Halifax Citadel
After a good nights rest, our plan today is to visit the Halifax Citadel and the Museum of Immigration. We first stop for a cup of coffee at a small coffee shop located across the street from our hotel room called Steve o Reno coffee. The coffee is very good and given the number of locals that drop by in the morning, it’s probably a local gem!
With coffee’s in hand we start to make the short trek up the hill towards Halifax Citadel. Thankfully we are fortunate enough to have amazing weather. With clear blue skies contrasting with the lush green hill of the citadel, it makes for a beautiful walk.
Inside the Citadel
Upon reaching the entrance we pay the fee to enter and we walk through the main gateway. Once inside you really do get a sense of the military origins of the Citadel. After walking through several exhibits and along the high walls, its no wonder the Citadel was never defeated.
While strolling through the Citadel grounds, I started a conversation with one of the staff. Being a bit of a history nerd, it was neat to pick his brain about this Citadel’s place in history. It’s also interesting how technology continuously makes past forms of warfare obsolete. Before I knew it a good chunk of time passed and there is a message on my phone that papa and mama minion already left the Citadel. So I said good bye to my new friend and head down the hill to rejoin the parents on the waterfront.
Waterfront…again!
Meeting up with Mama and Papa Minion, we again make our way along the waterfront. This time we go further than we did the day before taking in the beautiful views and really enjoying the very well developed boardwalk.
Pier 21 Museum of Immigration
As we continue to walk, one of my targets is to head towards the piers, namely pier 21. This is home to the Canadian National Museum of Immigration, and something high on my list of places to visit. While the parents did not seem keen to visit, I did. We parted ways and I paid the for a ticket to explore the museum for an hour or two.
The museum is both a historical record of Canada’s immigration policies throughout history. And also a celebration of the diversity that is Canada today. It doesn’t shy away from some of the less inclusive policies and approaches in the past. But it also celebrates the larger diversity that makes up Canada today too. I especially liked going through past historical immigration stories and even chuckled at the man and his prosciutto (see the image). All in all, I think this is a great point of interest for those visiting and would recommend it!
Halifax Public Gardens
It is late in the afternoon by the time I leave the museum and relink with the parents. We spend a little time exploring the south end of Halifax and start to make our way back downtown. On the way we stumble upon this lovely fenced off park called the Halifax Public Gardens. It is a very nicely maintained park and did feel very peaceful and calming strolling through it.
What we didn’t know is that the park closes at 4 and soon enough a security guard in a golf cart pulls up alongside us to tell us the park is closing for the day. We snap a few last photos before we exit and head towards downtown again.
Sapori Italian Street Food
Our original intention was to stop at an Italian restaurant before returning to our hotel. However, when we got there it was closed. So we had to scramble for an alternative eatery. After some quick research I found Sapori Italian Street Food. This is a small Italian restaurant that does pizza and pastas (which is our current craving). The three of us order our own pastas and sides. We devour it all pretty quickly (seeing as we skipped lunch!). The food is good and relatively affordable. While not the most gourmet of pastas, it is certainly a good middle of the road choice if you’re looking for Italian food!
After dinner we head back to our hotel to relax a little and get ready for the next day. We will be picking up our rental car and leaving on a small road trip down the coast of Nova Scotia!
Daddy must have enjoyed the gardens!