Halifax- the Citadel and the City (07-08-13)

Sitting high on the hills overlooking the city,the Citadel was originally built to fight the French of Louisbourg and has been rebuilt 3 times over the years to protect Halifax and its harbor from a land attack that never came.

Because the harbor here is very deep and well designed by nature, it has played an important role both in commerce and in times of war.
During the revolutionary war Halifax hosted the British soldiers after they were run out of Boston. They say that Halifax could have been the 14th colony if there hadn't been such a huge British military presence here at the time.

During World Wars I and II the harbor was used to funnel troops and supplies to Europe.  In 1917 there was a horrible accident in the harbor. A French cargo ship full of explosives collided with another vessel in the harbor, and the ensuing fire caused an explosion that killed 2000 people and injured 9000.  It was the largest man made explosion prior to nuclear weapons.

The day we visited it was spitting rain but we brought umbrellas, hoping that would keep the rain away.  Our ploy didn't work very well.

We took the free guided tour which was led by a "Scottish Sergeant" in full kilt regalia.  Oops, wrong picture.

 

Years ago England refused to let Scottish soldiers dress in traditional Scottish garb, but when the ranks of the English army shrank to an uncomfortably low level,    the two cultures worked it out so that there would be specific Scottish regiments that would be allowed to wear traditional garb.

Our guide did a nice job of giving us the picture of what life would have been like at the fort back in the mid 1800s.

I did have one question for him that showcased my ignorance of Canadian history.  We had watched the orientation movie about the city and it mentioned, in a sort of casual way, the years before and after Canada separated from Great Britain.  So I said to the guide-" Wait a minute then.  When the U.S. wanted to separate from England, we had to go to war with them to get the independence we wanted, but when Canada wanted it's independence, England just said 'ok, sure'??"  Yup, pretty much.

While walking the grounds of the Citadel, we noticed several camera crews, and being nosy, we asked what it was all about.  It turns out that the Canadian Minister of Defense  was at the Citadel to make an announcement of some kind.

             

We did walk the riverfront again, during the daytime, and checked out some of the stores. 

The jazz festival is still going on, and a free concert was in process so we stopped to listen for a few minutes.  Unfortunately, neither of us is a huge jazz fan so we soon moved on.

   Along the way we tried "Cows" Ice Cream, the self

proclaimed best ice cream in Canada, and weren't overly impressed.  As we continued to walk Paul decided that even though we had just had ice cream, he had to try Poutine. 

We've been seeing it offered different places and it was "calling his name".  So, what is it?  French fries with cheese curds and gravy.  To that you can add a variety of “toppings” such as bacon or pulled pork, or in Paul’s case, both.  It's pretty popular up here, but it's a little over the top for me.



            Halifax is also home to the Nova Scotia Archives, and Paul and I spent one morning trying, unsuccessfully to add to my knowledge of my family history.  Most of my grandparents and great grandparents are from the Cape Breton area of Nova Scotia. Although we didn't find out anything new, we do plan on spending a few days exploring the towns that they lived in.