Quidi Vidi brings out the Sunshine!

 

I was completely surprised to find that within minutes Marcia and I had arrived in "kiddy vidi".  Despite all the reading and dreaming about this beautiful place I had thought of it more as a little village a short trip away from St. John's.  It was a very short trip to this neighborhood in St. John's, we had decided to drive to Quidi Vidi just to see how to get there and get a feel for this place where months earlier I had made a reservation at a much acclaimed restaurant, Mallard Cottage.  (More about Mallard Cottage later). 

It is just fun to say Quidi Vidi (most commonly said kiddy vidi) and it was even more fun to be there.  Quidi Vidi is a tiny little neighborhood of majestic large size beauty, very picturesque and the home of both artists and brewers.  On our first of two trips to Quidi Vidi we found a parking space (now more than ever Marcia's disability parking tag was quite useful and necessary) and took a walk, taking in the geography and the Quidi Vidi Lake.  This is still an active fishing village (I still can't help thinking of it as it's own little world) and a very popular destination for hiking and drinking beer at the Quidi Vidi Brewing Company.  This brewing company is famous for its Iceberg Beer, my UU Minister Dave had given me a bottle last summer after he and Linda had returned from their time on the rock.  That bright blue bottle has remained on the windowsill of my porch a glimpse of blue light helping to fuel my dreams of my time in Quidi Vidi.  Please listen to this short segment on NPR about the iceberg oriented beer, that Newfies "find normal". 

We walked over to Quidi Vidi, and realized that this was not an easy to traverse destination.  We queued up to be greeted by the hostess and after some quick negotiations we were escorted through the bowels of the lower floor of the brewery, past the workers sitting drinking beer on their breaks, and into a very old, and very small elevator.  We landed at the top floor, it was bustling.  Our efficient,focused hostess walked us through the inside room and out to the porch and sat us at a perfect table overlooking Lake Quidi Vidi.  We sat there entranced, we saw hikers across the lake, animated families sitting at tables eating food and smiling broadly, and yes there were many glasses, of varied shapes and sizes, of beer.  

We sat in the late afternoon sun.  Enjoying the moment.  Hard to believe that this place that seems to transport you to a faraway place was just minutes from our St. John's home.  I  had a very good tasting flight and Marcia a good IPA.  What a fun place to be and we would return to Quidi Vidi again, the next time we would be walking into one of the oldest buildings in Quidi Vidi, the Mallard Cottage.  The cottage would wait for us, for now we kept pointing out the hikers on the cliffs, the boats going in and out, and the sipping of some very good, some of it made with iceberg ice!  Cheers.