St Pierre & Miquelon, France are a group of small islands that are a part of France and the European Union and are located off the coast of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic Ocean. The islands are 16 miles from Newfoundland and 800 miles from Boston.  Steve and Sally drove from St. John's to Fortune and caught a ferry across to St. Pierre. The islands were first settled by the French in the 17th century and are the last remaining possession of France in North America.   When you travel there, you go through customs, the people speak French and the local currency is the Euro.

Photo of downtown Saint Pierre.  Saint Pierre is the capitol of the islands and has a populaton of around 6,500 who are descendants of Basque, Breton, Normandy and other french regions.  During Prohibition, St. Pierre & Miquelon became important for alcohol smuggling. Distillers from Canada warehoused their liquor on the islands.   The islanders repackaged it and it was smuggled into the United States and were quite prosperous because of the taxes generated by the sales of alcohol to the U.S.    The wooden boxes that arrived into Saint Pierre were used for building materials for their homes so Steve said that you still see the wood with the markings still on them with the names of the distilleries!   Recycling at its finest!

St. Pierre cemetery.   Looks a little like the cemeteries in New Orleans!