Have you ever had a work opportunity that turned into a pleasurable adventure? Well!! Last month, I was invited to participate in a Sales Presentation in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada. I was very excited as this would be my first time visiting the region. Of course, the first thing I did was go searching for available tours in St. Johns. Now keep in mind, I am supposed to be there for work and I am looking for things to see and do. Go figure 🙂
Any who, with my flight arriving literally after 11 pm because of the time difference. Stop for a second — Did you know that the time difference in Newfoundland is one hour and 30 minutes? I was scratching my head the entire time why there was a 30-minute difference. Google always comes in handy.
“This time zone exists because of the location of the island and the fact that it was a separate dominion when the time zones were established. The island of Newfoundland lies squarely in the eastern half of the Atlantic Time Zone, exactly three and a half hours from Greenwich.”
Furthermore, even though it was June and Spring, the average temperature was in the 40’s. That meant packing winter gear. It seems that this South Florida girl keeps running into cold weather 🙂
By the way, Newfoundland is pronounced “new-fin-land”. It has everything to do with their Irish accent.
Now that I have given you some background on Newfoundland, let’s get back to work. So, the next morning, I didn’t get an email or a call from my workers and I had no idea what time they would be arriving. Eventually, I decided to schedule a tour. As soon as I entered the breakfast area of the hotel, I saw my co-workers. Oops!! Tour scheduled and there is work to be done. However, the co-worker that I was tasked with to work on the presentation was not arriving until later that evening. Whew! I am free to enjoy half of my day.
The first thing I had to do was prepare for the weather — It was cold and cloudy. After prepping, it was time to explore.
Marine Drive
Our first stop was to Marine Drive and the Science Ocean Centre.
I found out that there many different starfish (sea star)
And when you get to hold one, you get a little excited.
I actually held a scallop. Who knew they came in a shell?
Logy Bay
This picturesque town is about 10 minutes outside of downtown St. John’s. We literally stood there admiring the view.
Middle Cove Beach
Middle Cove is a natural pebble beach with lookout which is about a 5 minute drive from St. John’s. Our tour guide was telling us about the ocean waves and current and how dangerous it can be. There has been several incidents that people have been pulled into the ocean by waves and drowned. I made sure to stay a safe distance.
Toward the end of the tour, we finally saw the sun. The sea and sky was in perfect harmony.
This was one of the best 3 hours of the workday that I enjoyed tremendously. Now I needed to get back to work. There is a part 2 this adventure. Stay tuned.
Canada is at the top of my list of places outside the US to visit. Newfoundland, Canada looks absolutely amazing to explore with the family.
Such a beautiful place! I just love Canada, but honestly have never seen pictures like this before. Lovely, now I want to go there! http://www.RedmondKids.com
Must be so exciting. I have never been to Canada let alone Newfoundland but how great was it for you. It’s always so nice when work turns into something nice 🙂
Combining work and pleasure is such a good experience. From time to time, we are also allowed to attend meetings in other places which we could be able to visit new places. But I never experienced to be sent outside my country for work related purposes. But of course visiting other countries is one of my dreams, hopefully. This is such a nice place, so serene and quiet. A perfect place to relax.
Oh how I love your job, the perfect combination of business and pleasure.
And these pictures are so alluring.
From the pictures, Newfoundland exudes this frontier edge of the earth feel. Should be an apt spot for some soul searching. Mental note taken for the future.
Newfoundland looks like an amazing place to be. My mom was actually there as a little girl since there used to be a military base in the area and she has such fond memories.
I would LOVE a job like this! Congrats to you and I’m glad you rand into something so amazing.
These photos are so beautiful. We loved our time in St. Johns, Newfoundland. I am hoping we can get back there next year.
Newfoundland looks awesome!I always wanted to travel to Canada, so this post has me super envious right now! The view is amazing
Looks like a great tour and such a great opportunity. I love this. And I love the tide pools and seeing the little sea creatures up close. It’s so cool.
Looks like you had a lot of fun! It’s great to see how you are having fun and when that is your actual job. I’ve been to Canada several times, would love to go back!
Happy to learn the correct pronounciation, and the reason why. 😉 Looks gorgeous in the pictures.
What an amazing opportunity! I love the sound of holding a starfish they are beautiful and the bays are so picturesque x
The purple one is cute. I also love the pics of the blue seas. So pretty!