Our second full day on the Veendam had us docking at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Our day before in Bar Harbor, Maine had been a short one having to be back onboard by 2:30 pm to leave at 3. Our day in Halifax was almost 12 hours.
It seemed like Peggy's Cove was THE place to spend the day, but we decided there was more than enough to see if we just stayed and walked around the city of Halifax (founded in 1749 by the British) and that is what we did. With the map we picked up right after we got ashore, we were on our way. (I had an idea of some of the places we wanted to see so we weren't heading out completely blind.)
Two women joined us at a traffic light and seeing that we had a map inquired about the Public Gardens. I showed them where it was and how to get there. (I was sorry I didn't have an extra map with me to give them.) We told them we were going there also. They stayed up with us for a couple of blocks but when we came up on a building with sentries out front. It was the Government House. There was a sign out front that said they were having tours that day. I knew we had plenty of places to try to see that day and hadn't planned on stopping at the Government House, but my husband wanted to see it. (I am thankful he did, because it was a highlight of our day in Halifax.)
Just can't pass up a sign...
We had to wait about 20 minutes for the next tour to start so we took a seat in the entry hall. Just before the tour was to start an older man came out of a back room and started talking to two couples also waiting in the hall that were right outside the door he had come out of. I told my husband I thought he was going to be our guide. He never made it up to us as "our guide" joined us from the other end of the hall and introduced himself. Turns out the "older man" was the Honorable Arthur J. LeBlanc, the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. Hope you will enjoy the pictures I took inside.
The dining room table was the original table in the House.
Queen Elizabeth has visited four times, the most recent being in 2010.
The two women pictured on the wall are the only two women who have been appointed Lieutenant Governors. The last one is The Honourable Maryann E. Francis (2006-2012). She was the first African Nova Scotian Lieutenant Governors. (If you are interested in reading about the other 31 Lieutenant Governors check them out HERE.)
Just passed the Grand staircase, is the ballroom. We were not told who the man is in this picture, but the lady is the "Rosa Parks" of Nova Scotia, Viola Desmond. She is the face on the new 10 dollar bill in Canada, the first Canadian woman to be so honored.
The Old Burying Ground
Around the corner from The Old Burying Grounds, St. Mary's Basilica
A view from the other side (after we left the church on our way to the Public Gardens)
Halifax Public Gardens covers 16 acres in downtown Halifax. Beautiful is all I can say. I didn't have enough room on my phone to take all of the pictures I wanted to take of the flowers. (I almost forgot - remember the couple I mentioned that wanted to walk to the gardens and didn't stay with us at the Government House? We saw them in the gardens. We didn't go speak to them. They were resting on a bench as one of the ladies was an older lady. I was impressed that she had made it as it was quite a trek often uphill getting there.)
Across the street from the gardens was a restaurant that we noticed and decided to give a try since it was already past noon. Smitty's Family Restaurant is Canada's largest all-day family restaurant chain. It was similar to our IHOP, Perkins, etc.
I don't usually take pictures of our food, but I couldn't get over how thickly they sliced their bread for my husband's sandwich. The food was very delicious.
Eating lunch (and getting to rest a little) we were ready to trek off to our last stop - Halifax Citadel National Historic Site
It was unseasonably hot that day and I really felt sorry for the reinactors and docents in their wool attire.
See the island in the middle of the picture with a lighthouse on it? Don't forget that.
Back on the ship, the view from our stateroom window... Remember the lighthouse on the island in the earlier picture?This was the view from our stateroom window...only it looked a lot bigger. I have voiced my disappointment in other posts about taking pictures in the distance.
Even this picture that I cropped doesn't show it as close as it was in our sight.
The ship didn't leave Halifax until 8 o'clock that night, but we were back on the ship so that we could clean up before going to dinner at 5:30. The husband of the couple that we were paired with for dinner was wheelchair bound and so they never went off the ship. Every night they were interested in what we had seen or done. We would share our experiences and I would show them some of my pictures.
