St. Pierre et Miquelon

Everyone grows up with a place, in their mind, that they want to go to. I never really wanted to go anywhere. I was always happy with the place I was at. Well, until grade 6. I remember sitting in class and my teacher mentioning a group of islands off the coast of Newfoundland, that were owned by France. St. Pierre and Miquelon seemed very out of place but I found them very interesting. Over the years I have done a lot of research of the islands.

There is a total of eight islands but only two of them are inhabited. The islands are bare and rocky but that hasn't stopped people from living there. Fishing is a very common source of money for those living there; mainly because you can't grow crops in a rocky area.

The currency is the euro but the Canadian dollar is widely accepted. The small islands have also used their own stamp since 1885. The population of St. Pierre was 6,345 and Miquelon was 638, as of January 2009. The official language of the islands is French, as are the customs. The majority of the population is Roman Catholic. French patriotism is very strong on the islands. Streets do not usually have names but directions are usually given by a nickname and the names of nearby residents.

This is only some of the fascinating information about St. Pierre and Miquelon. So if you asked me where i would go if i could go anywhere; it would be there.