Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Big Day Downtown, Part 1



Better late than never:) I've been so busy these last few weeks that I have not had time to put this together! Thanks to the genius people at the Halifax Downtown Business Comisssion, I was given $100 to spend as I liked in downtown Halifax. Nice huh? 29 other lucky bloggers were also given the same opportunity and you can read about their adventures here . If you want to win your own $100 Halifax downtown fun Visa you can follow the HDBC on twitter and Facebook:) to find out more!

This was harder than I thought it might be. I discovered that were too many places I wanted to visit and spend my money! I finally decided on art as a loose theme with some extras thrown in:) My first stop is a sadly neglected but lovely corner of downtown. Granville Street Mall, a small pedestrian area at the North End of the street.

This mall used to be full of thriving shops but is now half empty. One shop which I LOVED is in the process of moving out. Much to their dismay, PurAlternatives has seen foot traffic slow down to a crawl and cannot afford to keep their shop open there. A shame really. This is one of the owners, Stephanie Kincade and her adorable daughter.
The area is beautiful, I just don't know why there are not more folk about. Come on people! It is a great place sit and soak up the sun and enjoy the atmosphere of the old buildings. Pur Alternatives carry gorgeous lotions and soap and cleansers and baby stuff and acessories. All safe enough to eat! Nothing they sell is toxic or harmful. You can also order everything in their shop, online. I purchased a grapefruit & ginger soy travel candle and a bottle of Earth Safe, purifying fire conditioner! There's $16 gone:)

Next stop, is Page and Strange Gallery. Couldn't really afford anything here but had a lovely poke about this interesting gallery:) Great to be inspired and provoked and tantalised by art. I was also going to visit Argyle Fine Art near here but they have already been covered by another blogger so I'll leave it for another time.

Right next to the gallery is the Sawadee Tea House. Mie Mie Sein serves over 75 varieties of the finest loose teas from East India, China, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and elsewhere. You can order over 250 varieties from their website!

and next to the teahouse is Brussels! A fabulous brasserie and bistro. I was going to have lunch here but another blogger has reviewed it so I will come back later:) Great spot.

To be continued...... so much more in store for you!

Big Day Downtown, part 2
Big Day Downtown, part 3

8 comments:

Kathy said...

What a fun thing to do and what a shame about that shop. Can't wait to see more!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

The first time I was in Halifax, Granville Street Mall was vibrant, fun and full of shops. A couple of years ago when I next visited, it was a ghost town! So very sad to see and rather inexplicable too.

Eco Yogini said...

congrats on the fun downtown adventure (part 1)!!

i also love pur alternatives, it's really sad that they're moving out... but they're keeping their online store and market spot in Dartmouth :)

Cindy Schultz said...

What? No waking up in a pool of martinis after a night at the Palace. You disappoint me.

Jen said...

O my! That poppet looks just like Cindy Lou Who!

And who can figure out the vagaries of retail shopping?!

The Words Crafter said...

Lovely, gorgeous photos, loved them. I agree with everyone, shame about that shop. Maybe your post will help future shops with more foot traffic.

Dolores said...

I wish TO had something like this. It's nice to see places where one doesn't often go.

Anonymous said...

Yes, we missed you! congrats on being in the Big Downtown Day and thanks for the tip on safe cosmetics, too. Great photos as always.