Halifax 2

Wonderland. Fantasyland. Fairyland.    That is what we woke up to this morning. Walked out of my dark bedroom and the first window view that I saw was totally white!   Gobsmacked. Mouth open.

And that set the scene for the rest of the day. Like little children we stepped out into the white and wanted to take photos of everything in this silent world. Snow lightly fell nearly all day. We wondered about walking and perhaps a bus would be in order, but the crunchy snow was fine and we set off for Downtown, perhaps 2 kms away. I had an enormous grin most of the time.
We were aiming for the Maritime Museum by the port. Past the garden, cemetery, citadel and down the slope to the water.  All just lovely but needing the soft flakes to be brushed from the eyes occasionally.
After the advice of a few most helpful locals, we firstly found the Coffee Cabin for a light snack of house-made soup and cornbread. Back along the snowy roads to the Museum.

Wonderful museum. In addition to the local history of early French/English colonists and the story of the Mi'kmaw First Nation clan, three major stories dominated the displays.
    Samuel Cunard, founder of the Cunard Cruise Ship Line, was a Nova Scotian.  In consequence, there are detailed and skilfully created models of many of the famous ships from the line.
    In 1912, three small ships from the busy Halifax Harbour were sent out to retrieve bodies from the water after the Titanic sank.  The ship sank mid-April and the last "coffin ship" returned from sea in early May.  After attempting identification and the releasing of bodies to relatives, approx 300 + victims were buried in three cemeteries around Halifax.
    In 1917, 5 years after the Titanic disaster, many allied ships were using Halifax Harbour as a staging port for World War 1.  In the narrow passage midst downtown Halifax, one ship containing explosives and the other carrying fuel, collided. The subsequent explosion and shock wave, second only to the atomic bombs of WWII, killed 1500 and affected 9000. Downtown Halifax was obliterated.  The personal stories kept us reading for ages. We also had the assistance of an enthusiastic and knowledgeable museum guide.

With snow still falling, we decided that an aperitif was in order so we crunched to one of the several Celtic bars in the area.  A barman later called for a taxi. Heather had volunteered to cook tea and needed supplies. As her chosen dish was a seafood pasta, we were happy to accompany her back to the supermarket ( well actually...Superstore).
Seeking advice from the seafood manager engaged us in another lively conversation about accents, our origins and his personal experiences as a seaman. He had recognised us and our accents from the day before.

A beautiful, quiet "crunch" back to the house, photographing Christmas card scenes on the way.
Heather dutifully made a delicious pasta.     Our snowy boots remain waiting in the foyer for another day.

Just outside our house.

Crunching to Downtown

Surreal.

A little cold on the bottom!

Note the moosehead on the wall. Yummy soup. 

Not many at the Museum.

After the 1917 explosion.

A famous son. 

At the Irish Triangle. 

Third time that I have used the bag HP!

On our way home. 

Clams and scallops ready for the pasta.