No not that St. John’s, drop the ‘s’ and move miles back to the east coast shoreline.
St. John, New Brunswick is a small, incredibly historic town that screams for a plethora of photoshoots. Ordinarily it isn’t a place I would think to visit. My father had a conference there and so I thought I would tag along for a free trip to a place of the country I’ve never been. I decided not to do much tourist site seeing activities, but rather, just explore at my own pace in a much more relaxed fashion.
First we checked into the Hilton right on the harbor. I was stunned by the size of the room and the incredible vista.
As we headed further into the downtown I couldn’t resist this epic Canadian treat which I’m afraid I’must clarify is sugared dough and not real beaver tail.
Downtown there is an old indoor market, with tons of seafood and lots of kelp- seriously my dad loved the salty kelp treats. There were a few quaint boutique stores, lots of vintage consignment shops, an adorable cupcake shop, Birks jewelry, Java Moose (who needs Starbucks when you can go to Java Moose) and art galleries. Perhaps my favourite aspect of St. John was the historic architecture. There are some seriously beautiful old buildings, some refurbished and glorious, others vacant and a bit run down, but still gorgeous. There was a beautiful park with an old bandshell and further down once you pass through Victorian Iron gates, an old loyalist cemetery that was perfectly blended into the shrubbery and landscape of the park.
That evening after a pleasant stroll by the docks overlooking Partridge Island, we had dinner at the St. John Ale House which if you’re a beer lover is paradise, but also had some of the best food I’ve ever eaten. It’s worth noting that St. John has a ridiculous amount of restaurants, and really good ones. Mexican, Indian, Canadian cuisine, pubs, fine dining, seafood…
The next day we drove about 40 minutes to St. Martin’s Sea Caves. There is an unmatched soothing sensibility you garner from relaxing along the ocean and The Bay of Fundy is unparalleled. The Sea Caves are only accessible during low tide so you must check tide times before visiting for maximum beauty and safety. It was a rainy cold day (even in mid-June) but we warmed up with tea, sandwiches and seafood chowder at The Caves Restaurant which overlooks the panoramic views of the bay. There isn’t much in this area in terms of shopping, tourist stores or information but there are a few restaurants and ice cream shops. The primary reason for coming out here isn’t to be inside though, it’s to travel the bay, take some of the hiking trails, kayak and have an Atlantic adventure. It’s worth the trip and I am a firm believer that no photograph can accurately capture the true beauty of a landscape, but I tried my best…
Modern Lamb 