Canadian Adventure

St John is on the Bay of Fundy, home to the highest tides in the world. Near to Nova Scotia and the northeastern United States, the border with Maine is just 1 hour away. Highlights included the Reversing Falls on the St John River and the Irving Nature Park (please see separate entries for both of these).

The city itself is home to a beautiful harbour. Being the second largest natural harbour in the world (after Calais), a lot of the larger cruise ships can sail right into the port, which is unusual for a lot of Canada and North America. Cruise ships visit St John on Tuesday most weeks, so the town can receive up to 2,500 extra visitors that day. As you can imagine, the market and shops do a roaring trade on cruise-ship days.

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As my accommodation was being arranged by the company prior to arrival, I had to instill a certain amount of trust that I would have somewhere nice to stay. I needn't have worried. The Chipman Hill Suites is situated on the corner of Coburg Street, around a 5-minute walk to work for me. We each had our own bachelor studio, which suited our needs down to the ground. The studios consist of a queen-size bed; kitchenette with a breakfast bar; a small bathroom consisting of a WC, sink, and shower; a closet; and TV/VCR. The decor is of a high standard, and the suites have a very homey feel to them. There is also a communal living area and a porch out front, which you can sit on in the evenings and even barbeque on.

The suites are actually situated in the old government house, which has since been converted, and we were in extremely good company. The King and Queen of England actually stayed here in the ‘30s, and there are pictures on the wall to prove it. I wonder if they were in my room…

Asian Palace is pretty much the only restaurant in town where you can get Indian food. Coming from a small town with at least 10 Indian restaurants nearby, a city with only one is almost unbelievable. We decided to eat here after a week or so in Canada. My Indian colleague had been finding the local cuisine fairly bland compared to what she was used to, so she was thrilled to find some spicy food to tantalize her taste buds!

Located right on the harbour, there are some great views here, and there are also some tables outside. There was no one to be seen when we arrived, and we waited a good 5 minutes before anyone appeared. There was one waiter serving, and he also doubled as the bartender and maitre'd. Luckily for us, the place was fairly empty, and this didn't impact on our service.

Our appetizers of vegetable cutlets and tikka paneer (Indian cheese marinated in spices) were both delicious and left us wondering if we would manage a main course. Luckily, when our Chili Chicken Calcutta and Murgh Makhini came out accompanied by steaming piles of rice, we soon found our appetites. The food was good, not the best Indian cuisine I had ever tasted, but certainly above average. We also had a very reasonably priced bottle of Canadian red wine, which they serve by the litre or half litre.

D'Amico's restaurant is situated in uptown St. John, just minutes from the harbour. The cuisine is Italian/Canadian. The decor is plush and the restaurant is well lit. The kitchen has an open plan, and you can see your order being cooked in front of you. We ate from the lunchtime menu, which was great value, with choices of pizza and salad, lasagna, and tortellini to mention a few. The lunchtime menu contains maybe 15 items - and these are all at a special price. You can also order form the regular menu, but this would be at a slightly higher price.

Whilst my companions all ordered from the lunchtime special menu, I decided to create my own pizza from the regular menu. You can have ANYTHING on a pizza here, even lobster!! I decided to play it safe and went for smoked Gouda, white onions, and fresh basil. It was delicious. The best thing was, when I couldn't manage all of mine, they packaged it up for me to take home. I know that this is commonplace in Canada, and I'm slowly getting used to it, but this is one practice I will sorely miss when I get back to the UK.

This was one of my first dining experiences in St John, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The restaurant is situated about 15 minutes out of town, above the famous reversing falls. This is a unique phenomenon that occurs in no other place in the world - please see my entry on this for more details. In laymen's terms, ocean meets river at the highest tide point in the world; when the tide changes, the waters flow is reversed. The Falls View restaurant has amazing views of this, as you would expect from the name.

The lunchtime menu is small, with no more than 10 options, but the menu is varied. On offer is a soup of the day, with crackers and a choice of sandwich and salad. Also on the menu is a lobster or crab roll and various Kaiser sandwiches (basically Kaiser is a type of roll), such as chicken salad, ham and cheese, etc. The special on the day we visited was a teriyaki chicken with a timbale of spicy rice. My Indian colleague has this and declared it to be excellent.

The Saint John City Market is situated around a 10-minute walk both from the office and my lodgings. Its opening hours are Monday to Thursday 7:30am to 6pm, Friday 7:30am to 7pm, and Saturday 7:30am to 5pm. It is closed on Sundays.

The Market caters to both locals and visitors alike. The clientele will usually vary depending on the day of the week and the time of day. Mornings and early evenings see locals stocking up on the freshest fruit and veggies in town. Get there early to catch the freshest fish and seafood. Lunchtimes will usually find the City Market teaming with office workers. Mostly they are queuing up at one of the many deli counters, where you can buy sandwiches, deli wraps, soups, etc., as well as more exotic items, such as samosas and Thai noodles.

The Market also has a section for imported English goods, with items such as Branston Pickle, PG Tips tea bags, and HP sauce. It’s the early days of my visit at the moment, but I'm sure that in a few weeks, when I start to get homesick, this will be a great help. Other than food, there are also stalls selling local artwork and souvenirs. Tuesdays will usually see an influx of tourists, as cruise ships enter St John on this day. Up to 2,000 visitors will enter the city for the day, and the market does a roaring trade from this.

Irving Nature Park is situated just on the outskirts of Saint John. The walking trails are named after the wildlife you are likely to see. The squirrel trail and the chipmunk trail are the most popular. The trails are covered with soft woodchip and so are easy on the joints when walking or jogging. There are some lovely white-sand beaches here, as well as the more traditional wood-covered forest trails.

This is a popular spot for bird-watching, and over 250 species have been spotted here, including cormorants, the black-capped chickadee (New Brunswick's provincial bird), tree swallows, loons, great blue herons, sandpipers, geese, black ducks, and many more. The views over the Bay of Fundy are spectacular, and I would well recommend a visit here, even if you aren't into walking.

Saint John Population: 122,680 (2001)

Climate: Temperate coastal climate Average summer temperatures are: Summer 22C (71F) Winter: 3.9C (25F)

Location: Saint John, New Brunswick, is located on Atlantic Canada's Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the St. John River and is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick. Saint John is a 90-minute drive from the U.S. border at Calais, Maine; a 4-hour drive from Halifax, Nova Scotia; a 3-hour ferry ride from Digby, Nova Scotia; and a 10-hour drive from Montreal, Quebec. Saint John is a 2-hour flight from Toronto, a 1-hour flight from Montreal, and 45 minutes from Halifax. Air Canada provides several daily direct flights to Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax.

The Saint John Airport is located 16km from the centre of the city. The cost for a cab is approximately $25.00 per person one way. An official shuttle service operates corresponding with time of major arrivals and departures. Airport limousine service is available for approximately $35.00 per trip.

Languages: New Brunswick is the only province in Canada to have both English and French as official languages. Both are heard throughout the province, and many people are bilingual. Saint John is predominantly English-speaking.

Time Zone: New Brunswick is on Atlantic Time. Entering New Brunswick from Maine or Quebec, set your watch ahead one hour.

All information is from the City of Saint John Tourism Board. Check out Tourism Saint John.