Saturday, June 25, 2011

Photo #24:

he always said she was good as gold

Photo #23:

Historic Properties is this little section/sidestreet by the boardwalk that is differentiated by a small banner on a walkway above the entrance. The area itself has remained, for the most part, unchanged for hundreds of years. The appearance of cheesy shops in the hundred-year old building pictured here--dentists advertising whiter smiles, souvenir shops--kind of make me sad. The new opening of a Baton Rouge restaurant (a huge steak chain in Canada), surrounded by wonderful authentic Nova Scotia restaurants and shacks makes me downright irate. But, somehow, the quaintness, tranquility and beauty of this little spot--this little cove away from the frenzy or tourists--was somehow kept.

you wear nothing but you wear it so well

Photo #22:

On the Commons, across from the fountain, is what I always thought was a church. The structure, architecture and stained glass windows just lead me to assume that it was a church of some kind, especially since Halifax is pretty big on churches and has quite a few of them. But while fetching a renegade frisbee this afternoon during a game of Taps, I got in close enough to read the etching above the front door. Armory. The building all of a sudden took on a whole new eerie, gloomy vibe that gives me the willies.

take some time and think about it

Photo #21:

Downtown Halifax is separated into three main parts--South End, where I lived last year, mainstream downtown by the harbour, and North End, where I live this year. North End is the cultural district of Halifax, on my street there's about 6 Greek tavernas, a few Turkish coffee houses, a ton of Korean restos and some dodgy Donair joints. There's also a wide open space called the Commons. The Commons are....they're strange. It's just this massive urban square space that's about 6 city blocks in total. There's 9 baseball fields, 4 soccer fields, a running track, and 3 football fields, and various winding walking paths. The grandeur is ridiculous. And despite the fact that it's a wide open space--somehow, walking across it, I always get lost. The path turns and twists and while the whole time you can see exactly where you're going, you get so disoriented because everything looks the same. The 360 view around you with the buildings and trees looks exactly the same, no matter which way you turn. Many time I thought I was headed home only to come face to face with Citadel Hill--on the opposite end of where I need to be. This beautiful fountain is facing where I live (I think), and it just looked regal with the backdrop of heavy clouds that day.

who says we don't need love

Photo #20:

One of the very first things that put Nova Scotia on the map for me was a photo that was taken along this part of the boardwalk. The photographer had stood on a ramp of what I now know is the Marriott Harbourfront hotel, and had snapped a photo of these lamp posts with Salty's, the famous seafood restaurant, hazy in the background. I saw the photo and thought "this...this is a place I need to see." There's something lovely about these lamp posts that border the harbourfront, on dark nights they create a haze and it's almost as if you're walking amongst clouds. They're also oddly comforting, making you feel not so alone on a solitary walk of self-reflection. Often times through the winter, I'd sit in bed, close my eyes, and imagine I was standing right here, breathing in the salt water, hearing the faint sound of celtic music. This photo captures the image of my mind for the past nine months: home.

I'll give it all til you can feel it

Photo #19:

I've said it many times, but one of the things that I love so much about Halifax is how you can be in the middle of downtown and by just surrounded by the ocean. Before I moved here last summer, I had no idea how much of a big port Halifax was. I mean, Montreal is a port city--but it's mainly industrial. Here in Halifax, these monstrous cruise ships just pull up and dock, and the locals run for cover. On a random day last year, I was walking around downtown and all I heard was German. I was totally culture shocked and couldn't figure out what the hell had happened to my beloved city--and then I saw the cruise ship. It's a bit of a sore sight to see, considering it blocks some amazing views of islands with lighthouses on them.

and i'm running but you're getting away

Photo #18:

Lawrencetown Beach is, primarily, a rocky beach. At first I thought it was great, because rocks are way less messy than sand is. But after walking 5 feet across the rocks, I quickly changed my mind. They move under your feet and make you extremely unsteady, sliding out as you walk and twisting your ankles. It's a perilous journey indeed. Beyond perilous, if you're in flip flops. But the colour and texture that these silly, spiteful rocks bring to my beloved surfing beach just can't be matched.
Photo #17:

it's getting lonely living upside down

Photo #16:
Nova Scotians love their beer, and they make a damn good brew. Keith's is served proudly and ice cold in any self-respecting food or beverage joint in Halifax and people here talk about him as if he was Gandhi. This building was constructed in 1820 and still stands by the waterfront today. It's a museum, a pub, and it doubles as the Halifax farmers' market on Saturday mornings. It has been the market for decades, but last year, Halifax constructed the Seaport Market right on the waterfront. It was a big move to attract tourists--the huge windows, the panoramic views of the sea. But at much as Nova Scotians love their brew--they love their traditions, more. A lot of the farmers and vendors refused to move from the Brewery and set up shops in the new market. Some of my favourite ones did, but other favourites didn't. Running between the two markets at 7AM on a Saturday morning is inconvenient, but I respect their stance and their fierce desire to protect tradition so much, that I do it anyway. Cheers, Nova Scotia.

