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ST. JOHN'S: THE FRIENDLIEST AND MOST COLORFULL OF CANADA'S CITIES By Pam Hobbs
We were lodged at The Roses Bed and Breakfast, one of a number of converted heritage properties convenient to downtown. In winter they provide a comfortable home away from home for business people, university lecturers and researchers here for weeks on end. Summer brings tourists, many of whom book from one year to the next, using this as a base for touring St. John's and its environs. The story (1,30 words) explores St John's on foot and ends with:
IF YOU GO:- St. John's is served by Air Canada and other airlines, as well as by Marine Atlantic ferries from Nova Scotia. The Roses Bed and Breakfast, 9 Military Road, St. John's, NF A1C 2C3, (tel 709-726-3336), has single rooms $65, double $75, including tax and breakfast. An identical house next door has rooms at $55 single and $65 double with cooked breakfast. A neighboring two bedroom house is $90 per day. St. John's Tourist Information guide (from City of St. John's, Economic and Tourism Development, P.O. Box 908, St. John's, NF A1C 5M2 tel 709-729-5919 also www.city.st-johns.nf.ca) lists more B & Bs, small and large hotels. |
St John's NF: The note in the mailbox
was welcoming. Along with a room key,
it read, "Hello. Your room is on the
ground floor. Come on in. Marilyn and
Howie." We did, and sure enough, past
the lounge furnished to the early 1900s,
we came to our room. Formerly the
home's dining room, it is now a
spacious bed-sitter with its own bath
next door. On the mantlepiece another
note told us breakfast would be served
between 8 and 10 a.m. in the third floor
kitchen, and that if we were early risers
we could help ourselves. I found it astonishing that in North America there is still a city where,
in the heart of downtown, a homeowner can leave the front door unlocked and invite strangers
inside. It set the tone for our few days in St. John's, surely the most hospitable city in Canada.
