Halifax in Pictures - Chapter One

I've spent the past nine days in the lovely city of Halifax, one of Canada's principal seaports on the Atlantic.

Halifax holds an especially dear place in the hearts of members of my family because it was at Pier 21 in this amazing town that our mother, her parents and her siblings first set foot in Canada when they emigrated from post-war Holland in the early 1950s. I have visited Pier 21 (now a national museum) on several occasions and never fail to feel a sense of reverence when I'm there.

I went to Halifax this time for some rest and relaxation and very much enjoyed myself, even despite the sometimes bizarre and often ghoulish Titanic Centennial Celebrations taking place there during my stay. I walked the city and spent time reading and writing at various coffee shops and parks along the way.

I also decided to get my trusty old Olympus out of storage for the trip, hoping to capture the beauty and history of the city for this blog. Unfortunately, it's now clear that my photographic skills have become a bit rusty as there really aren't any WOW pictures among the 300 or so I took.

Still, there were a number of shots I like enough to wish to share, including the top one, a shot of one of the small beach huts that line the waterfront, this colourful one serving as an ad for the Art Gallery.

Shot number two captures one of the murals that add charm to the downtown. In this case, the establishment went one better than the usual colourful paint job: they created a life-like statue of a young woman leaning out of an upper window above the street. Neat.

The picture to the right is included for Gavin, who wanted a shot of the ocean. That's me standing on the shore of Point Pleasant Park, with the meeting place between the Atlantic and the Halifax Harbour somewhere in the distance behind me.

The fourth photo, also taken at Point Pleasant Park, is my attempt to juxtapose Halifax's history, in the form of the Anchor monument to the maritime history of the city, with the current busy sea port that continues to connect Canada with the world. Those cranes in the background are absolutely massive and dominate the skyline from several directions.

The final shot was suggested by Patti. It is a close up of the wall of a building (I wish I could give the name) at the north end of the city centre. The stone has been carved in amazingly intricate patterns that are quite stunning in person. I tried a shot that showed the entire building but it doesn't capture the beauty of the detail in the same way this this photograph does. More photos from Halifax in the coming days.