Just after he left, I left the apartment building. It is still beautiful weather here - I am pretty determined to do what I can to enjoy the beauty of this place, even though I hugely miss Arthur already! So I took a few pictures just to remind me that this is where I need/want to be:
I am a little behind with my posting on this blog since Art and I were busy touring around while he was here. Time to catch up! Since I arrived in Halifax I have walked, I have taken the bus, I have taken the ferry, and I have rented a car. We decided it was time for a new adventure, so we took a tour with I Heart Bikes! Here we are with our bikes:
Our tour guide was a young woman named Elsa. She was funny and informative - and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing the City through her eyes. She introduced me to a new term - apparently I am one of the few people who didn't know that people from Halifax call themselves: Haligonians! It came up fairly often - Elsa would say "we Haligonians..." One of those moments was on the Harbour Front where we stopped by this rather unique art display. I must admit - I didn't know it was an art display! I had walked by it several times but never did read the sign, and this was the first time I had really looked at it and noticed that one of the light standards was lying on the ground! As she said, "We Haligonians like to display our love of a good time!" Apparently it is depicting what happens with Dalhousie University students when they have been having a very good time at the local brew pubs on the Harbour Front - one of them falls down and the other looks on with concern! Needed a tour guide to explain that one to me!
From there we headed out onto the streets of Halifax. Turns out to be a lot less scary that I thought it would be - there are bike lanes in some places, and the streets are wide enough in most places to easily accommodate bike traffic. When I mentioned to Elsa at the end of our tour that I was happy she managed to get us all back safely with none of us dying along the route, she said "Oh - that has only happened a couple of times!" Our next stop was at Cornwallis Park - just north of the Harbour Front, looking out towards the open sea. This is the statue that is there:
Turns out that this is a rather controversial figure. It is a statue of Edward Cornwallis, who is noted as being the founder of Halifax. The statue was unveiled in 1931, which was the 182nd anniversary of his arrival in Halifax. One historian says that this statue represents the strong, imperial figure that he was. However, for some that is very problematic. He came from England, and was charged with establishing peace with the First Nations community from this area - the Mi'Kmaq. Our tour guide said that it was fitting that he is looking away from Halifax out towards the sea, because he was said to have hated the city - that he was always longing to return to England. When it became apparent that the Mi'Kmaq were not willing to negotiate with him, he established a bounty on the head of any Mi'Kmaq that was killed. Some say it was only for the members who were in the militia, but many believe that the bounty was also paid out for the heads of the women and children - in any case, it was a despicable part of the establishment of this City. Some believe it to be an insult to the Mi'Kmaq that this man is honored with a statue - others believe that it is important to recognize his part in the founding of the City, but that the dishonoring of the Mi'Kmaq also needs to be remembered and lamented. Elsa was quite clear - she did not like the fact that this statue was here! She said the City has made some changes - the Cornwallis Junior High changed its name to Halifax Central Junior High a few years ago. But for now, this statue remains in place and the conversation continues to happen at Town Council meetings.
From there we biked up to Young Street. In the early 1900's, this street was home to many of the elite - the upper crust of Halifax society. Here is the home of George Wright - who has a rather fascinating story:
George Wright made his fortune by travelling around the world, and establishing and publishing an international trade directory. He had this home built for himself in 1902 - for costs in excess of $5,000! He had six other homes built along the street, but they have not been kept up in the same way that this building has been. George also became known for his moralistic stands - primarily against drinking, and against prostitution. He was seen as a man who stood up for the rights of women - quite an amazing thing for a man in the early 1900's. When he was returning from England in April of 1912, he was on the fateful voyage of the Titanic - his body was never recovered. Just before he booked his passage on the Titanic, he amended his Will, and left a sizeable amount for charities in Halifax, as well as willing this house to the Council of Women. It was in 1895 that the Council of Women was established in Halifax. Their mandate was simple: to do everything possible for the betterment of the lives of women and children. The local chapter of the Council of Women continues to meet in this building today.
Our next stop was to ride through Point Pleasant Park - the Park that Art and I had walked through a few days before that. The paths were wide and pleasant for biking - I think I would be returning there often if I lived in the City!
Our tour took us next to the Public Gardens - down some rather busy streets! Elsa used all the hand signals, and we just tried to stay as close to her we could! We took a wee break at the Public Gardens so that we could walk around - and Elsa stayed by the bikes and read her novel - a nice break for her as well. Apparently Haligonians take their gardening seriously as well - Elsa told us there are 27 gardeners hired to maintain these grounds, and that the main gardener lives right on the property. The gardens truly are an oasis, and something they are right to be proud of. Here we are in the Gardens:
When we left the Park, we did some serious biking - up the hill towards the Citadel! For any of you who have been there, it was quite amazing to be able to stay on my bike right up to our stopping place. Elsa was the only one on our little tour who still had the breath to talk at the top of the hill!
Those two masts on the hill were used to send signals to the mast on top of George's island down in the harbour - at that point there was a clear sight line from the hill out into the harbour. As you can see behind Elsa in the above picture, there is so much development now that it is impossible to see George's island from there any longer. Such is the story of Halifax - steeped in history and surrounded by the development of condo towers and business highrise towers.
This is us - still smiling after biking for two hours in downtown Halifax! It was rather hilarious to see the sign when we got our picture taken - it is the rentals and dating shop! We highly recommend it for anyone looking for a unique date!
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