My favourite for Newfoundland and Labrador isn't even part of our federation: the French islands of St-Pierre-et-Miquelon.
The islands are culturally distinct from other francophone North American regions and, in many ways, are the last surviving, authentic remnant of French Newfoundland - which once included half of the island's coastline.
The culture and language are closer to those of France than anywhere else in North America, including daily lifestyle - long lunches, extensive summer holidays, and so on.
Architecturally, the town of St-Pierre is a beautiful, little oddity. There are grand French buildings, yes, but most of the architecture is built using the same colourful clapboards as in Newfoundland.
The cemetery boasts huge tombs such as the famous ones of New Orleans.
It's easily one of the most urban small towns I have ever visited. High heels abound, as do gorgeous French young people. The nightclubs, though few in number, could easily go up against the best small clubs in most North American cities.
And the food... what they do with the bounty of the same ecosystem as my own people makes me ashamed of our own traditional cuisine. Even their berry wines are somehow better. And the pastries...
And it's all so close that you can make out individual houses in the city viewing it from the coast of Newfoundland.
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Otherwise, all that's left of a centuries-long French presence along the south coast of Newfoundland are a handful of place names dating back to the Exodus. And even these few places where survivors managed to hold out were eventually Anglicized.
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Which is kind of nice, I guess. It's kind of what The Ship is. Happy memories.
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