A short drive from St Johns, the capital of Newfoundland is the Terra Nova national part. The park is full of little communities, towns and cabins where many locals spend their weekends. Charlottetown is one of those small communities with lots of boats and docks. Fishing seemed to still be popular and most of the docks were covered in discarded fish. Despite that the area is lovely, the little communities may not make the guide books but they do add to the experience.

I mentioned the town of Trinity in Newfoundland previously, a lovely old community but a little touristy. On the other side of the bay lies Trinity East. Another old community but less polished and fewer tourists. I prefer Trinity East, it feels more like a genuine community. Fishing was the basis of the Newfoundland economy for decades and boating still seem to be a popular hobby.

No, we are not talking about The Shipping News where every Newfoundlander is supposed to have some instinctive love of boats. Instead we have a country where water is every where from the Atlantic to numerous lakes. Old boats and old boat houses are all over the old communities and they are lovely. Docks and jetties that look as is someone cut down trees and used the branches and trunk to build them 50 years ago. If you ever visit Newfoundland go to Trinity then head East, you will appreciate it.

I have already posted about the Customs House a beautiful neoclassical 18th century building. Close by and on the left of this picture stands Liberty Hall. A 16 story dessicated husk of a 1960’s building. It was designed to be an aesthetically pleasing tower of light with clear glass windows allowing passersby to see into and through the building. A bomb is the 1970s but pay to that and the clear glass was replaced with shatter proof reflective glass which blocks the view and is now covered in peeling plastic.

Liberty Hall is owned by one of Irelands largest trade unions SIPTU who have applied for planning permission to tear down and rebuild the tower. The Customs House, almost 200 years older, is better designed, better maintained and will likely last far longer than the current tower or its replacement.

The Spire is supposed to be called The Monument of Light but no one calls it that, the Spire is just the Spire. Due to the layout of the city streets if you stand on Earl Street at sunset and look towards the Spire you will see the sun setting down Henry St. It may not be exactly East-West but it is close enough to make for interesting photographs when the light is just right.

Johnson Court is a small cute little laneway running between Grafton Street and Clarendon Street. It has a small church and little shops but in recent years the shops have started to go down hill as rents increase and consumer spending falls. The lane is at it’s prettiest around Christmas when the  council string lights the length of the lane creating a roof of stars. Grafton St may attract all the praise for their holiday lights but the simple lights on Johnson Court are  the real gem.

This is a bench beside the lake in St Stephens Green. I love the Green. It’s a lovely old park in the center of Dublin city. Usually it is very busy but there can be some nice quiet moments and places inside. It’s a shame that soon it will be a building site with a new train station being constructed under the park.

This bench is beside one of the entrances yet it always has people sitting on it enjoying a moment in the sun. In this photo some guy was sitting on the bench on a quiet afternoon with Winter sun reflecting off the lake.