These odd looking tour buses seem to be popping up all over the Maritimes. It would be cool if they were actually amphibious in nature, but then I guess passengers would have to be outfitted with scuba, just in case. Well, it's not as if they don't look crazy enough already, riding around on these things!
One of the popular attractions in Halifax is the Public Gardens. I wandered through the paths there, on my way from my friends' house to the nearby downtown area. The picture to the left is taken from the main gates to the gardens. I think the Latin translates to,
The gardens make a lovely little oasis in the middle of a bustling city. Shall we take a tour?
A timeless sight anywhere is a bandstand. There are free concerts here on the weekends during the summer.
This guy makes me a little nervous, though.
Especially after I saw what happened to this damsel! Target practice gone awry? Lend a hand!
Here's a tongue twister for you: Toy boat, toy boat...tay boot, toay boyt! Try it, you'll see what I mean.
I believe this is a tiny replica of the Titanic. Halifax citizens were involved in the rescue and recovery of those who were aboard the Titanic when it went down. There are 150 Titanic victims buried in Halifax, the largest number anywhere in the world,
while 1523 others are swimming with the fishes in their watery graves.
Well, this is turning into a cheery little post, isn't it!
How about if we leave a sweet posy in memoriam to all those we have loved and lost and continue on our way. This is a dogwood blossom blooming merrily on a dogwood tree in the Gardens. I know what it is (a rare occurence) because the dogwood is the floral emblem of BC, where I was born and raised. More commonly, they're white, but isn't this a lovely pink example?
(To see my artistically altered version of this image, go here.)
I don't know about you, but I've worked up an appetite from all this strolling and pondering of life & death.
How about if we take a little break for lunch?
What could be more appropriate on the east coast than indulging in a big bowl of seafood chowder?
Bon appétit!
Thank you for the lovely tour! Looking at your last photo, I just HAVE to make my way down to the East Coast for some delicious chowder and lobster!
ReplyDeleteWell, who knew that not all dogwood flowers were white? I am surprised.
ReplyDeleteI wonder about the poor woman who is missing her hand - do you suppose that she was caught with her in a failed attempt to steal the soup?
Great post, as usual. And glad that you had a good time.
the dude with the gun. the lady with the garland. just sayin' :)
ReplyDeletei'm loving the new, cheeky header collage. i got lost in its maze for a while, trying to put order into its layers. it's fun.
Don't be concerned about the gentleman; he left to hunt varmints in Albert County. The lady misses him, however, having found him quite disarming.
ReplyDeletea lovely tour - I remember a lovely time I spent in Halifax at the Buskers' Festival a long time ago in 1990!! I have a new laptop, am in London and back to blogging.....
ReplyDeletePS I like the new title treatment.
ReplyDeleteWV yezmet - like kismet only more positive
I agree with DCW and M - great new header on your blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the mini tour. I have always wondered what Halifax was like because of my neighbour (I think I told you about him).
ReplyDeleteThat chowder looks delicious!!
oh what a beautiful holiday you did provide ! thank you very much for sharing ! makes one glad to know that there are such nice places.
ReplyDeleteplease have a good new month and week as well.
Bonnie,
ReplyDeleteWell, come on down, girl! We always make a point of serving up some lobster when we have guests from away.
Audrey,
ReplyDeleteSomewhere back in the dimmest recesses of my mind, I seem to recall knowing that there's such a thing as pink dogwood...but truth to tell, I haven't bothered to verify if it really is dogwood. (If it looks like a dog and walks like a dog...)
I think the woman with the missing hand had to have it amputated after straining it too much hoisting giant glasses of Guinness! Either that, or it just fell off. But really, I suspect the dude with the rifle.
m,
ReplyDeleteMy thought exactly. Can't be a coincidence that there's a guy with a rifle and a woman with her hand blown off!
I'm glad you like the new look. Got a bit more "pop" (rather like a rifle sound?) The image is of buildings reflected in a shop window, with various home decor items shining through from inside the shop, and the statue actually standing outside the shop.
DCW,
ReplyDeleteShe'd be wringing her hands, if only she could. I thought that guy looked familiar!
Catherine,
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice surprize to see you, blogging away from London! Congrats on the new laptop. I've had a couple of tastes of the Busker Festival in Halifax. And what fun it was! Happy trails to you.
DCW,
ReplyDeleteAs Eeyore is fond of saying, "Thanks for noticing!"
Audrey,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up...er, I mean thumbs up!
Jenny,
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the mini-tour; there's still more to come! Stay on the bus. The chowder was good but the seafood casserole that my friend concocted at home was outstanding!
