The time has come for us to finish writing about Newfoundland (again). We are so grateful to Legendary Coasts for giving us the opportunity to explore Eastern Newfoundland a second time; truly, we’ll never tire of writing about these mystical lands.

(If you’re new to our blog and haven’t had your fill of Newfoundland stories, check out the series of posts from our visit last year—one post even includes a video of cod at the bottom of the ocean!)

The last night of our trip was spent at The Compton House, a grand Victorian mansion just a few minutes from the heart of St. John’s.

A new friend we met at the Roots, Rants, and Roars Festival explained that the only criteria for ‘fitting in’ in St. John’s is that you have to love it. Check! We adored our time there last year, and were charmed by how welcoming the city is. That included the warm and supportive food community to which we were introduced; we spent an afternoon returning to our old favourites from last year, and as it turns out, we have a lot of them!

We first stopped in at Rocket Bakery for a lunch of fish cakes.

Then we went back to the marvelously picturesque Quidi Vidi Village, home to rafters of pickled goods from the award winning Mallard Cottage,

iceberg beer brewed by the Quidi Vidi Brewery, and the Plantation, an organization providing studio space and business mentorship to artists.

There are number of talented artists doing extraordinary work in that building, and this year we were particularly taken with Brindy Linens' hand-printed tea towels.

Any one of these would make an excellent Christmas gift, and you can order online. DO IT.

This year, we also managed to see the infamous George Street in the light of day.

This two-block stretch in downtown St. John’s is lauded as the highest concentration of pubs and restaurants in North America; it’s pretty much the party centre of the city.

We shot up Signal Hill for a quick (and very windy) stroll.

Between the ocean and harbour views atop Signal Hill, it feels like you’re at the edge of the world on one side,

and on the brink of a colourful city adventure on the other.

And speaking of colourful, we just couldn’t get enough of the jellybean houses.

They‘re everywhere, and they’re gorgeous.

A big part of why we love Newfoundland so much is the authenticity we encounter in each community. There are so many unique ‘attractions’ that exist simply because the community takes pride in their town’s heritage and landscape, and actively work toward preserving, celebrating and cultivating it.

There is a sincerity and authenticity that makes Newfoundland—both its people and its places—so unbelievably lovely, and their stories such a pleasure to share.

We may be done in Newfoundland, but we won’t be gone long! We’ll soon be sharing a recipe from one of our new favourite cookbooks, also the result of a food-fuelled road trip…

Thanks again to Legendary Coasts, and to everyone who helped make this trip so extraordinary.

-DV