Big Day Downtown Halifax 2014 part 1

It's that time of year again! The Big Day Downtown event, sponsored by the Downtown Halifax Business Commission. A group of bloggers are given a prepaid Visa card and asked to go out and explore the downtown core and then share our experiences. This year it was people's choice and I visited places based on recommendations :) This city has a lot to offer! First stop was Trident Cafe and Bookstore at 1256 Hollis Street.

 I loved it here! Used books and coffee:)

 It is the little touches...
Trident cafe roasts their own coffee in a 900 pound coffee roaster from Germany called Lola.

 There's a little room in the back where you can bag your own roasted beans to take home as well as a few more tables where you can sit, have a quiet brew and enjoy free wifi.
Lots of character in this little spot. I loved it!

Next up is a tiny restaurant called Shiraz. It is right next door to Trident at 1240 Hollis Street. I've seen it many times but never really paid much attention to it.

Shiraz is located in a former taxi dispatcher hut and is as tiny as it gets:) Open from 11am to 9pm 7 days a week. Dishing up Halal Persian food. I had just had a coffee next door so was not able to try anything. I did purchase a veggie samosa that I took home and it was yummy.

I did speak to a chap eating a delicious looking curry and asked him if he was enjoying his meal. He responded enthusiastically that it was very good and he eats here at least 3 times a week! I also saw a couple of people drop by for takeout while I was there.

This tiny little place is run by a husband and wife team who are very friendly and want to make you feel at home.I will definitely be coming back to have a proper meal!

Halifax is full of character and there are loads of places to try. I've yet to eat at Stories restaurant in the Halliburton House Inn, a gorgeous historic boutique hotel. Another place to put on my list!

 I've been to Drala before but it was suggested to me so I thought I would pop in again.

 The words on the door ring true! It is a gorgeous gift store on Grafton Street.
Full of delightful things for the home and spirit.

A Tibetan word, "drala" means "without aggression". When you invoke drala, you begin to experience basic goodness reflected everywhere - in yourself, in others, and in the entire world.

  Just about everything in the shop I wanted to take home at least one of!
You would be hard pressed not to find a gift for someone in here.They really have something for everyone. I purchased the purple and blue scarf! Now I have to decide whether to give it away or keep it:)

This is a flowering tea. Isn't it wonderful? It comes as a dried ball of leaves but pop it into a teapot and watch it unfurl into something beautiful.

To be continued:) 
 Part 2
 Part 3

Big Day Downtown 2013

So say the folk at  Ristorante aMano, one of the places I chose to celebrate my 2013 Big Day Downtown! BIG thanks to the Downtown Halifax Business Comission for allowing me to once again enjoy this wonderful city I get to call home!! This is the fourth year I have participated and this year the theme was experience. Thirty-one bloggers were given cards with experiences from which they had to randomly choose three and the ones I got were: authentic, cheerful and relaxing. Great huh? Sooooo, I decided to combine all three in each of the two experiences I chose. First up was  dinner at aMano with a good friend.

 aMano is an authentic Italian Trattoria tucked away in Bishop's Landing on the Halifax Waterfront. It is a place I have always wanted to try but somehow never have managed until now.

Inside, the decor is red and rustic with terracotta floors, warm colours and a giant brick pizza oven set right next to the bar. Old Italian films play on moniters scattered around the room. It's a friendly welcoming place.

When it came time to order, selection was difficult. Everything sounded delicious! Great choices.

We decided to share, and started with schiacciata for our appetizer, which was warm flatbread, and a garlic,sweet pepper, eggplant pesto.Yum! It's the only food I got a picture of. I got carried away with eating and the mains were half gone before I remembered I was supposed to be documenting it haha.

The delectable mains we chose were...... 

Agnolotti di Zucca, Handmade pumpkin filled half moon shaped pasta with brown sage butter sauce , Parmigiano dusting and toasted almonds
and...  
Pizza Vegitariana, San Marzano tomato sauce, Artichokes,roasted eggplant,sweet peppers, caramelized onions,basil pesto and fresh ricotta

Both were delicious!! my fave was the pumpkin pasta. Nicely scarfed down with a bottle of red wine mmmm.

