The Downtown Halifax Business Commission has given 30 popular bloggers, media personalities and journalists $100 to spend anyway they want – or anywhere they want in Downtown Halifax. In return they are documenting their “Big Day Downtown” experience. |
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Welcome to my Big Day Downtown!
I decided that it would be fun to get out and explore our city, so yesterday hubby & I hit the pavement to play tourists for the day! A bit of planning was done beforehand but for the most part we let the day unfold as it went.
If this is your first time visiting The Next Chapter then thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy the post as I attempt to showcase all that our beautiful Downtown has to offer!
We got an early start to the day and caught the 9:30am ferry from Dartmouth. I love taking the ferry, it’s a cheap and gorgeous way to get out on the water and see the beautiful views of the harbour!
After a quick 15 minute ride we arrived!
We slowly made our way up towards Barrington Street, stopping quite a bit to take in the sights and snap a few pictures.
Top: Left – Intersection of Lower Water & George Street, Right – Perks Coffee on the Waterfront
Bottom: Left – Harbour Hopper, Right – View of the Town Clock From Barrington Street.
As you can see, it was a gorgeous day for our adventure! Sunny with a nice cool breeze.
You’re all familiar with my love for Just Us, so obviously our first stop was the Just Us Café on Barrington.
A warm and welcoming atmosphere serving organic, fair trade coffee. ♥
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Just Us! desires to build coffeehouses that are a ‘Third Place’ – a place that is neither work, nor home, but a familiar and comfortable place that acts as an incubator for the human relationships within the community. The coffeehouses are where you can meet friends, exchange the news of the day, gear up, unwind or simply enjoy living. |
I opted for an Iced Americano, while hubby sampled the dark roast of the day, Barrington Blend.
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Right across from the café was a little book shop, United Bookstores. (No website that I could find.)
They had a huge selection of used books and a wall dedicated to (new) books on the local area. Along with cards, posts cards and newspapers.
A used copy of Julie & Julia caught my eye; I’ve seen the movie but haven’t read the book. Food + blogging, can’t really go wrong… plus a copy of a local weekly, The Coast and a postcard. You’ll have to wait and see who I’m sending that to!
Back out on to the street.
Sadly there are many vacant buildings in the downtown area. Thought this one made for an interesting picture.
Looking up Blowers Street from Barrington.
The old buildings/architecture are stunning. I love the feel of it all!
Looking down Salter Street at the Harbour.
As we passed by the intersection of Barrington & Spring Garden, I spotted the Old Burying Ground, which I’ve walked by many times without giving a second thought. Until today.
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| The Old Burying Ground is an historic cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was founded in 1749,the same year as the settlement, as the town’s first burial ground. It was originally non-denominational and for several decades was the burial place for all Haligonians. In 1793 it was turned over to the Anglican St. Paul’s Church. Over the decades some 12,000 people were interred in the Old Burial Ground. Today there are only some 1,200 headstones, some having been lost and many others being buried with no headstone.The cemetery was closed in 1843. The site steadily declined until the 1980s when it was restored and refurbished by the Old Burying Ground Foundation, which now maintains the site. [Text borrowed from Wikipedia] |
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Hubby thought it was kind of weird to be walking through a cemetery but I thought it was just beautiful. We browsed the rows of crumbling headstones, taking in a bit of the city’s history. Sadly, there were lots woman and children who passed away at early ages. They other thing we noticed was that if the headstone was for a woman it would generally start off with something like “John Doe remembers his wife, Jane.” The man’s name was there first and in full.
Across the street from the Old Burying Ground is the Government House of Nova Scotia, which was built in 1800 and is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor.
Continuing along…
Spotted these cute mugs at Carbonstok. Wish I had room for one in the budget.
We made our way down to the South End and took a stroll through Cornwallis Park. Okay, well I strolled while hubby rested on a bench. 😉 The park is directly in front of one’s Halifax’s most prestigious hotels (and where our wedding was held!!), The Westin Nova Scotian.
Making our way back towards the waterfront, we turned and headed down Hollis Street. Again, lots and lots of lovely old buildings here.
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Just for hubby, The Bank of Nova Scotia aka Scotiabank. Opened in 1931 and still being used as the Main Branch today. Fun fact – The Bank of Nova Scotia is the first chartered bank in Nova Scotia. [Source]
Across the street, the grounds of Province House feature a statue of politician Joseph Howe.
We did finally make our way down to the waterfront for a late lunch. I’ve wanted to try to Hart & Thistle for awhile now so the choice was easy.
Harbour side dining on the patio!
I couldn’t get a decent shot of the ferry when we were on it, so here’s one from land.
We were both pretty hungry. Okay, maybe supremely hungry was more like it. Hubby looks a little cranky in this picture doesn’t he? 😉
I went with the special, which was a Beef Sandwich made on rosemary ciabatta, topped with thinly sliced juicy beef and caramelized onions, horseradish-type sauce, tomatoes & lettuce. It good, I wasn’t overwhelmed though, mainly because I’m not a horseradish fan. I probably would’ve opted to leave the sauce off or chosen a different item if I had of known.
Side of fresh cut fries. These were GOOD. Probably some of the best fries I’ve ever ate.
Hubby had the Thistle’s Bigger Burger – Our beef patty topped with a BBQ’d Sweet William’s sausage, peppered havarti, lettuce, tomato, red onion and dill pickle. Hamburger & sausage in one? You know he was game! 🙂
This concludes the first part of our Big Day Downtown adventure. So far we’ve had a blast exploring the city. Stay tuned for part two, which features:
- Historic Properties
- Waterfront
- Delicious hand paddled ice cream from Sugah!
- Pier 21 Tour
- Dinner at Talay Thai
BIG THANKS TO THE DOWNTOWN HALIFAX BUSINESS COMMISSION FOR PROVIDING ME WITH SUCH AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY!
