Halifax Ice Cream

Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 
Address: 1709 Lower Water St #108
Date: July 2025
Website:  thefogcompany.com

  On the east coast of Canada, one of our favourite things to eat is ice cream. Thankfully, there is no shortage of vendors to choose from. These are a few of the places that we visited near the waterfront in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

  Cows ice cream was founded in Prince Edward Island in 1983. They have since expanded to other provinces and there is a Cows located on the waterfront in Halifax. There are many flavours to choose from and you can get a good, simple cone or cup.

  They also have lots of cow merchandise such as t-shirts and parody postcards.

If you want something a little crazier, then you want to visit The Fog Company. Each ice cream comes with a fog of cotton candy. The Gimme Smore (above) has chocolate ice cream covered in fudge and marshmallow. The huge cotton candy fog hangs off of the cone. These creations require some skill to eat without dropping any ingredients.

  Our favourite was Seas The Day which comes in a cone covered in fog. It is vanilla ice cream with a mermaid's tail and an edible paper whale sticking out of it.

  Fog and whales reminds us of the whale watching we did from Brier Island. It was about a 3 to 4 hour drive from Halifax. We feared we may not see anything due to the thick fog. It cleared up just in time for us to catch a few whales, along with this grey seal (above) before our tour was finished. Back at the Brier Island Whale Watching restaurant we got huge cups of ice cream that really hit the spot.

   Back on the waterfront in Halifax we visited a dessert spot called Creme. They had lots of fancy treats.

  This time we had a strawberry mousse that looked like a strawberry.

   Since ice cream does not travel well, we bought some souvenir chocolate from Peace By Chocolate with some very Canadian wrappers. Peace By Chocolate is also located on the waterfront.

  There is a list of some places to enjoy ice cream or other sweets while in Halifax. Up near the Halifax Public Gardens you will find Dairy Bar. They usually had a lineup so we didn't get a chance to try it during our visits. The only thing that stops us from having more ice cream is time.

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Map of Our World
The Fog Company

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Post # 349

Fire Hydrants

 

Location: Elm Creek, Manitoba, Canada
Address: Gladys Street Fire Department
Date: Oct 2014
Website: https://www.rmofgrey.ca

    You can't park in front of them. Dogs like to pee on them. In case of a fire you hope that one is nearby. We are talking about fire hydrants. Here are some of the most interesting hydrants that we have encountered.

 

    Now we could do a whole blog just on fire trucks (and maybe we will). When the fire department shows up to fight a fire, it is a hydrant they need to attach their hoses. Only then can they get the water they need to put out the flames.

USA HYDRANTS

 

    On Ditmars Blvd. in Queens, New York we found this hydrant next to Astoria Park. It was all painted like the American flag. It stood out amongst the other plain hydrants. We are uncertain if it was special for any other reasons.

 

 

  At the Irvine Spectrum Center in California we spotted this shiny, gold fire hydrant. This must be a special hydrant, but sadly it was not real gold.

 

   The New York State Museum is located in the state capital of Albany, New York. It includes an entire Fire Engine Hall. It also includes items collected from where the World Trade Center towers fell. These are two different types of hydrants (shown above) that survived the disaster.

GREECE HYDRANTS

 

 This hydrant was located near the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. It was pretty insignificant except for the tortoise right beside it. We know dogs like to pee on things to mark their territory. We don't know if this tortoise just finished marking the hydrant as his.

CANADA HYDRANTS

 

 

 On the highway towards Dildo, Newfoundland we spotted this Minion painted hydrant. In the movie Minions there is one scene where Stuart, the one eyed minion, actually hits on a fire hydrant.
 

   The world's largest fire hydrant sits next to the Elm Creek Fire Department in Manitoba. There used to be a bigger fire hydrant in South Carolina but it has since been taken down so we redeclare this the world's largest. It is about 29 feet tall and took six months to build. It was unveiled on Canada Day in 2001.

 A regular fire hydrant sits next to the giant one. You definitely would not want your fire department or your large fire hydrant to burn down.

 Dalmation dogs were used back when firefighters travelled in horse drawn fire wagons. Since then they have become beloved companions even to modern day fire fighters. At Fire Station 314 in Toronto, this hydrant dalmation keeps an eye on the street out front.

 

 

 In Scarborough, Ontario there is a sailor hydrant near the Highland Creek Royal Canadian Legion.

   In Scarborough, Ontario there is another hydrant located in Milliken Park. The only issue here is that the hydrant is all alone in the middle of a field. We are not sure when this hydrant may be called into service. Perhaps a picnic fire?

  Near Berczy Park in Toronto we saw this hydrant exposed while some construction work was taking place. You can see by this photo how big the pipes are. This helps keep a water pressure between 50 and 100 psi.

    The hydrant in the photo above was sheared off when a car drove over it and into a restaurant on Yonge Street in Toronto. A hydrant could send out as much as 5,500 litres a minute. Umbrellas are a good idea until the fire department can get the water shut off.

  Most places do not want your dog to relieve themselves against their walls etc. We have not noticed any signs near hydrants. It seems the fire fighters are fine sharing the hydrants with their four legged friends.

