Halifax, Lots to see - Sept 14 - 17th.

Monday, after arriving in Halifax and getting our car rental, we drove to our hotel to get the lay of the land. Check in isn't until 3, but they gave us the parking pass. We walked down to the waterfront. Parking downtown is very difficult, expensive and very little spaces available.

This picture is from Thursday .... his Monday pictures of the cruise ship went MIA lol

There is so much to see here in the 3.5 days we are here.

Lunch time, so we stopped at the Bicycle Thief Restaurant. It's on my list of must visit restaurants and it's as good as the reviews said. We were early so no trouble getting in. Dinner is reservation only.

Crab stuffed ravioli.

Lobster linguini for Ray.

What a glorious day. Pretty warm at 24C and feels like 28C with the humidity. We wandered around until 2:30 and then headed back to the hotel. We ended up with a lovely room on the main floor, so not too far to drag all our luggage. After squishing everthing in for the flight, it's time to resort it all. We decided to ship some stuff back home that we're not using to lighten up our luggage, like yeti cups etc. and some clothes we're not going to wear. Ray brought a bunch of merino wool t-shirts that need special care and we are busy and travelling too much for me to bother, so they are going home. He bought some extra cotton T's instead.

We're staying at an historic hotel, The Haliburton Inn. They have a lovely patio area and a library where we spend our afternoons before dinner.

There are a lot of "Jellybean Houses" here too.

Our Hotel

Just a little luggage. lol

Tuesday another beautiful sunny day in Halifax. We decided to see the Citadel first thing. We walked it for about 1.5 hours. Ray getting some great pictures.

In the heart of downtown Halifax, this strategic hilltop fort offers a commanding view of Halifax Harbour. Step back to 1869 and immerse yourself in the social and military history of Halifax with the 78th Highlanders and the 3rd Brigade Royal Artillery. Learn about the changing roles of the fort and visit the Army Museum.

Citadel Hill is a National Historic Site in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Four fortifications have been constructed on Citadel Hill since the city was founded by the British in 1749, and were referred to as Fort George—but only the third fort was officially named Fort George.

Either he is really tall or I'm really short lol

We realized that our legs were really sore after 3 days of walking before today, so decided to take it easy. After having a bite to eat, we headed back to the hotel and parked the car. I even had a nap. lol

Not doing any more walking is easier said than done. Downtown Halifax really is a walking city, and parking is expensive if you can even find a spot.  After a couple of hours of resting, we headed back down to the waterfront, 2 blocks away downhill, and meandered along the boardwalk. We even managed to have a fabulous ice cream cone (Cows). Great people watching spots with lots of adirondak chairs and benches all the way along to sit. There is a huge cruise ship at the dock and lots of passengers from that going to and fro.

After a couple of hours of people watching, we walked back to the hotel and had our happy hour in the library until dinner. We'd planned to go to this Chinese Food place a block away, but once we got there it didn't look very inviting so changed our minds. We walked 2 blocks the other way to a pub, but no it's closed .... back towards the hotel and a block down to the water is a fabulous Italian Restaurant called. Tattoria Vesso. It turned out to be a fabulous choice.  When Ray took this picture, he jokingly said one can get a permanent face tan from the heat. The guy on the left replied ya the guy on the right's been here awhile! lol

Arancini (Risotto balls stuffed and then breaded and fryed)

Ray's been wanting to have cacio e pepe since trying the dish when we were in San Diego, several years back.

I had delicious chicken ravioli with white wine mushroom sauce, made especially for me as I didn't want their butter chicken sauce.

After a wonderful dinner it's a walk back uphill again to the hotel. At the end of the day we walked almost 10,000 steps. We sure took it easy lol Keeping up this pace we should be in great shape by the time we get home. lol

Wednesday, another sunny, warm day. Today we decided to visit the Halifax Public Gardens and then take a ferry ride back and forth from Dartmouth. There is no parking available on the Halifax side so we decided to start from the Dartmouth side.

First though, a bite of breakfast at this funky little cafe.

I had a pedicure appointment at 9am and then we went to the gardens. Everywhere is paid parking here downtown. Fortunately we can leave the car at the hotel most of the time.

Lots of flowers still in bloom mid-September. Gorgeous dahlias.

Shows the Titanic sinking.

Below is a litte coffee shop that also sells ice cream. Ray's sad he's too full from breakfast. lol

Look at how huge this bunch of rhododendrons are!

This little stream is real and flows into the harbour. Apparently last year with their drought it almost dried up. (I overheard this bit of info from a tour guide lol)

After wandering around the gardens for an hour, it's off to the Dartmouth Ferry Terminal. Ray wanted to ride this ferry as it's a line in a song.

Can I go nowhere with you. Joel Plaskett, Nowhere with you.  https://youtu.be/jBMe1y1KiUs?si=mzcFYSwu8F1nK0gl, put this link into your browser and voila.

The ferry ride is only about 15 minutes. We went up on the top deck and here are some views.

This cruise ship anchored and had tenders coming into George island.

We walked around the Halifax boardwalk near the ferry and did a tour through the Marine Discovery Centre. 

This display, smelled, and sounded like being in a wooden ship with creaking floors.

