tiramisu: travelogue: nova scotia, halifax and lawrencetown (part 1 of 6)

we were in nova scotia, one of canada's maritime provinces... with the weinstein family!!

the first stop was halifax.

we strolled along the small downtown streets and visited the beautiful public library, visited some shops and took pics in the victorian public gardens. stefan was really happy with the coffee served at weird harbour (they also have really lovely chai) and the old apothecary. for dinner, the five fishermen was just perfect if you love seafood, even sidney crosby says so.

the streets slope steeply down to the water, we walk along the waterfront. here, we eat at salty's in the rain, grabbed some ice cream from cows (thanks for sharing jason, he loves mint as much as i do), and visited the historic properties market hall, old warehouses that now house surf and turf eateries and local shops. at night, we happened upon a music festival with folk and sea shanty music blasting from a stage. it reminded me of the now retired canadian folk rock band, the great big sea... they were kai's very first concert back when he was just a toddler.

the citadel, an 18th century fortress, sits atop a grassy hill which made the perfect base for rolling down. chloe and kai were happy teens :)

and of course, i couldn't leave halifax without a box of timbits.

just a half hour drive south from halifax, we arrived in lawrencetown to surf and celebrate chloe's birthday.

lawrencetown is a big beautiful beach community, with a long stretch of sand backed by high dunes. the waves are awesome for playing in.

this was my third time trying to surf and it is definitely not my sport but guys, i love it. i don't even care that i can't get up, just riding the waves on knees or belly is so much fun and so much work. i have a smile plastered to my face the entire time.

kai was the only one who consistently was up on his feet; he loves it too. and the weinteins made me laugh out loud (looking at you jason), when i saw these photos.

the birthday girl looked fabulous, as usual, and i think she enjoyed her day which also included a matinee to see mamma mia 2 followed by a vegan dinner :)