• 1. Where to Stay
• 2. Where to Eat
• 3. What to Do
• 4. Insider’s Tip
• 5. An Oddball Day

The Celtic Hearth, left, and the Ferryland Lighthouse.    (Photo: tderouin (Lighthouse))

Pack on some extra protection from the cold by sampling the traditional Newfoundland diet. Fried bologna and eggs is a long-standing breakfast classic available anywhere on “The Rock,” but Velma’s Place (264 Water St, 709-576-2264) a diner short on ambiance but long on flavor, is where it feels most authentic. Order it with a side of scrunchions (salted pork rinds) and fried toast with partridgeberry jam.

Rent a car and drive (Budget Rentals 709-747-1234; from $40 a day) 45 minutes south to Ferryland to Lighthouse Picnics. Work up your appetite on a leisurely hike past Lord Baltimore’s Colony, Goose Island, and the Torhamvan shipwreck. Eat your prepared picnic lunch of crab cakes, lemonade in bell jars, and rhubarb fool on a tartan blanket, but bring an extra wrap for when it gets windy.

On your drive back to St. John's, buy some flipper pies—yes, that's seal in there—at Bidgoods, the supermarket near Ferryland. Spread bake-apple (a.k.a. cloudberry) jam or some squashberry jelly on hard-tack, the dense, dry crackers beloved by Newfoundland residents.

Prepare for bed with glass of screech, Newfoundland's strong, super-sweet liquor made from the sediment at the bottom of the rum barrel. Dodge the rowdy crowd on St. John's George Street and enjoy a glass at the Celtic Hearth (298 Water St, 709-576-2880), a relaxed, dimly lit pub with worn wooden booths, a potbellied stove, and live Celtic music.

Published on Jul 16, 2009 as a web exclusive.