Since there’s nothing much to do in my hometown, we travel to Corner Brook a lot. My plane arrived home around lunch time on the 22nd, which was the perfect time for my sister and I to travel to Corner Brook to finish our Christmas shopping.

[Note: I deliberately did this, since I had some people who were hard to shop for, and I didn’t want my suitcase to overflow.  It’s was all planned – PLANNED!]

Sis and I went to the local WM and the mall.  I learned that the liquor store in the Plaza Mall is amazing and has a lot of selection* (and it’s apparently not even the best liquor store in Corner Brook – there’s another one that’s even better).  I also learned that Christmas shopping requires patience, and that the tax in NL is only 13% (compared to Nova Scotia’s 15%).

Once all of our shopping was done, we decided to get some food.  She remembered a place – the (something) and Moose, but wasn’t sure where it was.  We ended up going to a nearby Shoppers and asking someone who worked there. 

The Crown and Moose is located in the Greenwood hotel on West Street, and they’ve got some pretty good food.  Their menu has typical pub fare from Newfoundland and Britain.  Sis and I settled for Bangers & Mash and Traditional Fish & Chips.  The Bangers & Mash were great – the Mash was nice and smooth with bits of potato stuck throughout, just to make it interesting, and the vegetables were cooked but still had crunch to them.  There were a lot of onions on the plate – too many for me, but they weren’t bad when paired with the bangers.  The Fish & Chips was good – nice flakey fish and crispy fries – but I prefer a lighter batter for my fish.

After the C&M, we headed to Brewed Awakenings for an after dinner drink.  Back in university, coffee shops were a premium in CB**, but now they’re apparently all over the place.  They had a great latte that was a perfect mix of espresso and milk – no sharp espresso taste at the end.  There were home-made goodies and local art on the wall.  I regret not trying some of their baked goods, but I was too full to think about eating at the time.

And thus ends my 5 hours in CB.

*I also discovered Auk Island Winery, which has delightful wines such as: The Krooked Cod (raspberry & blueberry), Moose Juice (blueberry & partridgeberry), and Jellybean Row (strawberry & partridgeberry).

**I still remember the day that The Natural Bean (which was on West Street) closed down.  That was the best coffee shop I’ve ever been to, and the standard to which I hold all other coffee shops.  I miss you ‘Bean’.