HaliFUN

Day 40

It is late morning by the time we leave the room. Nearly a month of straight camping makes sleeping in in a hotel room even more appealing than usual. Since we're staying on foot today, I get to wear a skirt and my cute blue shoes. It's going to be a good day.

Dartmouth to Halifax Ferry

We exit the hotel to discover that there is a huge parade just starting (we naturally assume it's for us). We are reminded that, actually, it's Natal Day. We follow the parade for a little while, then cut through a big green area and a beautiful old cemetery to get to our breakfast destination. We dip back down to the street to find that, sure enough, the parade route extends to right in front of the restaurant, which is closed for the occasion. So, we get kraut covered hotdogs from the hotdog stand, snag a place on a stoop, and watch the parade. This is an awesome way to start the day.

Productive Grafiti

We finish up our spontaneous feast and walk downhill to discover a ferry that will take you across the bay to Halifax proper. So cool, we had no idea this was here. For $4, we both ride across the bay and get transfer tickets so we can ride back. We dock, and discover that Halifax is hosting a citywide buskers festival. We stop to watch some guys from New Orleans bust a move on portable linoleum.

The city is cool and overcast, and on the waterfront, full of tourists. We decide to head uphill into the city. We discover more cemeteries, and wonder why there seem to be so many around here. We later learn that this is where the victims of the Titanic are buried. Creepy. Halifax reminds us a little of San Francisco with it's fog, steep streets and artsy vibe.

Haifax Public Gardens

We stop in at the Rock Bottom Brewery, who's logo is a mermaid holding up a pint glass. We settle in at the bar, and get to chat with the super friendly bar tender who gives us the scoop on everything we ask about: the town, the beer, the weather, the Olympics. The Pirate gets a pint of the Fathom IPA, which even I thought was delicious. The bartender lets us sample a mango infused beer, which was also good, not so much sweet and fruity as fresh. Our lunch is a Greek salad and a beef and pork burger. As we expected, it's whatevs.

After lunch we walk through the beautiful public gardens, down streets lined with tall trees and through quaint neighborhoods. We're now reminded of Charleston. We pop into a blues bar and get to chat with one of the managers, who tells us it's been the same bar since the 60's, and it's where folks like Dan Akroyd come to listen to down and dirty blues, undisturbed. I don't know, down and dirty Blues in Halifax Nova Scotia might be something I have to see to believe.

We watch few more busking acts, which are highly entertaining, and eat ice cream on the pier before heading back on the ferry. I have about four blogs to write, so we hole up in the room and contentedly watch the Olympics, drink icy Wiser's and knock out the blogging. Dinner is delivered to our room: Vietnamese Beef Pho and spring rolls. It's actually fantastic, especially when the Pho is slurped from a rocks glass. I am over-the-moon happy about having this room for two nights in a row.