The figurehead shop.

For the outside exhibits we managed to get a walk on the Bluenose II that's berthed there before their afternoon cruise. Only the open deck is available. I stayed off and got some pictures of it from the boardwalk. Tomorrow it leaves back to Lunnenburg.

The ship is in spectacular shape. Here is a picture of her under sail that someone posted on FaceBook from today. I had seen her from the Cidadel, but too many things in front of her.

When we get to Lunnenburg in a few weeks, she will be all covered up for the winter. So glad to actually see her in Halifax.

Next we toured the Acadia.

CSS Acadia is a former hydrographic and oceanographic research ship of the Hydrographic Survey of Canada and its successor, the Canadian Hydrographic Service. Acadia for 56 years from 1913 to 1969, charting the coastline of almost every part of Eastern Canada including pioneering surveys of Hudson Bay.

Now that's a blow horn to the topside. lol

Enough walking lol. Back on the ferry to Dartmouth and lunch at the Wooden Monkey Restaurant, right by the ferry terminal.

The Wooden Monkey has great burgers and beer.

Back at the hotel for the rest of the afternoon. For dinner we thought we would try the Henry House Pub, just around the corner. A very old English Pub style.

The Henry House is a two-and-one-half storey, three bay façade, Halifax House style stone house with a truncated gable roof and three attic windows at either end. The house is located on Barrington Street, a main street in the downtown south end of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Both the building and its surrounding property are included in the provincial heritage designation.

Heritage Value

Henry House is valued as an excellent example of the Halifax House architectural style. It is a typical freestanding two-and-one-half storey stone house with a granite façade and ironstone sides, following a style developed in Halifax by Scottish masons. The house was built in 1835 by well known Halifax mason and land owner John Metlez. The two-and-one-half storey house is also valued for its rare surviving freestone construction with a granite block façade and ironstone on either side. The three attic windows in the gable wall and limited decorations throughout are consistent of the Halifax House style. The elevation is square with three windows wide and the house is deep from front to back. The main floor is raised above street level with an asymmetric front door within an enclosed porch, added in 1870. Since 1968 the building has had a commercial use, housing the Henry House Restaurant and Granite Brewery Pub.

Henry House is also valued for its association with influential government officials, including William Alexander Henry. A Halifax native, Henry and his family lived in the house from 1854-1864. Henry held numerous highly distinguished positions throughout his public career including: one of Nova Scotia’s Fathers of Confederation; Provincial Attorney General; Mayor of Halifax; member of the Provincial House of Assembly; co-authors of the British North America Act; and was the first Supreme Court Judge of Nova Scotia, a position he held until his death in 1888.

Henry House is also valued for its location in a mainly residential area of Halifax that was originally home to many Nova Scotian politicians and merchants. It is a significant reminder of a formative period in the history of Halifax and Nova Scotia. The house is located on Barrington Street and is a few blocks from Government House and across from Cornwallis Park.

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It definitely is dark and mysterious inside downstairs in the pub. I wasn't that hungry so only had an appetizer of calamari. Ray had a Steak and Kidney Pie. He was a happy camper.

We had a quiet evening and were in bed early again. All this walking is tiring us out. I'm  finding that I need a nap for 45 minutes in the afternoons, just to recharge my legs. lol

Thursday started out quite sunny, but later in the afternoon the clouds came in. It's supposed to rain overnight. Today is chore day. We found a laundromat, so I can get our clothes washed and we needed to send the UPS parcel. No one dresses at all fancy here for anything. We also packed too many shorts and things.

We decided to drive to Point Pleasant Park near the commercial container terminal. We walked about 1/3 of it before my legs were done so we gave up. 

A big container ship coming into dock.

More Batteries.

Time to walk down to the waterfront instead and go for lunch. We'd planned to go to Dave's Lobster Shack for a lobster roll. I'd heard it's good, but upon further investigation they only got a 3.9 for a $34 roll. Back to the Bicycle Thief and wordered their lobster rolls. Delicious for the same price as Dave's Lobster Shack on the wharf.

Athough we sat inside this time, they do have a beautiful patio. There were lots of trucks with plants and people replanting all the pots and planters to keep everything colourful.

After lunch I walked back to the hotel and had a lay down for half an hour and Ray kept wandering around for another hour. Lots of people watching with 2 cruise ships in the harbour. When he came back he also had a bit of a lay down. Our legs are a bit sore.

Here some pictures of George's Island National Historic Site in the harbour. You can take a ferry/cruise boat over there. We didn't bother.

More Waterfront Boardwalk pictures.

Had I noticed this I probably would have stayed for a beer lol

Dinner tonight is at a little Chinese Food Restaurant called The Red Asian Fusion Restaurant, a couple blocks away from the Hotel. It's delicious and very authentic Hong Kong cuisine.

We were very lucky to have such nice weather while we toured Halifax. There's lots to see and the food is outstanding. All the restaurants within walking distance.  I must say though I'm kind of tired of museums. Weve seen quite a few of them in the past couple of weeks.

Tomorrow it's off to Sydney NS. A bit of a longer drive and the weather has turned to showers. Stay tuned.