h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've been offered the opportunity to go to a conference in St Johns, Newfoundland.

On the plus side - I recall that one of the organisers looks verrrrry attractive in a short skirt. We are talking total babe, in a wholsesome, Canadian stylee.

On the minus side...well do I need to spell it out? We're exactly talking big lights, bright city, are we? Sure, sure it's somewhere unusual that not many people can say they've been, except for refuelling maybe. But I'm guessing it's maybe for a reason that St Johns Newfoundland does not feature on the vacation itinerary for The International Smart Set (amongst whom I count myself part. ). I may be totally, totally wrong, of course. Perhaps it's a lovely place. But, meh, I can use up my brownie points quota on somewhere better, I think.

But then I saw a place nearby that I'd *love* to visit! bit.ly/hlpDEr

tut. http://bit.ly/hlpDEr

http://wikitravel.org/en/St._John's

"Most bars per square foot in North America" - perhaps it's more buzzing than you're expecting!

I'd go. It's not like you can't still go somewhere more stereotypically tourist-worthy another time.

It's not stereotypically touristy that I'm after. It's just that I'm an Urban boy at heart.

I'm sure it *is* lovely...but a Transatlantic trip would eat up a lot of brown-nose points. It'd be worth it for another destination, perhaps. St Johns - less so.

If you're an urban boy at heart, then you should definitely go. You need the practice at being creative with ruminants.

That's not a nice way to describe Newfies!

Spent a month there one weekend.....

Live and work there 4 years, rather than a westerner whose always heard of how stupid the Newfs are. You'd see other sides, I think. Of course, I am a little biased what with having a daughter and 4 lovely grand-kids living there.

It's a city with a lot of beauty, history and personal charm. As a few thousand displaced passengers on 9/11 learned, invited into homes until the airlanes opened again.

What sort of conference is to be chosen purely on the merits of the nightlife? Just wondering.

You are joking, right?

You are talking of junkets, right?

Not really, no. I'm not talking about cocktail receptions with the big pyramids of Ferero Rocher. I'm not *that* excitable.

But a conference is an opportunity to see somewhere interesting. In some cases they turn out not to be of overwhelming excitement in themselves. Certainly not worth travelling to somewhere like Doncaster for. So I find I need the palliative of being in an interesting part of the world - and perhaps stopping off at another interesting part of the world en route.