A Taste of Water Street

 

Arriving in St. Johns was such a relief.  After a little screen scrolling and checking out options we decided that Thai food was just right and Gingergrass was our destination.  We were now in the world of Uber, which had just recently started, I pushed the destination and pick up screens and in less than 10 minutes we were on our way to supper and I was not driving.  It was light and open and the smell when we walked in was fabulous.  It had started raining again, and from all the reports we were in for rainy days ahead. Our spirits were not dampened.  We were on the eastern coast of the island.  We could see the working harbor.  We were in a city.  We had left Iceberg Alley behind and were ready for a taste (literally) of a very international city.  We drank a glass of wine, ate every bite of our food and kept reminding ourselves that we were no longer at risk of hydroplaning and had made it safely to this very destination.  

On the drive to Duckworth Street which is stacked up from Water Street we experience the steep downward ride and got a sense of how great elevation changes were in this part of St. Johns.  The trip from our Gear Street house and the water only up or down, and a pretty steep incline.  We had not fully gotten our bearings when we decided to make the 5 minute walk from the restaurant to Water Street for an after dinner drink and maybe a little music.  We were not done with the rain.  We walked to the end of the block and what we thought was a street down to Water Street were stairs, many stairs and it started pouring, and Marcia is walking with her portable concentrator and we are needing to go slowly and we were headed to a spot that the gps said YOU ARE HERE but we couldn't not find a sign so thankfully, we saw the Celtic Hearth around the corner and in we went!  It was still early in the evening and the music had not started but the 3 young women who were waiting on tables and serving at the bar were great.  We made our way to the bar,  Marcia recovered her breathe and in very short time a good drink was put down in front of us.  The young women were all in college, were from neighboring towns and had been working at the Celtic Hearth for several years.  They told us about their lives, about the bar itself that used to be a pharmacy, it was quiet the 24 bar and restaurant had not yet started what we were certain would be a very lively place in just a few hours.   The rain had slowed down almost to a stop and we walked across the street to the Merchant Tavern, I was on the search for a good sip of scotch.  This tavern was a totally different space, also very old, with high ceilings and a wide open space. The Celtic Hearth, well it had a hearth, and small little spaces and cranny's.  The Merchant Tavern is well recommended for a "chef-driven" menu, but I was focused on wanting a taste of Scotch.   We had found the right place.  No women working there except at the host counter, these were young men (I texted Sasha a picture and she texted back are these guys old enough to be in a bar?) the vibe was high energy, but they knew their scotch.  We talked a little with them, and Marcia and I just sat, sipped, enjoyed being out of the rain and our very good drinks.  

We had started the day saying goodbye to Twillingate, we had made it across the island in some very bad weather and our airbnb home was just right.  I texted for an Uber and we were safely deposited at our next home away from home.  

We did a little more settling in, we tried to locate all the available electrical outlets, we couldn't figure out about the television and we didn't care.  We were settling in, I did remember to take a few pictures from the day.  Enjoy!