My brother and I spent 3 days exploring Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia — probably a day more than really needed. Halifax has a great natural harbor and is an important Maritime community. The harbor and waterfront area are beautiful, although I was less impressed with the rest of the city, which I found rather dirty (at least by Canadian standards).
Still, there were a few odds and ends we encountered during our wandering around town that I wanted to share in this post.
I thought this weather-vane was clever, highlighting the famous racing schooner, the Bluenose, a local legend and featured on the Canadian dime.
Some of the buildings we passed had elegant facades.
The parade of celebrities featured in the windows of this structure was unusual. I enjoy seeing this sort of display.
There are several lovely churches in Old Halifax, including St. Mary’s Basilica….
…and St. Andrew’s United Church, beside which you’ll find a classic Celtic Cross.
Every Canadian province has a residence in which the Queen’s local representative (known as the Lieutenant Governor) lives and conducts royal business. Halifax has a rather nice Lieutenant Governor’s home. I was tempted to walk up the drive, knock on the door and invite myself in for tea, but fortunately reason prevailed.
Halifax prides itself in having more pubs and clubs per capita than any city in Canada. Certainly we found no shortage of them in our wanderings.
To its credit, there is plenty of terrific seafood available in the city, including some of the best scallops in the world, and tasty lobster dinners for less than $25.00
I end this post with a piece of art I enjoyed, discovered in small shopping mall near our hotel. Recognize this man? It’s Prime Minister Trudeau — not the blackface-loving surfer-dude who currently holds office, but rather his father, Pierre Elliott, who was a brilliant and savy politican,.
What do I most miss about Halifax? Definitely the scallops.
Very nice write-up! Downtown Halifax has some very narrow streets and just was not built for the traffic it gets today. Halifax has some interesting things. It’s not my favorite city but Nova Scotia as a whole is a beautiful place to take a road trip.