I forgot to share one more picture with you. This is what I noticed while checking out the city from the Lido Deck before we got off the ship. They must have planted the flowers for the people from the ship to see because who else is going to be able to see them?
Our ship would dock in another port on Nova Scotia, Sydney, the next day and we were off again on foot seeing the town.
See posts also on :
Bar Harbor, Maine
It seemed like Peggy's Cove was THE place to spend the day, but we decided there was more than enough to see if we just stayed and walked around the city of Halifax (founded in 1749 by the British) and that is what we did. With the map we picked up right after we got ashore, we were on our way. (I had an idea of some of the places we wanted to see so we weren't heading out completely blind.)
Two women joined us at a traffic light and seeing that we had a map inquired about the Public Gardens. I showed them where it was and how to get there. (I was sorry I didn't have an extra map with me to give them.) We told them we were going there also. They stayed up with us for a couple of blocks but when we came up on a building with sentries out front. It was the Government House. There was a sign out front that said they were having tours that day. I knew we had plenty of places to try to see that day and hadn't planned on stopping at the Government House, but my husband wanted to see it. (I am thankful he did, because it was a highlight of our day in Halifax.)
Just can't pass up a sign...
We had to wait about 20 minutes for the next tour to start so we took a seat in the entry hall. Just before the tour was to start an older man came out of a back room and started talking to two couples also waiting in the hall that were right outside the door he had come out of. I told my husband I thought he was going to be our guide. He never made it up to us as "our guide" joined us from the other end of the hall and introduced himself. Turns out the "older man" was the Honorable Arthur J. LeBlanc, the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. Hope you will enjoy the pictures I took inside.
The dining room table was the original table in the House.
Queen Elizabeth has visited four times, the most recent being in 2010.
The two women pictured on the wall are the only two women who have been appointed Lieutenant Governors. The last one is The Honourable Maryann E. Francis (2006-2012). She was the first African Nova Scotian Lieutenant Governors. (If you are interested in reading about the other 31 Lieutenant Governors check them out HERE.)
Just passed the Grand staircase, is the ballroom. We were not told who the man is in this picture, but the lady is the "Rosa Parks" of Nova Scotia, Viola Desmond. She is the face on the new 10 dollar bill in Canada, the first Canadian woman to be so honored.
The Old Burying Ground
Around the corner from The Old Burying Grounds, St. Mary's Basilica
A view from the other side (after we left the church on our way to the Public Gardens)
Halifax Public Gardens covers 16 acres in downtown Halifax. Beautiful is all I can say. I didn't have enough room on my phone to take all of the pictures I wanted to take of the flowers. (I almost forgot - remember the couple I mentioned that wanted to walk to the gardens and didn't stay with us at the Government House? We saw them in the gardens. We didn't go speak to them. They were resting on a bench as one of the ladies was an older lady. I was impressed that she had made it as it was quite a trek often uphill getting there.)
Across the street from the gardens was a restaurant that we noticed and decided to give a try since it was already past noon. Smitty's Family Restaurant is Canada's largest all-day family restaurant chain. It was similar to our IHOP, Perkins, etc.
I don't usually take pictures of our food, but I couldn't get over how thickly they sliced their bread for my husband's sandwich. The food was very delicious.
Eating lunch (and getting to rest a little) we were ready to trek off to our last stop - Halifax Citadel National Historic Site
It was unseasonably hot that day and I really felt sorry for the reinactors and docents in their wool attire.
See the island in the middle of the picture with a lighthouse on it? Don't forget that.
Back on the ship, the view from our stateroom window... Remember the lighthouse on the island in the earlier picture?This was the view from our stateroom window...only it looked a lot bigger. I have voiced my disappointment in other posts about taking pictures in the distance.
Even this picture that I cropped doesn't show it as close as it was in our sight.
I forgot to share one more picture with you. This is what I noticed while checking out the city from the Lido Deck before we got off the ship. They must have planted the flowers for the people from the ship to see because who else is going to be able to see them?
Our ship would dock in another port on Nova Scotia, Sydney, the next day and we were off again on foot seeing the town.
See posts also on :
Bar Harbor, Maine
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