Irish music and dancing, a visit to the Halifax Public Gardens and Citadel, and some local Nova Scotia cider were the highlights of a rain-filled day in Halifax. I abandoned my morning plans to drive along the Eastern Shore and instead spent the whole day in the city. I started by walking around the Public Gardens, which surprisingly had a large number of flowers in bloom for this time of year. From there, I hiked up Citadel Hill in time to see the 11:00 changing of the guard at the Citadel before walking along the ramparts and through the fortress. By the time I left, the rain/drizzle had set in.
What else was there to do but seek out some food at the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market? The food never materialized, but I did sample some delicious local cider made from apples grown by the people in a neighboring booth. (The craft cider scene is strong in Nova Scotia!) If I didn’t have to transport it home, I would have bought some. I left the Farmers Market and headed out in the drizzle along the waterfront Harbourwalk. I managed to find a couple of shirts to take home and enjoyed the salt water smell to the air. In many ways, Halifax reminds me of Charleston, South Carolina. Both are cities built on the water with a mix of cargo ships, fishing vessels, and a fun coastal vibe.
By then it was time to pick up my original plan for the afternoon: Celtic music and dance. First up was The Old Triangle, an Irish pub with traditional Irish music and set dancing on Sunday afternoons. It was good, but I certainly wouldn’t call either the music or the dancers lively. I stayed about an hour and enjoyed a No Boats On Sunday cider (another excellent one!) before heading to the next stop on my self-proclaimed Sunday afternoon pub crawl. Except my pub crawl was cut short when I arrived at Durty Nelly’s to find the Sunday afternoon ceilidh cancelled. Oh well. I wasn’t planning to drink anyway since my last bottle was enjoyed on an empty stomach. I figured I might as well just have an early dinner. Except the restaurant I was planning to eat at was mysteriously closed (it is Thanksgiving here tomorrow…). Back to the car, back over the bridge to Dartmouth, back to the hotel. I settled for a decent, albeit boring, dinner at the nearby Montana’s Cookhouse before heading back to the hotel for a swim, hot tub soak, and a couple of trips down the indoor water slide. I’m hoping to head out early tomorrow to explore a bit of the Eastern Shore that I missed out on today before heading to the airport.
Traveling with Laura 