One of the best things about traveling to new places is finding new “Fun Flaneur Finds (FFF).” New Brunswick was great for FFFing stories.
In this blog you will learn about how we meet the MLA in Sussex who gave us a hot tip on where we could see an old covered bridge. And how we met two librarians, one from Edinburgh and one from PEI, both with a link to the University of New Brunswick’s library’s children’s literature collection. We also encountered the “Red Room” and the Berlin Wall.
You will also get to see some of the funky folk art and street art we found, as well quirky bike racks and one of Canada’s oldest bike shops. And then there is an Alice In Wonderland themed restaurant in Shediac. Yes - too much fun.
Let the FFFing begin….
I had a chance to have a chat with Northrop Fry in front of the Moncton Library.
Also found this giant boot hanging over the door of a Moncton shoe store.
This pile of books was in the Habitat for Humanity Restore in Saint John. It was so much fun to rummage through the pile I came back the next day, only to find the books were all neatly sorted - no fun at all.
Made a new friend in Saint John.
Met his brother who was just as friendly.
It always great to stop into small town, family restaurants when on a road trip, as they often have great pies. I was sad to find this restaurant in Harvey Station didn’t have any of its signature Rasberry Sour Cream pie left, so I had to settle for the Lemon Meringue.
I had never seen this cross walk before I arrived in Saint John, after that I saw a couple more.
Found this strange cross walk in Sussex. I was so intrigued I went into the town hall to see if someone could explain it to me. Turns out the railway painted it. It is suppose to tell cars not to stop within the painted area of this train crossing. I wonder how many drivers understand this.
I am always on the looking out for creative bike stands; this one attracted me as it has a car protecting the bikes from the cars on the road. Ironic?
We love visiting libraries wherever we go as you can find the strangest things. Who knew the University of New Brunswick Library in Fredricton has a rare children’s book collection. Once we found this out and that the public was welcomed we raced up like kids at Halloween. Found this lovely pop-up book. We also had a nice chat with a woman from Edinburgh, Scotland who was there on a month-long research fellowship. Ironically the next day we had breakfast at the Carriage House Inn with a woman from PEI who had just arrived for her week-long fellowship also at the Children’s Library.
While at the University of New Brunswick Library we also found the “Red Room” aka the Lord Beaverbrook’s room which has all the books from his library.
A random page from a random book.
Found this fun vehicle one outside the Hospice Thrift store in Fredriction. FYI: The Hospice store was the best thrift store we found in New Brunswick.
What am I doing lying on the floor you ask? I was told by one of the guests (another breakfast encounter) at the Carriage House Inn that you should look at the huge Salvador Dali painting from the floor. It did but it didn’t do much for me, other than stretch out my back.
One of New Brunswick’s hidden gems is 20 minutes outside of Fredricton - the Military Museum at CRB Gagetown. The base is full of what looks like decommissioned military equipment - it is a bit eerie. The museum was great and I had to get behind this ???? piece of equipment.
I had fun with the chefs at the Issac’s Way restaurant in Fredericton.
In Moncton there are poster boards everywhere featuring the work of local artists. You can find them in parks, along the street or off the beaten path on boarded up buildings like this one. I was disappointed not to be able to experience Landry’s Homestyle Bakery.
I love street talk.
I am a sucker for fun signage. This one was so much fun I had to go inside to see if there were more fun artifacts.
Inside I found this poster about Canada’s 10 oldest bike shops of which Savage’s was one.
Found this Berlin Wall in Fredricton, near the farmers’ market. I asked around and nobody seemed to know why it was there. There is the York County Gaol across the street that operated from 1842 to 1996, maybe it has something to do with it.
In Shediac we found a restaurant (Le moque-Torrue Games Bistro) whose design was based on Alice in Wonderland. It truly was wonderful. And there were 1,000 + games available to play. Truly a fun find!
In the basement of the Fredericton Arts Centre (an old school) is Milda’s Pizza and bakery. We visited twice. The wood fired pizza was great as were the salads, but the best thing was chatting with the locals. We had fun chatting with a new University of New Brunswick professor and his family. The subject ranged from how AI and technology is changing agriculture internationally (and Canada is behind) to his 3-year old daughter’s first day without an afternoon nap.
In Saint John Jardine’s alley has a colourful rotating light show at night. Sometimes it is simple things that make a big impact.
We were gobsmacked to see the size of this school in downtown Saint John. There was a lady sitting in front so we asked about the school and it turns out she went to the school.
It is still being used as a school and there is a pool in the basement. They sure don’t build schools like they used to.
Along the water front in Saint John is a funky container village with boutiques, restaurants, bars and even an outdoor performance space. It is very colourful and playful.
I am not sure what the owners of this building in Saint John were thinking when they commissioned this door design. It is a boutique inn in a historic building.
Found this sculpture in downtown Saint John. It is a tribute to the Loyalists. I am assuming it was inspired by the Union Jack flag.
As I said earlier, we love to explore libraries and of course we love quirky art. Found this piece in the Moncton Library.
Found this 15-foot fiddle in the middle of nowhere as we were leaving Harvey Station. Had to back track and find out more. Turns out Don Messer (iconic leader of Don Messer and His Islanders band from 1959 to 1969 on CBC TV) was born in 1909 in nearby Tweedside.
At first these musical notes along the downtown sidewalks of Fredericton were fun, but it became over kill when they were everywhere.
Loved this sign that allows the public to use the Irving parking lot in downtown Saint John in the evening and on weekends when employees aren’t using it. WOW! Why can’t more corporations be like Irving Group of Companies (one of the largest industrial conglomerates in North America) be good community citizens and let their parking be used by the public in off hours. The same could be said for schools and churches.
While Kingsbrae Garden in St Andrews has a lovely sculpture garden, this corner house had its own glass sculpture garden with this tree as the centre piece.
I had to stop and find out what deer apples are. The price seemed outrageous. Turns out you get a two bags of apples which hunters put out to attract deer. Seems unfair to me. I also learned the blue heads are blueberries as St. George is know as blueberry capital of New Brunswick. We had amazing blueberry pancakes at the Carriage House Inn later in Fredericton.
We decided to get off the highway and check out St. George on our way to St. Andrew (New Brunswick’s love their Saints) The Country Market on Main Street has a great bakery and makes the best sandwiches and ginger cookies. Definitely worth a stop.
Love this heritage post office building in St. George which is in fact still a post office. While I was taking photos we saw a guy looking at me taking photos so we asked what else there was to see and do in town. He was full of information from water fall to fish ladder and yes even a covered bridge. When I said “you are full of good information” he confessed he was Ian Lee, the local MLA.
New Brunswick is known for its colourful and charming covered bridges. This one just outside of St. George is less charming and more rustic.
This covered bridge represent what they looked like until they became a tourist attraction and get all gussied up.
This photo is untouched. We had just finished dinner in St. Andrews and I could see the sky was ripe for a great sunset. So we wandered over to the waterfront a were reward with an amazing sunset. This was just the beginning.
The middle…
The end…
