So off we went. When we arrived in the port city we were pleased to find it pleasantly warm and just overcast.
Parked our bike at the Westin, courtesy of the concierge whom we had stopped to ask about a bus tour of the city. Even though we were not hotel guests he took our bike jackets and put them away and we locked our helmets on the back of the bike (this detail becomes important later in this saga :)).
Halifax is a delightful blend of the old and the new...
We went for a walk on the boardwalk, booked a one hour bus tour of the city for one p.m. and then decided to stop at a restaurant along the pier for a bite of lunch.
And then, out of nowhere the heavens opened and it poured and poured and poured...only for about 20 minutes but there was a lot of water at the end of it. All poor Harry could think of was our helmets filling up with water. I called the hotel and they agreed to run out and cover them with a plastic bag to try to minimize the soaking factor. I tend to be very pragmatic about these things...basically always asking the question "what's the worst thing that could happen?", which in this case was we would have to buy new helmets. Harry on the other hand was beside himself catastrophizing and making himself sick with worry. I was able to talk some sense into the distraught man :) and by the time the rain quit and we had bought ourselves these stylish rain ponchos and a yummy beaver tail deep fried sugary goodness all was well in our world and off we went to enjoy our city tour.
The guide on the bus was a delightful story teller and he talked non stop about the history of Halifax and the many landmarks on our tour, and even serenaded us in a lovely voice by singing "Farewell to Nova Scotia".
I always think I will remember all the tidbits of info on these tours but of course I never do! I do recall he told us about one building that is so haunted staff at the restaurant there are never allowed to be alone in the building; this is the busiest container shipping port on the eastern seaboard; three major banks had their beginning in Halifax, the Royal, CIBC and Scotiabank; Pier 21 is where a million immigrants arrived to make their home in this country; many feature films have been shot in the city; he told us a lot about the military history and importance of the area; the Alexander Keith Brewery is located here; a huge Victorian garden, called the Public Gardens, graces a large space downtown; one of the graveyards has a small chapel on its ground...built in a day when 2000 men showed up to get the job done after the rector had asked that a small chapel be built on the site...and there is more that we could pull from our brains but it's almost bedtime so that is all the pulling I will do for now...here are some photos to round things off...
Alexander Keith's Brewery...
Info about Pier 21 ...
The first hotel in Halifax...
Loading containers at the pier...
Stately homes...
The Public Gardens, built in the Victorian style...
Harry decided to trade in the gold wing for this wee yacht! No helmet problems expected...:)
When we got back to the Westin we did the best we could to blot the water from our helmets with copious numbers of paper towels from the hotel bathroom. We then suited up and headed for Moncton, which is where we are spending tonight. We are slowly getting things dried out and will be ready in the morning to head further west...to Rivière du Loup or further is the plan.
Signing off for now....
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