Canada Part 5b- More Saint John!

So where were we? Right we are wandering the streets of Saint John, new Brunswick.
We wandered towards and into the market. Inside the market we found many glorious stalls, with the various scents of dulse, coffee, fruit and veg, meat, seafood, cooked foods and general people. I like markets.

 I indulged in a delightful coffee blend called Foghorn which served to perk me up somewhat, and bought a bag of Dusty Backpacker to bring home.

I also like books, I like to read books and I like what a book is. One of the market stalls was a bookstall, and the lady running it suggested we take a trip up to the shop. Well we did just that and although we had been forewarned about how lovely the door was, it was still pretty amazing to see.

 That's curved mahogany, with a curved window made up of leaded glass, in a curved alcove. It really was special. Inside the shop was floor to ceiling with old and really old, and even older books. Sadly nothing that too my fancy but still worth the visit.
So our first day in Saint John was coming to a close. The next day was the wedding.

Canada Part 5a - Saint John

Well there we were in Saint John, New Brunswick. We had a day to go before the wedding so we had a day to explore our doorstep.
First off the tourist information office we found was situated in the back of a tea store/museum. A really great mix of uses I thought.

There were some great artefacts on display, including pipes and footwear!

The STAG is a cutter for chewing tobacco, of which there was a reel just out of shot. All of the commodity artefacts were in effect, new old stock, and that was what made them the most interesting to me.
After sampling some of the tea we headed back out to continue perusing Saint John. Just outside the store/info centre were a group of carved wood statues-

There were more dotted around the town, but the artist John Hooper had a few cheeky touches in this example; People Waiting. His face is carved into the photograph on the front of the newspaper the man on far right is reading, and the gentleman in the green mid-pack has three arms and hands. One of the statues in this shot is real.
In the background is a branch of Montreal Bank. Which had been bought back by the bank and was being restored to becoming a bank once again after having been something else. Not sure what, but it was a refreshing change to see a bank building housing a bank and not something temporary.

We wandered out along Water Street and came to some of the older buildings, complete with period advertising still just showing.
Evan, this one is for you.

A little further along towards the Three Sisters and amongst the street level houses built of brick and stone, were older wooden houses peering out over the bay.

 They provided a reminder of what used to be as they surveyed the changing scene in front of them. There was a new cruise ship terminal being built as we looked on, and new apartments, all glass panels and moody black frames were lying empty and awaiting new tenants.
More next...