Fog horns, colourful houses and 23, 609 steps.

So our accommodation has some advantages, breakfast, laundry facilities, and it looks like this.

This building is where we're staying.

This is where the dining hall is for breakfast.

However it also has it's down sides.  Like last night.  Apparently this went on all night but I luckily slept through most of it.  Mum wasn't so lucky.  What I heard was loud thumps and giggles at 4.30 am which eventually moved outside and then back in and quietened down a bit.  Then more chatter outside at 5.30am, which turned into angry chatter and then someone yelled "I didn't do that, shut the fuck up!" followed by a thwack.  The chatter continued and moved off.  Half an hour later or so there was a girl with a friend moving down the hallway sobbing.  6.30 they came back into the hallway and we heard the friend say "you need to stop crying!" followed by sobs of "I just want to go home!".  Now I understand having a bad night, and I understand being homesick.  But not loudly outside other people's rooms during the wee hours.  All fingers crossed that they've cleared out today.

For a quick story from yesterday about nicer Canadians.  When we were on the bus coming home yesterday and he had a run in with a pickup coming the other way.  So he leaned out the window to apologise and say he didn't see him soon enough to break and he was really sorry and the other guy replied saying it was not a problem he understood and with some have a nice days it was done.  I think that was Canada's version of road rage?

You know how I said Halifax had colourful houses?  How about bright blue?  Or purple?  Or yellow?  I've really fallen in love with the houses around here.  Another observation, it's very rare to see a fence around here.  The yards just open to the street.

This is the one I want if I ever move to Halifax.

I made a friend on hour morning walk.  He was super friendly.

More from our walk home.

Today's steps total, 23, 609.  For anyone that is feeling jealous of travel, here's a reminder of the other side of travelling.  Walking is a great way to get around, it's free and you get to see a lot and museums are interesting.  But a week in and my feet start to hurt within 5 minutes of standing in a museum.  My back hurts from carrying a pack on my back and a camera around my neck.  Travelling also means constantly having to work out where you're next chance to take a bathroom break is.  A less than fun use of brain power.

Anyway, where was I?  We started the morning with a chilly 4 km walk to Point Pleasant park.  An enjoyable 4km checking out all the beautiful houses.  Man are there some big houses in Halifax.  The park was pretty and foggy.  Lot's of people out walking their dogs.  Here again (as it's on a hill overlooking the harbour) were old battlements. Also blue jays to add to our list, and another red squirrel, this one who was much more obliging at hanging around for photos.

Say hello to Cyril (I called him Frank, but my mum said Cyril, which is the perfect squirrel name).

Cyril is super speedy.

Fog over the ports.  They blasted the fog horn every few minutes which could be heard throughout the park.  Fun the first 10 times.  Less so after that. 

After the park it we took a street called "Marginal Road" through the ports which was a some what apt name, to end up at Pier 21 which is the Immigration museum.  Immigration is a big part of Halifax's history with it both giving it it's population, and as it was a first point of entry for many migrants in the 1900s.  For someone who works for Immigration it was interesting to walk through their history of it.

Then an amble along the waterfront as they weather cleared a bit and the temperature oscillated between mild and cold.

Ticker beavers tail off the list.  They're a flat pastry deep fried and traditionally covered in cinnamon and sugar, so much like a donut.  They come in a range of flavours these days but we went traditional for our first one.

We also killed some time before dinner in the city gardens.  Things are starting to bloom, but it seems like spring is still a few weeks away.

For dinner we just ended up at a local(ish) pub where I tried a raspberry beer (pretty good) and I watched a bit of the Toronto blue jays game (they lost, by a lot).

Tomorrow is another travel day.  Up early to make the trek out to the airport and head to Ottawa.