We were ready to go when the doors opened at The Rooms - Here is a little from the About Us that welcomes one as they begin their visit.
THIS PLACE WE CALL HOME
Newfoundland and Labrador. These two words mean many things to many people.
- For tourists it is becoming a bucket list destination - an ‘off the beaten path from everywhere’ place that promises original and authentic experiences.
- For residents it is home. And there is nowhere else they would rather be.
- For people who have moved away it is where their hearts still belong and many still call home.
In this place where majestic cliffs plunge straight into the frigid and abundant North Atlantic ocean, many different peoples, over thousands of years, have forged a rich and diverse culture.
THIS PLACE WE CALL THE ROOMS
The Rooms is Newfoundland and Labrador’s largest public cultural space. It represents and showcases our province to itself and to the world.
Both a destination and a journey, The Rooms is where the province’s most extensive collection of artifacts, art and historical records come together to create meaningful and memorable visitor experiences that share who we are and how we came to be.
A journey it was, a cultural gem both a museum and an art institute. I was moved once again about the context of how the differences, diversity and similarities of the peoples and culture of this amazing province are shared. There was an exhibit diving deeply into the Irish immigration, and as I walked I found myself thinking about my friend Mary Francis whose family had initially immigrated from Ireland to Newfoundland and later to the Midwest of the United States. The Rooms itself invites both a looking within the rooms and looking outside of the building to the majestic vistas all around.
This time was so interesting, we slowly moved through every "room" and then we ate at the traditional Newfoundland cuisine with a modern twist. It was there as we were watching the large vessels moving into the port that I discovered this "app" that tracks the ships on the water. As Marcia and I were talking about all the traffic on the water, the people in the table next to us, began to identify the ships. We caught each others eyes across the tables and soon I had downloaded the nautical app and began identifying the ships by name myself. One more discovery during our day at the rooms.
After a time where I think that the mission and vision of the Rooms had been achieved in my visit. By the time that we walked out of the doors and headed toward our car the rains had ended. The weather report had predicted rain all day, but here we were the sun trying to break out of the clouds and our next stop was Signal Hill National Historic Site. We drove a short while, going past "jellybean houses" and other very historic homes, the water always over our shoulder as we drove higher and higher up to Cabot Tower. The afternoon air was very soft, the vistas ever opening and vastness so different than on the west side of the island yet equally magnificent. Somehow being at this very very high point, looking all around I once again felt like I had arrived. So glad that we had made it to this high up, historical, beautiful place. On the way back to our not a jelly bean row house, we made a stop at an inviting little market. There were a few things that we needed, and we were both ready to spend a night in resting and soaking in our day. I found some "cold plates"and a few other treats and off we went. We had a little rest. The rain had continued to hold off and we enjoyed our backyard high up deck while we looked at our own pictures and talked about our day, our first full day in St. John's. More to come, and for today just right.
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