see how i leave with every piece of you

Photo #15:
I work in a suburb called Clayton Park, which is this nifty community of very nice homes that have beautiful gardens and lovely wrought iron fences. There's no escaping that it's a fairly, fairly wealthy community. I drive through some back roads just to avoid traffic lights and I saw these little two canoes just hangin' out in the lake. And I thought now aren't they neat....but how are the owners going to get to them? More importantly, how did they get them there to begin with?

no olive branch no high-winged dove

Photo #14:

Park benches fall under the category of Strange Things Lisa Finds Fascinating. They always just seem so...melancholy. I don't know what it is about them. Halifax as a lot of random green space interspersed throughout the city in awkward places, like between two major intersections--where you'd find this space. I live off a side street that borders a main boulevard, and just randomly, there's this little mini forest of a few trees, some picnic tables--and this park bench. I find it strangely alluring.

i stayed here all season

Photo #13
These flower bushes are sprinkled all across downtown Halifax, and despite the cold and dreary weather, the bursts of colour are in full bloom. They smell vaguely of lavender, honey, and the signature smell of salt that permeates the air in any ocean town. It's been gray, wet and cold since I got here, with maybe one full day of sunshine. How these flowers bloomed, I haven't a clue--but they sure do add a bit of sweetness to a thunderstorm-filled Monday.

it's how they've always been and they intend to stay

Photo #12:

Everything about Nova Scotia is so wonderfully old school, and perhaps even more charming is the fact that they have access to all new gadgetry and big city things--they just choose to stay the old school route. It's amazing. They still have the milkman, the ice cream truck, the chip wagons. And they still have these neat old school mailboxes out on the front lawn, where the mailman will actually put the little flag up when he puts an envelope inside. In all of my big city slicker style, I've only ever hand the clangy mailboxes attached by your door that make an awful racket whenever you open or close them.

but there's booze in the blender

Photo #11:

Hubbards is a small town right on a harbour about 40 minutes outside of downtown Halifax. It's the type of small town where the people who are there have been there for 70 years, and their accents are a muddle of Scottish, Irish, and good 'ole thick Nova Scotia Canadian. It's the type where they speak to you and by the end of a 90 second rant you have your head tilted like a puppy dog, and the only thing you can manage to say is "...WHAT?!" Hubbards is a town I'm pretty sure my parents are going to retire in. The Shore Club is an amazing restaurant that I go to every single Saturday, where the waitresses know me by name. Best lobster on the island. So fresh, in fact, that they keep their traps in the ocean while they wait for your order. Every few minutes you can see one of the chefs go running out the back of the restaurant, lift a trap from the water, grab a lobster and go running back in. It don't get fresher than that. For $25, you can have yourself a glass of wine, all you can eat salad bar, all you can eat mussels, and a 2.5lbs "nipper" (that's what they call lobsters). Enough to have you rolling out and down the steps after.
Photo #10:

The harbour has all of these lifesavers sprinkled around as you walk, and I love the neat reminder that hey--you are in fact by the ocean. It also surprises me that these things just stay neatly in their place all day and all night. I can't help but think of how ridiculous that would be in Montreal--within one hour, guarenteed the things would be stolen and the sign would be vandalized. But not here. Here, restaurants leave their chairs and tables out on their patios when they close up, because people just understand. The amount of respect everyone has for public property never ceases to amaze this hardened city slicker.

get on the highway and point yourself my way

Photo #9:

I love these trees. Not quite Weeping Willows, but close. This beauty is planted in the Public Gardens right by a pond, and the way the branches just dip down, almost like a waterfall, is just mesmerizing. There really isn't a whole lot to say about it, I was just so enraptured when I stepped under the tree. I felt like hugging it. Perhaps things this beautiful should not even have accompanying words.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

people walk a tight rope on a razor's edge

Photo #8:

Today was a tough photo day. All day I just couldn't find things to photograph that weren't enormously cheesy--the beach is great, but it's also cliche. So are some parts of the boardwalk. It was a total photography block. I sat down on one of my favourite sections of the boardwalk near Purdy's Wharf, where little benches jut out into the harbour and you can just sit and think. A seagull started squawking incessantly, rousing me from my adventures on another planet. I contemplated throwing a rock at the stupid thing, but when I looked over, he was perfectly perched on top of a small lantern, almost posing. And I thought well now, ain't you a sight to see?

