Last Port Of Call

  Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Tuesday, September 25, 2007

The sea was calm and serene this morning when we woke up.  Yippee!  For once we could shower standing upright without getting bounced around or holding onto the handrail!  Once again the sky is clear and the temperature should reach 70º today.
 
We had our usual breakfast in the crowded Seaside Café and I managed to sit in our dining room waiter's area.  The ship docked at the industrial part of the port as we finished up and a while later customs cleared us.  I saw 2 other cruise ships already in port so the town will probably be crowded with tourists today. 

003 HOHO Bus

We had purchased Hop On Hop Off (HOHO) tickets through Celebrity to tour the town and the bus parked right on the pier for us.
 
The Gray Line tour guides were extremely knowledgeable of the city and area history.  We learned about the founding of Halifax, the city's role in rescuing survivors of the Titanic, and the Halifax Explosion.  This disaster occurred in 1917 when the Norwegian ship Imo collided with a munitions ship Mont Blanc that was loaded with explosives.  The resulting explosion was so immense, one of the ship's anchors landed 3 miles away.  Two square miles of the town were completely leveled in the devastation.  On top of that, 40" of snow fell the following day.  The explosion was the largest man-made explosion until the A-bomb was dropped.
 
We spent quite a bit of time at the Maritime Museum Of The Atlantic viewing its exhibits of pirates, the Titanic and the Halifax Explosion.  We also strolled through Pier 21 which is referred to as the "Canadian Ellis Island".  Over 1½ million immigrants entered the country here.  Now the building houses a variety of souvenir stalls, crafts and tourist goods with a museum on the 2nd floor.  As soon as we walked in the door, my nose led me straight to a popcorn machine.  Popcorn, to me, is one of the major food groups ranking right up there with ice cream and chocolate!  When the bus returned us to the industrial dock to reboard our ship, two immigration officers walked through asking to see each of our passports.  That was the first time we had ever been asked in a foreign country for identification, and I was certainly glad we had it with us.
 
We returned to the ship late afternoon, put away the souvenirs and headed to the Seaside Café for a quick bite to eat.  John finally caved and chose the rigatoni with meat sauce.  The Italian declared it edible and OK.  I had a slice of pepperoni pizza and a dish of no-sugar vanilla ice cream.  Celebrity churns their own ice cream and offers different flavors every day along with frozen soft-serve yogurt.  After our late lunch, John napped and I watched the ship back away from the pier and head once again out to sea.  As we started to leave, we were serenaded by a kilt-clad gentleman playing the bagpipes on the dock.  Unfortunately, I couldn't see him but his music was much appreciated judging by the applause he received.
 
Dinnertime was next with John getting his Caesar Salad, New York Strip Steak with Baked Potato and Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce.  I chose the Green Leaf and Radicchio Lettuce Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette, Grilled Baby Spring Chicken, and No-Sugar Butter Pecan Ice Cream for dessert.  Before retiring for the night, we made a few last purchases at The Emporium Shops.  All in all, our time spent in Halifax was very much enjoyed, the weather beautiful, and possibly not much was missed by stopping here instead of Saint John NB (with apologies to our Canadian friends).