Newfies are mainly Irish descendants I believe Jeannie, and if you listen to them, you'll hear it in their accent. I could listen to Rick Mercer all night, and his pronounciation of "Mr Hareper" . Say it out loud, you'll hear what I mean. In the rest of the Maritimes, you get more a mixture of Scottish & Irish, at least among the Anglo population.

Well, heck, we have a member here from the Rock, Amy. Maybe she can shed more light on this.

Some specific Newfoundland dialects are similar to the accent heard in the southeast of Ireland, while others are similar to those of West Country England, or a combination of both, mainly due to mass immigration from a limited number of ports in those specific regions.
I googled and got the above explanation for their accent. It is not totally Irish.

I did say "mainly" Irish not "totally" but yes, Wikipedia has a very good explanation of the Newfie dialict or accent for those who wish to consult it.

Thanks MLT - MORE places to add to my list.
I just hope I live that long!!

I think TT does a tour of the Maritimes. It covers most of the spots that I wrote about. If you want to do the Maritime provinces or even Quebec or Ontario, I would travel in late September or early October so that you could enjoy the fall colours. The maples back east are gorgeous. We don't have the maples with spectacular colours out here. Our leaves just seem to turn an ugly brown after they fade out to a very boring yellow. May or June is the best time for the west coast. Also, they tend to have more wind in the fall back east which blows away the pollution in Ontario and Quebec. Not as humid either. I can remember being at the zoo in Toronto and my feet sinking into the pavement, it was so hot. If you have limited time, I would go to the Maritimes first, then Quebec and finally Ontario. My eastern counterparts will probably not agree with me, but I preferred the Maritimes to the province of Ontario. They are much more picturesque.

Thanks MLT,

You now have me thinking that I might be better off just seeing east coast US next year without any eastern Canada, and doing the Canadian stuff later as a dedicated trip. I certainly wouldn't be able to squeeze in any maritime provinces otherwise - I'm already jampacked trying to do all the things I want in 4 weeks.

CA2
We took 5 weeks to do southern Ontario, Montreal, Quebec City and the Maritimes. Most of the time we spent in the Maritimes. I guess our breakdown was 1 week southern Ontario, 5 days Quebec and the rest of the time in the Maritimes. Both of our kids still talk about the holiday and the things they saw. They were only 7 and 9 at the time.

quote:

Originally posted by Colleen Anne2:
Thanks MLT,

You now have me thinking that I might be better off just seeing east coast US next year without any eastern Canada, and doing the Canadian stuff later as a dedicated trip. I certainly wouldn't be able to squeeze in any maritime provinces otherwise - I'm already jampacked trying to do all the things I want in 4 weeks.

This is probably a good idea. As someone who lives in Eastern U.S I can agree that there is much for a visitor to see up and down our coastline. We do driving tours to various places usually for a week-12 days, last year was Savannah and Charleston--wonderfully beautiful and historic. The Maritime provinces of Canada is one of my favorites. The Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia is a sensational drive. All of the places Mid Life Traveller mentioned I would 2nd the recommendation. Go and enjoy.

quote:

Originally posted by Colleen Anne2:
Thanks MLT,

You now have me thinking that I might be better off just seeing east coast US next year without any eastern Canada, and doing the Canadian stuff later as a dedicated trip. I certainly wouldn't be able to squeeze in any maritime provinces otherwise - I'm already jampacked trying to do all the things I want in 4 weeks.

I think keeping them separate will give you a better opportunity to make a good plan which can offer sufficient time to enjoy the sites...otherwise you will be rushing through.

Thanks all,

I can see I'll just have to keep eating my Weeties and living and working longer. My list is getting bigger instead of smaller.

CA2
Doesn't everyone's list get longer once the travel bug bites?

Hi Colleen Anne2!

Having travelled most of my country and almost all states in the United States; and as always mentionned before, first you have to know what you like to discover in another country.

But I will give you what we both prefered from Newfoudnland.
- Burin peninsula with St-Pierre and Miquelon (for the toundra like landscape and French Culture)
- Bonavista Cape (for the scenery, the icebergs and the whales eating near the shore)
- St John the capital (for its port better viewed from the nearest hill and old town and the Newfie's Pub not only for the beer and fish & chips, but for their traditional songs and musics)
- The Sea birds near St John (especially the puffin's colony)
- St Anthony (for those who like to see the remnants of the Viking's presence)

Thanks for the good advice Yvon,

I think eastern Canada will definitely have to be a separate trip. I didn't know that there was so much to see.

CA2
To be totally honest, it is even hard to see the east coast of the US in 4 weeks. There is so much to see there and it is all fascinating. I have been down the eastern seaboard twice and to Florida another 3 times and I still have a lot to see. One trip would do the northeast and another to do the south.
Okay, now we have you up to three trips to see the eastern seacoast. One trip for eastern Canada and the other two for the US.

MLT,

Believe me - I know what you are saying !!! no way can I expect to do the east coast justice in 4 weeks

However my 'must haves' are firstly, a tour (and there are many) that start and finish in New York, see Niagara falls, back through Amish country and some of the northern rural stuff to Washington etc. The TT one also sees something of Boston, Newport, Philadelphia and Baltimore. I would then have a few extra days in NY (would also like extra time in Washington but don't think this works without inconvenience).
Secondly, I want to see Savannah and Charleston and a number of the Plantation mansions in the New Orleans area along the River Road. I have a friend in Pennsylvania who may do this part with me and we will probably take a local US tour (we've found a lovely one) or even drive.
Finally, I want to end up in Florida and see a number of friends. I havn't got as far as checking tours around this part of the country yet (after all, I am just about to leave for this year's trip). That will be plenty in 4 weeks.

A few of the northern tours I described (including TT) also fit in a visit to Toronto, Quebec and Montreal as part of the trip, but that would be it as far as Canada goes.

As I said - the list just gets longer.