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

love was just a dream i had when i was in your bed

Photo #7:

I have a strange attraction to slightly odd things; wooden docks, boardwalks of any kind, picnic tables--and buoys. I love buoys, and I have no idea why. Peggy's Cove is a beautiful area for obvious reasons, but hidden amongst the outer beauty is little treasures--rolling hills where houses sit on top, seemingly precariously balanced atop the crest. Wooden swinging doors to shops that never lock, because who would steal something out there? There are art galleries nestled along the winding road leading to the famous lighthouse, and little cafes beckon you to come in and take a load off your feet, and enjoy some of Aunt Mae's famous pie. But beneath the tourist charm, there's another kind of charm--the kind where you realize that amongst the tourists, there are small town Nova Scotian folk, making a living the only way they know how--through fishing and hard work. Little houses here have their lobster traps set out front with their small canoes or fishing boats resting in the water behind their house. Call it tricks of the trade, call it family tradition, call it small town living--or call it a hidden cove of hometown beauty in a place bustling with foreign folk.

Monday, June 6, 2011

won't you come with me little girl on a magic carpet ride

Photo #6:

At this particular point of the boardwalk, close to one end of it, you come across two of my favourite restaurants--the Hart & Thistle in the forefront here, and Salty's right beside it. At night, with the soft glow of the boardwalk lights and the MacDonald bridge in the background, this place just becomes alive. Celtic music is played softly (or loudly, depending on the vibe of the town that night) and people sit outside and enjoy dinner at 10PM at night. Halifax is a town that comes alive in the summer, and this span of 100 meters is the heartbeat of the city.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

boy you got my heartbeat running away

Photo #5:

Crystal Crescent is a beach in Sambro, some twenty minutes outside of the city but still technically in Halifax. It's beautiful white sand and clear water are reminiscent of what you might find in Cuba or Mexico, but here you're also surrounded by wild blackberry and raspberry bushes. You have to walk about half a mile on one of those wooden boardwalks that I love so much, through the bushes and past some gravel dirt road. You start to see some rock formations and then there's nothing but blue ocean and white sand in front of you. Every time I see sand, I can't bear to walk through it with shoes on. Whatever footwear I'm wearing comes flying off and I traipse through the sand barefoot. Sandals in the sand is one of my favourite picture themes--like a tank full of gas in a car, it just speaks to me of endless chances, love, and unwritten stories that the summer will bring. So hop on, let's go for a ride.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

not all those who wander are lost

Photo #4:

Right on the cusp of downtown Halifax, there's an enclosed area of about 3 blocks called the Public Gardens. I tend to avoid all areas with the term "garden" as I'm pretty much allergic to every plant that has ever existed. But with the pollen not quite in full effect yet, I couldn't help but wander into the Gardens to take a peak. It was filled with these old pedestrian bridges and beautiful ponds and fountains. It was like a miniature enchanted forest. They had these trees everywhere--these beautiful trees that spouted the pink flower in the picture. It reminded me a little of a Japanese Cherry Blossom, which is one of my most prized sights.

an open path with nowhere to go

Photo #3:

For the summer, a few really popular brands--mostly beer or spirit companies--will hire promotional reps to go along the boardwalk and solicit people. You start to see a pattern in the middle of the summer--tequila companies will hrie beautiful women and dress them in booty shorts and bras, have them walk around the boardwalk handing out shot glasses. Beer companies will rent motorized bikes and have "parties" cruise by. This year, Milwaukee hired a group of 6 guys who perform stunts all over the boardwalk--these guys just backflip over garbage bins, run up walls, all kinds of crazy stuff. I caught this guy as he flipped into a handstand on one of the posts that anchor a ship to the dock.

i wish that i could have this moment for life

Photo #2:

Once you get to Lawrencetown Beach, there's a ramp and these stairs leading from the gravel parking lot to the ocean. I have a tendency to kick off my flip flops as soon as I'm out the car, and go bounding up these steps barefoot. You could hear the ocean before you see--it roars. On this particular day, while it was beautiful sunshine in Halifax, there was a thick haze in the basin of Lawrencetown. While I still heard and smelled the ocean, the fog made it impossible to see. It was magical.

Friday, June 3, 2011

life is the bubbles under the sea

Photo #1:

The drive to Lawrencetown Beach is about 30 minutes outside of the city, through trees and winding roads where the 80km/h speed limit seems dangerously too fast. Eventually, you're met with a steep hill and an old mansion at the top--the mansion was converted into Kannon Beach, a surf shop. Set on a gravel patch of land surrounded by green grass that seems to suddenly stop and leave you precariously balance don the edge of a huge cliff--the boys at Kannon Beach put out these little seats, for people to just stop and enjoy the view. When you're standing here, it looks like you could see into forever.