Saint John is a lovely town and was a pleasant end to our trip. This was our third or fourth time here, always on a ship and always in the fall. This poster greeted us in the welcome hall as we went ashore.
Once outside of the Marco Polo terminal, pictured below,
we came upon Market Square only to find these folks waiting for us.
The ship docks downtown and there are many sites within walking distance. We arrived about 11:00 AM Jimmy, Barbara, JoAnn and I left the ship around 11:30 with a luncheon destination in mind. We made our way over to the City Market . . .
. . . where Jimmy and Barbara decided to rest and talk to the locals while JoAnn and I investigated a church at the top of the hill where Germain Street meets Carleton.
St. John’s Stone Church is a national historic site which dates back to September 11, 1825 when the first service was held. Built from stone ballast carried by English trading ships, it was built to ease overcrowding experienced in Trinity Church down the street. We arrived, just before 1:00 pm, during a bible study class and were invited in by Rebecca, a delightful lady, who greeted us in the lobby. She said we were welcome to look around and even take photos. I asked if I could take a photo of the class and, with Rebecca’s permission, I captured this one of Rev. Weston and his class.
As we wondered about, we commented to Rebecca how lovely the stained glass windows were. She told us some of the history of the glass and even invited me to look in the men’s room to see a particularly nice installation. Judge for yourself.
There were a number of interesting stories associated with the glass. The main window, behind the altar, depicted below, shows the bodies of Mark and Luke with the wrong heads.
Luke was a doctor but Mark’s head is on the body of the doctor; notice the skull he’s holding. If you enlarge the photo you can see the names of the Evangelists written to the right side of their heads and sure enough the head with the body of the doctor is Marcus, not Lucas. Pretty interesting, isn’t it.
And last but not least, in one of the windows upstairs in the gallery, which Rebecca was kind enough to let us go up and see, the angel has two right feet. The mistake occurred during installation when this angel’s left foot was mistakenly put on the leg of another angel and this guy got the other’s right. Take a look.
Lastly, one more photo from the church of a window, the design/shape which I particularly liked, along with a picture of JoAnn and Rebecca.
It’s a lovely little church which is worth a visit.
After our brief detour we returned to find Jimmy and Barbara where we left them and we started to walk through the market on our way to Billy’s Seafood Market where we were intent on a lobster dinner. We have gone to Billy’s every time we’ve gone to St. John. Here is a photo of Billy with two of his big claw friends.
He’s a very affable fellow and cooks up a heck-of-a lobster.
After lunch we walked over to King’s Square which is just across from the City Market. In the center of the square one finds the King Edward VII Memorial Bandstand. Constructed in 1908 with a copper roof and filigree metal framework, it is a beloved St. John landmark. Here is a photo of the bandstand flanked by photos of two monuments and a lovely planting.
Just across the street from King’s Square is the Old Burial Grounds. It sits serenely in the heart of the city and is striking in its peaceful repose as the final resting place of many American Loyalists who emigrated during and after the revolution. The earliest burial site, that of Coonradt Hendricks, dates to July 13, 1784.
Then it was back through the market, in the direction of the ship. It is the oldest continuing farmer’s market in Canada and is a national historic site. The market has been described as “the beating heart of the city.” The market sells not only vegetables, meat, fish and other food items but also art work, memorabilia, and souvenirs for tourists. As I walked through I stopped to take a photo of artwork hung and displayed for sale. I promised the lady working at the “booth” that I would give a shoutout to the artist, John Baxter a St. John photographer.
I wanted to stroll down, or was it up, Germain Street to visit Trinity Church and snap a few shots of the doors, and other things, along the way. Jimmy and Barbara decided to head back to the ship to rest a little.
And, now the doors and other things.
Once back on board the Anthem I was able to take a couple of pictures from the stern.
Good-bye St. John; on our way back to Bayonne. Great trip!
Great photos of St. John !
Thank you.