pretty, but it could have been the downtown of any city anywhere; St. John’s is unique and full of character. We loved the houses on Jellybean Row, which is actually a deceiving name, because the whole neighborhood is full of these colorful row houses. 

People had cute mailboxes that looked like the houses. 

There were murals everywhere.

And there were cool looking shops and beautiful views of the waterfront. 

(I love that I managed to snap this picture right as this red truck was driving by.)

We found a trendy restaurant for brunch. Lots of hipsters in St. John’s... our waiter was kind of pretentious and clearly thought we were losers because Alex asked for the WiFi password. After being denied, we noticed a sign on the wall that said, “There is no WiFi... pretend it’s 1995 and talk to each other.” 

We tried the toutons, a traditional Newfoundland breakfast item. It’s fried dough that you dip in molasses. I had French toast stuff will Brie and covered in caramel sauce.

I was not feeling any better at this point, and after six days of being sick and no improvement, decided I needed to pursue this whole walk-in clinic thing. Alex dropped me off and went to go sight-seeing. When I walked in (it’s a clinic inside a big store, like Walmart), it said closed, even though it was only 3:30 and they were supposed to be open till 5. The door was unlocked and there were people in the waiting area, so I went in and asked what was going on. Their policy is that they don’t see patients after 5, so once they have a certain number of people that they think it will take a while to see, they start turning people away. I told them my situation, how I was traveling and having trouble finding a doctor and had been sick for almost a week. They must have sensed my desperation because they let me in (after I paid $150 in cash).

The doctor listened to my lungs and immediately said I had a bronchial infection and probably a sinus infection, too. He gave me a prescription for an antibiotic, and when I took it over to the store pharmacy, it was 4:45 so they were closing down for the day. We had to find another pharmacy. It was just interesting to see the limited hours the have here; healthcare is available everywhere in the U.S. 

With the medical issue taken care of, we resumed our sight-seeing at Telegraph Hill, where the first transatlantic telegram was received. Amazing views of the city!

After a three hour drive (I just have to say, Alex was so amazing about doing all the driving for a few days while I was super sick), we arrived at our Air BnB in Elliston (near Bonavista). It was so charming! The description called it an “Antique Salt Box.” We were right next to the ocean. 

But then, hilarity when we went upstairs- the ceilings were so low! Alex is 6’2”, so this was an uncomfortable situation for him, especially in the shower!

And one more random fact- we learned that Elliston is the Root Cellar Capital of the World. Who knew? These adorable root cellars were everywhere!