Last Day: Shakespeare in the park and what the hell was that couple doing in the park??

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Ok last day in Halifax and I spent a hour or so looking for a breakfast spot. Some cafés in Halifax don't open on Sunday and a few others don't open until 9AM. I finally found one that was also a convenience store. It was decent and the coffee was better than I expected. I got back to the hostel and took a shower and packed up. The hostel allows people to store their luggage on the day they are leaving so I didn't have to drag mine around the city.

First stop of the day was a free walking tour. I can afford the paid tours but I prefer the free ones because it is more interactive with your guide and the guides usually have more interesting stories. The tour started at the Citadel which is a large fortress on top of this hill. The citadel was founded as the military base for Halifax and it is the reason the city of Halifax was situated there. It was design to repel Britain's enemies of the age which in this case was the French and Americans. The defenses were never tested but the citadel is an interesting place to visit and one of the few remaining examples of Star Fortress design.

Our tour guide was a local named Cameron who was a student at Dalhousie. It was a small group for this tour just 4 people. There was me, 2 young French Canadian women from Ottawa and a woman from Vermont. Cameron took us to the street just below the citadel and told us this spot was famous for bar fights between locals and the soldiers because it intersected the bars and the barracks. He had some nice stories of famous sites of Halifax and told us about how a bar is haunted because bodies from the Titanic were stored there before they were buried. He showed us the waterfront and the famous wave statue where you are suppose to run up it. Cameron has tried many times but it is harder for adults to do. Recently a little boy fell off it and hurt himself and now they want to put up a fence around the statue. I think that is a bad idea because it is a good challenge and a tourist draw.

After that he showed us George's island which had a music party going on that day but since Cameron had to work he couldn't go. I wanted to go myself but I already had plans for that day. We got some free rum cake from a store and ended the tour at the farmer's market. Cameron was a good tour guide and I wish I could have tipped him more but I was short on cash at that point.

I went back to the hostel to meet up with some people to go to Shakespeare by the sea. When I got there Lee and Gina had decided to go whale watching instead and see Hamlet in the evening. So it was just Sharyn and I who were going to the park. We headed out an hour before the show started to make sure we got good seats. We chatted while we walked to the park and I found out that Sharyn had been in Canada for the last year and a half and was originally from Australia.

Shakespeare by the sea was located in Point Pleasant park and we were seeing Snow White or least this interpretation of it. It was by donation as well and I was going to donate $20 but when I saw they were renting out chairs for $2/piece I switched my donation to $16 so that we could have 2 chairs. I figured they were getting the same amount of money anyway.

I hadn't seen a Snow White play for awhile so I was curious on how they were going to present this one. It was a musical so there were lots of dancing and singing and my favourite part was when they presented the mirror. I don't have any pictures of the play because they don't let you take pictures when the play is in progress. There was a funny part where the evil stepmother got a feather in her mouth and she had to blow it out before continuing. The actors held up pretty well with all the laughing that ensued.

It was a good modification of the original story and the ending was adjusted where the Prince and Snow White start out slow by just dating first which is a good idea. Comparing it to London and Toronto Theatre shows I would say it holds up well and those actors and actresses have real skill. We wandered around the stage and took some pictures before heading out of the park.

We went to see the Prince of Wales tower which is one of the old defensive batteries of Halifax. We were getting close and we noticed a couple in the distance who appeared to be having sex in the park. Sharyn and I debated what they were actually doing and wondering if they were actually having sex in a park full of families. When we got close enough we saw they were being affectionate but were still mostly dressed so it turned out to be a just a funny PG moment.

When we got back to the hostel we went our separate ways, Sharyn to church and me to the Alexander Keith's brewery. It was only a short walk to the brewery. Alexander Keith's is a famous brand of beer native to Halifax and produces different kinds of beer but is most well known for India Pale Ale.

The tour runs every 30 minutes and was about 1 hour long. The people who do the tour wear period costumes and they are quite authentic and I will say the ladies they have are quite attractive. We watched a video of the founding of the brewery and how Alexander Keith got his start and the ingredients that go into the beer. My favourite part was when we got to the bar and there 2 ladies in old fashion bar maid outfits. We got 2 free beers of our choice and they were quite tasty and I will have to try more Alexander Keith's in the future. The bar maids entertained us with singing and dancing. So that ended my tour and I will say it was a good time and well worth the $20 or so.

I made my way back to the hostel and collected my bags and I was making my way to the Metrox stop to go back to the airport but halfway to the stop I looked at the schedule carefully and I realized the schedule for weekends was different and the bus was slower so I would get to the airport 47 minutes before my flight and I knew the Air Canada check in limit was 45 minutes and I just couldn't take that chance. I sprung for a taxi which I always hate doing because it is so expensive. It turned out to be $60 so it could have been worse.

Got the airport and went through security which took awhile because the line and made it to gate with plenty of time to spare. Halifax is the first airport I have seen that sell you live lobsters and boxes to put them in to take on the plane with you. Flight was uneventful and I landed in Toronto at night. I always love flying into cities at night because the view from the plane is always inspiring.

So that ends my trip to the East Coast of Canada. I have now been to every province east of Ontario and now I can start making my way west. To anyone considering a trip to Canada, Nova Scotia and PEI are definitely worth a visit. Thanks to everyone who read this blog and I will have another in September for Scotland.

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Photos

Citadel
The changing of the guard isn't as big as Buckingham but still impressive

The Wave Statue
Apparently a bit tricky to run up

Snow White at Shakespeare by the Sea
I know Snow White is not Shakespeare you don't have to keep reminding me

Bar Maids
I must say these 2 ladies were really HOT in these outfits

Prince of Wales Tower
Designed to protect the Harbour from attacks and where it look like a couple was having sex