I would definitely recommend aMano to anyone who loves good food:) We left feeling cheerful, relaxed and authentically stuffed with great italian food!(Somehow in editing this post,the font has changed and I don't know how to fix it, sorry)

My next adventure was solo. Well, sort of.....there was a person named Anna who made me feel like a princess:)

I decided to pamper myself at one of Halifax's most luxurious spas. Spirit Urban Spa on Granville Street. After a long tiring day standing on my feet at the Halifax Seaport Market, I thought a pedicure would be the way to go.

I drifted through the bright open appointment area into an hour and a half of authentic relaxation and cheerful bliss.

They have  a lovely lounge with couches, soft lighting and pillows that leads out onto a deck ovelooking the harbour with more comfy chairs pillows and seating. I was offered a choice of beverages and settled on a cappucino which arrived with a delightful lemon square to munch on while I waited.

Let's face it, the way my life is at the moment, I probably could have just sat here with my book for the full ninety minutes and been completely and utterly satisfied. Sigh.... Next time I will arrive early just to enjoy the wait.

But wait! There's more. A lovely young woman named Anna came out to collect me and ushered me into a room with more comfy chairs and gave me a soft neck warmer to drape around myself and plunked my tired tootsies into a warm bubble bath to soak. Ahhhhh. She then wrapped them in a warm towel and scrubbed, polished, massaged and lotioned my legs and feet until I was a puddle of contentment.

Heaven. A bracelet of polish colours  was handed to me to choose from and I chose from the new "San Franscisco" collection.

Here is the shy Anna hard at work. Look at her lashes!! She has been in the business for 13 years and loves what she does:)

Tadah! Done! Can you see the tiny splotches of blue paint on my flip flops? I wonder which painting was responsible. Haha. Spirit Spa has a full complement of services, hairstyling, waxing, facials, massage, makeup, the works! I would LOVE to spend a day here getting pampered. My feet haven't looked this good in too long to mention.

And that is how I spent my Big Day Downtown! Now it's YOUR turn. The Downtown Halifax  Business Comission is holding a contest starting September 4th  where you can win your own pre-paid Visa card to have some fun downtown! You can find more info on their Facebook and Twitter

Big Day (night) Downtown 2012

I've been waiting for a chance to post this picture, isn't it wild? The two Purdy's Wharf towers with the Casino in the foreground. It's my intro pic to this year's Halifax  Big Day Downtown promotion (actually it was a big night downtown:) This is the third year I've participated and it has been terrific enjoying all that Halifax has to offer! 28 bloggers were each given $100 to spend downtown and requested to share what we did with our readers! This year we were given partners and my partner, the fabulous Perry Paris of ParisalaMode and I partnered up with Cheryl Cook of WryandGinger and Asheley Ramey of AsheleyEats for a fun foursome night on the town!

We started our evening at The Wooden Monkey, a healthy organic food restuarant in the heart of downtown on Prince Street. That is the camera shy Cheryl in red. The only picture you will see of her:) I wanted them to try the Vegan nachos ....so good. Really.

 After lots of laughs.....it was Asheley's turn to recommend a place.

And off we trundled to...

 The Bitter End...

to try their Caesars, voted best in the city for the last 8 years!

and.....yes, they were delish!

Cheryl and Perry decided they wanted oysters and steak at  Le Coq Bistro

So that is where we went next...

 A perfect little French restaurant on Argyle Street. Nothing here for a vegan so I had frites cooked in duck fat with truffle aoli and dare I say I ...

had an oyster and a taste of Cheryl's steak tartare which was surprisingly delicious! This vegan makes exceptions occasionally. Perry had steak and Ashley chose the cheese platter.

Haha, even Asheley tried an oyster, a thing she said she would never do! Here she is seconds after slurping it in. Not the most flattering picture but hey I am recording an historic moment!! (Ashley is really beautiful)

We had a terrific night and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of the places we visited:)