Thursday, June 27, 2019

Travel Thursday - Halifax

At the end of May, I went to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada with my mom and sister for a long weekend. 

It is an easy flight from Ottawa, taking between an hour and an hour and a half. We didn't get a picture of it, but the US Vice President's airplane (airforce 2????) was at the airport that day as he was in town for a visit. More impressive than his plane was the 2 huge military planes that accompanied it. 


My sister took this picture for her kids - We were looking for Care Bears:)

Our first day we spent downtown Halifax. We visited Pier 21. From 1928-1971 a million immigrants passed through the doors on their way to North America. During WWII over 500 000 Canadian soldiers (including my grandfather) left for Europe from this pier.  It is a lovely museum if you ever have a chance to get there.


One of the cool things they have done is to take the stories of specific immigrants and present them in photo books, with an accompanying suitcase to show what they packed. 

These are all the possessions this man brought to Canada. It is less than some people take on vacation. 

We walked along the water front, which was very dog friendly and had lots of places to get bags if you needed them (because we all know, sometimes you run out!)


After lunch, we went to the Art Gallery. Confession, I know nothing about Art, but I love it. I recently purchased a membership to the National Gallery of Canada and may have already been twice.

I have an extreme phobia of whales (long story for another day). I loved this painting because it shows whales and a guy running saying "I am afraid".


Even on vacation I don't always escape work! I work with individuals with autism and related disorders. The gallery had an art program for people with autism and they had an exhibition of their work. 




There was some of Dali's sketches . . .



I have chosen not to share my favourite piece here because it may be offensive to some people (there is a lot of nudity). However, I fell in love with Canadian Cree artist Kent Monkman's works. I have never had discussions about the meaning of a piece with strangers before. It is that thought provoking. His process is amazing as well. I highly recommend a Google search of his works and his process. Love or hate his paintings, the work he puts into them is amazing.

We had a very nice first day away of art and culture. 








14 comments:

  1. oh I would like to see the museum.... it's a superr interesting place, I bet. I noticed the first time that Dali looks like hercule poirot LOL

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really enjoyed your post today. i must live under a big rock because i have never heard of Pier 21 and now i have. i am not much of a history buff so that might be why. also i never noticed until today that you are in Canada.. now i know that. much of interest here today and i do love the paintings of Kent Monkman, he is truly gifted. i found him on his on .com sight with huge paintings to stare at. wow....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hari OM
    Pier 21 lives large in my memory. Such an impressive place (and I have the sweatshirt, to never forget!) I was fortunate to be there when the Titanic Exhibit was, do you recall?

    That boardwalk is the BEST and the art gallery fabulous. So many new pieces to ponder, and the discovery of Maud Lewis... Am so glad you enjoyed it too - thanks for the intro to Kent Monkman; forceful and meaningful! I wonder if you went to the Maritime Museum and met Merlin? Oh do tell!!! YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a fun trip and the art work is wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  5. It looks like you had a good time on your trip. Those museums sound very interesting. We can't wait to hear more about your trip.

    ReplyDelete
  6. K10 I cannot tell you how happy it makes to read about this very special trip with your sister and Mom. I love the photo from the plane
    Whales you say? That must be a good story. Personally I don't need to worry about marine life since I don't get in water above my ankle unless it a pool.
    Hugs HiC

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sounds like a wonderful first day! I think we need to put Halifax on our "go here" list...can't wait to hear more!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That was a wonderful trip. Not only spending time with your mum and sister, but so much to see and enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for sharing the wonderful photos of your trip. We love seeing the beautiful artwork that you got to see. Have a great rest of your day.
    World of Animals

    ReplyDelete
  10. We googled him (momma LUVS art, so we had to) - very interesting and thought-provoking!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What great fun to be able to get away and enjoy such an interesting place so full of art and history. A co-worker of mine has a son who is autistic, and he's an enviable and talented artist, and I've been telling her for several years she needs to find an art program for him. I think he would really love it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a nice get away with your mom & sister
    hugs
    Mabel & Hilda

    ReplyDelete
  13. That sounds like a great place to visit. Maybe we should go there.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Art and culture with family seems like a great way to spend a Thursday. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for reading and leaving us a comment. We love your comments!