Robert,
ReplyDeleteHappy August to you! I'm happy you enjoyed the mini-holiday in Halifax. There will be more to see soon, so I hope you'll make it back for the tour.
FIrst of all, you have a gorgeous new photo atop your blog. Wow! The Halifax bus is kooky, but I most love the bandstand that's so beautifully preserved. Did you photoshop the hand and chowder?? Very cool.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, you should put up a warning sign, I fell right into your new header design, head over heels, got lost, got chased around by a lady wearing pasties (she's a bit short on décolleté however, maybe with a push up brassiere ?), then some guy started shooting at me, dove into a bouqet of roses to hide, scampered off down the street, every which way but loose before I finally managed to fall down a magic manhole cover and escape... !
ReplyDeleteAfter all that, before we have lunch, maybe an aperitif or two or three might be in order, to prop us back up after the emotion of swimming at the bottom of the fish pond there with the titanic souls of sunken passengers, even after being soothed somewhat by pink dogwood tree blossoms where surely a catbird was singing ?
Hopefully the Halifax Chamber of Commerce is going to pay you a hefty courtesy fee for all this free advertising ?!?
I used to tease my nephew Trevor that you could always tell a dogwood tree by its bark. The "homor" of that wore off very quickly for him!
ReplyDeleteOn closer inspection, the guy with the rifle does look rather suspicious! And the demure damsel looks ever the martyr, willingly sacrificing her arm when asked to "give a hand."
jann,
ReplyDeleteI Photoshop EVERYTHING!
:-)
Owen,
ReplyDeleteSorry for no heads-up concerning the header...but you went and abandonned the rusty trusty car that was over at your place and went out following a fence on a campaign, apparently, to encircle the globe. To say nothing of the "boat who wouldn't float" (title of an amusing Farley Mowatt book) that you left high and dry somewhere out on the Blogossea, after beginning with what...moss, I think. Well, a rolling stone and a hopping toad gather no moss, as evidenced by the escapade you embarked on here in Halifax. To aid in your recovery, won't you join me for a Guinness the size of your head?
Audrey,
ReplyDeleteA dogwood by its bark! Ha! That old joke still has a bit of a bite to it. I like your take on the martyrdom of the lady statue. Perhaps she's a monument to the Passive Aggressive Housewife.
Thanks for the interesting tour and the skillfully interwoven humour.These mythical Grecian/Roman figures seem to crop up all over the place and it's not the first time one has lost a limb or two(I'm thinking of Venus de Milo).
ReplyDeleteThe food looks wonderful!
Forest Dream,
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprized if these pseudo-mythical statues are availabe at Wal-Mart, hence the lack of quality and craftsmanship! No genuine castles or ruins or abbeys to be found here like in your neck of the woods, alas. At least we have authentic seafood!
Your photos keep getting better and better! Wow!
ReplyDeleteDriftwood,
ReplyDeleteMore like my Photoshopping skills keep getting better, but thanks!
:-)
oh, this last image is amazing, i could see it as a big poster advertisement somewhere in the city, i would blindly enter a restaurant which would attract me like this :-)
ReplyDeletei love dogwood too, though i dislike the english name, isn't it strange and very unpoetical?!
Roxana,
ReplyDeleteHigh praise indeed! I need an agent!
Yes, isn't "dogwood" an overly humble and non-descriptive term for such a beautifully flowering tree. In an effort to cheer ourselves up about such an unfortunate name, I looked it up in Wikipedia and discovered, to my delight that,
"Another, earlier name of the dogwood in English is the whipple-tree. Geoffrey Chaucer uses "whippletree" in The Canterbury Tales ("The Knight's Tale", verse 2065) to refer to the dogwood." If it was good enough for Chaucer, it's good enough for me! How about you?
:-)
i guess it should be :-)
ReplyDeletemeanwhile i checked in romanian and it seems that some types of dogwood are highly praised in our traditional, folk medicine!!!
Roxana,
ReplyDeleteDog medicine. It's got a bit of a bite to it, though. Woof!
I love Halifax but haven't been there since some year, BC (before children) and my oldest is now 24. Coincidentallly, he was in Halifax for a few weeks earlier in the summer to organize the Tattoo. Lovely photos of a wonderful city.
ReplyDeleteHilary,
ReplyDeleteI think you are overdue for a visit to Halifax! What an amazing (and challenging) experience that must have been for your son. I've never attended the Tattoo but I've seen excerpts on tv and it looks pretty rousing. Nothing like the skirl of the bagpipes to get one's blood stirred up.