Sabin’s on the Sea 2023 - Day #34 - Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
by Nina Sabin - Travel Blog
Unfortunately, for me today was a bust. I never left the ship. My stomach was sick since last night and all throughout the day. What a bummer to spend our last port in bed. We are guessing my digestive issues went out of wack from the chocolate, drinks, and all the rich food. At least it was just one bad day out of 35.
The good news is John was still able to explore and l saw Halifax vicariously through John’s photos and stories. Every experience is a story and those who travel have lots of stories.
Halifax, an Atlantic Ocean port in eastern Canada, is the provincial capital of Nova Scotia. A major business centre, it’s also known for its maritime history. The city’s dominated by the hilltop Citadel, a star-shaped fort completed in the 1850s. Waterfront warehouses known as the Historic Properties recall Halifax’s days as a trading hub for privateers, notably during the War of 1812.
Mid-morning John set out for his self-made two hour walking tour. He was on the last page of our 35- Day Viking Voyage Itinerary. It is hard to believe 45 pages later we were at our last port.
John’s journey in Halifax began with a walk along the wooden walkway around the port which was lined with wonderful restaurants and delicious smelling aromas.
First site to see was at Pier 21 where
Immigration started like into NYC.
Next stop on his tour was the Grand Parade. It is a rectangular civic space in Downtown Halifax, NS, established in 1749. The historic place was laid down as a parade square and reserved for military drills.
On the south end of Parade Square stands St. Paul's Anglican Church, Halifax's oldest building and on the north end is Halifax City Hall.
One of the best highlights to see is the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site, which produces wonderful views of Halifax. Here, visitors will meet members of the 78th Highlanders Regiment and step inside the fortress.
To John's surprise when he arrived at the Citadel it was closed due to a water issue.
Down the hill from the Citadel is the 215-year-old Town Clock. It is a special landmark in Halifax.
Then John continued through the Halifax public gardens and Camp Hill Cemetery. The gardens were 150 years old and was filled with gorgeous old fountains and magnificent flowers.
John enjoys visiting cemeteries and reading tombs stones, so he spent time walking through Camp Hill Cemetery for quite a while.
There were a couple other things John had planned on his tour of Halifax such as: Point Pleasant Park and the Farmers Market.
Point Pleasant Park is a large, mainly forested municipal park at the southern tip of the Halifax peninsula. It once hosted several artillery batteries, and still contains the Prince of Wales Tower - the oldest Martello tower in North America.
The Halifax Farmers Market has operated in several locations across the city since its inception in 1750, but moved to the Halifax Seaport in 2010 where it is now known as the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market – the longest continuously running Market in North America and proudly hosting over 100+ vendors! The Farmers Market has hours only on the weekend so John could visit it.
Do to me not feeling well, he decided to come back on the ship to check on me and have lunch.
In the evening, we originally were going to do a bar hop in Halifax with our Australian and South African friends. John decided to go earlier to one of the bars, Garrison Brewing Company.
As the first major wave of craft brewing in North America was cresting, Garrison was determined to see small batch, independent brewing come back to Halifax. Launched in the city's deep north-end, the brewery released first an Irish Red Ale (August 1997) & Nut Brown Ale (October 1997).
John enjoyed the Irish Red Ale and then skipped the rest of the bar hopping and came back to care for me.
So glad John could still make the most of his time in Halifax even though I couldn’t join him.
Tomorrow is our last sea day and then we are back to Boston and our 35-Day Viking Voyage will come to an end.