August 9, 2008 Halifax City Tour Halifax, Nova Scotia
Today was sunny and we were off to see sights recommended by tour books and Forum Friends. (thank you Ed) We first looked for a place to park. We?ve forgotten about big cities and the crowds. We did not realize that the Busker Festival is in town that brings in thousands of visitors. We found a perfect spot right in front of the Saturday Farmers market. Russ looked for tomatoes and I looked for sweet corn and Terry looked for a place to stand where tourists would not run him over. I wanted to tour the Alexander Keith Brewery but tours are $17 and started at noon. Now, even with free samples I did not see the value of this tour. We visited the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic to see nearly 26, 000 marine objects and displays about the nearly 10,000 shipwrecks that are along Nova Scotia waters. Among highlights for me was a 3-D video film on the remains of the Titanic. We saw displays on how the city of Halifax was the first to recover victims of the Titanic. Several sailors experienced what we could now call PTST after recovering bodies. We would learn more about the city?s response to the tragedy later on the tour we took. I learned about the 1917 Halifax explosion that was the largest man made explosion before the atomic age. A ship collided with a munitions ship heavily laden with chemicals, explosives TNT and on an on and it blew up devastating over ? of the population of the city. In today?s population standard over 65,000 people would have been killed. The 1400 pound anchor was blown over 2 miles away. We saw the bronze statue of a World War II sailor that honors the thousands of sailors who passed through the port of Halifax.
We boarded a Grayline double- decker bus for a 3 hour city tour. I did not take notes so much of what I heard will become an interesting detail that did not stick but here are some details I do I recall. Halifax is the capitol of Nova Scotia and the second largest city in Canada ( by geographical area) The population is just under 500, 000 so the city is called the ?Biggest Little City?. It is also home of the second largest deep water harbor in the world. Do you know who has a harbor larger and deeper? The city is a nice blend of newly renovated buildings with the historical charm of the old renewed. We were glad to be on a bus as the traffic was terrible in part due to the Busker Festival, where street artists perform their magic acts, juggling acts, some music and lots of fun. We toured the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site which is an impressive star shaped fort that is still guarded by the 78th Highlander Regiment. . We hummed to the rhythm of the bagpipes and watched the changing of the guards. A most moving part of the tour was a visit to Fairview Lawn Cemetery to visit the graves of Titanic victims. The graves are arranged in a row to mimic the shape of the bow of a ship. A simple stone has been placed at each grave engraved with the name of the deceased if it was known. Following the movie The Titanic a grave marked, J Dawson has kept with fresh flowers, money for upkeep and even room key with notes. It is thought to be the grave of ?Jack? in the movie. The real Jon Dawson was a coal shoveled and would never had had contact with Titanic passengers so it isn?t really Jack but you can?t tell that to true love seekers. The body of only one child was recovered and it buried at a place of honor. The sailors who recovered the body contributed their own money for a very nice stone monument. It was given a place of honor among the victims and it was later learned that this child had been buried at the feet of his mother We toured the port, saw huge cargo containers being loaded on a ship in port. We learned 3 cruise ships will be in town on Tuesday and made note to NOT return to Halifax on that day. We dined at a place Terry selected called Sweet Basil Bistro. However when he saw the menu he decided to go next door for fish and chips. Russ and I had halibut encrusted in sunflower seeds, with raspberry balsamic sauce served with vegetables and potatoes of gourmet quality. A FINE dining experience! We took the long way home and passed by Peggy?s Cove where we will return tomorrow for a deeper exploration.
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