Halifax, Nova Scotia. Excursion: The Best of Halifax

Old canon at the Citadel - it is pointed at the river but high-rise buildings block the view now.

Had a 7 hour whirlwind tour of Halifax today.  A city is a city with its high rise buildings and busy traffic.  Only today wasn’t so busy because it was a public holiday.

We started off with a walk through the Public Gardens with its fountains, little bridges over streams, bandstand and, of course, lovely plants.  After that we went to Citadel Hill which is an old fort.  We had time to wander around and visit its museum and shops.   I opted to walk the old walls and had a good view of the city and its surrounds, not to mention bumping into a few old cannons along the way.  Some chaps were dressed in kilts, others in another uniform.  We were in time to get out before the road was closed around the fort for the noon-day cannon salute.

Our next stop was the Fairview Lawns Cemetery.  Nope, we didn’t have to bury a guest and it wasn’t time to organise my own funeral.  We were there to see a few graves of those folk who went down with the Titanic.  It was a sobering few minutes as our guide, Cath, explained why the dates are all the same, some had names on, others didn’t.  It took a while for the Titanic to go down so the date of death is shown as the date Titanic went beneath the waves.  Un-named graves where those folk whose remains have never been identified despite meticulous record-keeping of what they were found wearing that day, and personal effects with them/on them.  Other grave stones have names because they were identified.  Stones with engravings on the front of them, rather than on the top of them, means that the remains were identified years later.  Some gravestones were more ornate than others.  One woman’s husband’s body was recovered but she had no say in repatriating the body back home so instead used the money for a nice headstone.   All the stones are in polished granite.  Ground subsidence has taken its toll around the headstones so a trench was dug at the headstones and a supporting wall was built on which the gravestones were put.  Cath told us a few stories of some of the individuals.  It was very interesting.

We had lunch at Murphy’s Restaurant on the quayside.  It wasn’t what I would call lunch.  We had delicious seafood chowder (like a thickish soup) and apple pudding for afters.

Our next and final stop for the day was a good hour’s drive away to Peggy’s Cove.  It was a delightful little seaside fishing village, colourful houses perched on the rocky granite ground.  As the bus driver drove along the rounds from Halifax to Peggy’s Cove, the surroundings changed and the area became a bit like driving around the northern parts of Scotland and also near its lochs.  It was very beautiful.  We had time to wander around the village, visiting the lighthouse, the tiny harbour, the small shops.  It was wonderful.  The drive back was also beautiful, passing Margaret’s Bay on the way back.  Breath-taking ….

You can see my pictures on facebook via this link:  The Best of Halifax

Another day lies ahead tomorrow and we shall see what it brings.

Sailing to our next destination:  Sydney, Nova Scotia.