  In the Toronto Santa Claus Parade every dog carried its own hydrant with them. It seems marking your territory just wasn't enough.

  Our final hydrant on this list has a celebrity connection. Mr. T filmed his television show T And T in Toronto. In Season 3 Episode 12 he sits on the hydrant pictured above waiting for a limo to pull up to a hot dog stand. It is at the corner of Queen Street West and James Street. This episode was probably filmed in 1989 or 1990. Is it possible that this is still the same hydrant from 35 years ago? While hydrants can remain in service for up to 50 years, we have to report that the hydrant currently in that spot is a newer design.

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Map of Our World
World's Largest Fire Hydrant

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Post # 348

La Boule d'Or Centenaire

 

Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Address: Bahnhofplatz 15, CH-8001
Date: April 2025
Website: https://www.dietermeier.com

    Zurich Hauptbahnhof is one of the busiest train stations in Europe. The main hall of the station was rebuilt in 1871 and has a grand entrance. Today you will find some interesting art inside, if you know where to look.

 

    If you look up you will be able to spot L‘Ange Protecteur. This giant purple guardian angel hangs from the roof of the main hall. It was painted by Niki de Saint Phalle. Niki painted the bright colours using watercolour so the whole thing needs to be cleaned using compressed air to prevent fading.

 

    If you look down you may see La Boule d'Or Centenaire (The Gold-Plated Centenary Ball). This ball will stay in the floor for 100 years and only be taken out 8 times. This project is presented by the Association Des Maitres De Rien or the Association Of The Masters Of Nothing.

 

  The ball is stored in the floor of the main hall protected behind bulletproof glass. The president of the Association Des Maitres De Rein is Dieter Meier. Dieter is the vocalist in electronic band Yello. Yello is best known for the hit song "Oh Yeah", but as huge fans of the band we enjoy their entire catalogue.  

 

   Back in 1977, Dieter had an art studio at Rote Fabrik. This former factory on the west side of Lake Zurich had become a creative hub for many artists. It was here that Boris Blank spent many late nights creating the sounds that would become the music of Yello. The first Yello album, Solid Pleasure, was released in 1980.

 Besides working with his partner Boris Blank, Dieter enjoys performance and conceptual art. In 1972 he installed a plaque at a German train station that stated "On 23 March 1994, from 3 to 4 pm, Dieter Meier will stand on this plaque".  True to his word he was there for the whole hour. The gold plated ball at Zurich HB also has specific dates where it will be rolled along a wooden gangway and then placed back into its glass case. This is known as the Bois du Voyage d'Or and can be seen in the photo above.

 

 The ball has been rolled three times already along the 12 metre wooden gangway.  All of the rolling dates are carved into the ball. The very first was May 9th 2008 and the last will be May 9th 2108. The next time will be August 28th 2033 and Dieter Meier will be 88 years old. What is the point of it all?  The point is that there is no point. It is all insignificant nonsense.
 

   The ball is located in the floor of the main hall.  In this photo (above) it is located on the far left hand side just visible behind a tent that was set up by Flora plant based butter. We feared that the ball may have been covered by the tent when we arrived.

 In a presentation that Dieter might have enjoyed, we were allowed to ride on the back of a cow while holding a cake in order to promote plant based butter. We had to climb a little step ladder to get up onto the cow which was also quite wide and on wheels. Most people took one look and just stood beside the cow.

 Speaking of cows, Dieter Meier owns a steakhouse in Zurich called Ojo Du Agua. Dieter owns a ranch in Argentina and also makes his own wine and chocolate. On the roof of Ojo Du Agua was a cow from Zurich's Cow Parade. During the Cow Parade back in 1998, different artists painted cow sculptures and they were placed around the city.

 

  

 Dieter Meier is involved in many different ventures. Is he truly the master of nothing? Is he the Father of Excess? Take a train into Zurich and decide for yourself. And for me, it's Claro que si.

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Map of Our World
La Boule d'Or Centenaire , L'Ange Protecteur

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Post # 346

Craven Road

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  Craven Road
Date:  March 2025

  Toronto is home to the Art Gallery of Ontario, as well as many small independant galleries. Only a few people know that they can also take a walk along Craven Road and see a variety of art.

 

   One side of Craven Road is full of houses and the other is a wooden fence. There is a wide variety of framed art and strange objects stuck to the fence. The part of the fence above has a mirror, a guitar, some hockey gloves and a painting of a blue person.

 

 

The nice thing about Craven Road is that it is always open. Day or night. Rain or shine.

     We don't know who the artists are behind this artwork. Are they paintings from residents of Craven Road? Are they artwork from a local school?  Is everything found art with artists unknown?

         There were many paintings of nature and scenery. Perhaps the artists will one day be held in as high regard as the Group of Seven.

 

        As we admired the random collection of art stuck on the fence we also wondered who started it all?  Did someone from the street want to look at something more than an empty fence across from their home.

    This section of the wall had the front and back of an owl, an upside down Q, a little red man and more.

    Another section was filled with instruments and shoes between the works of art.We assumed that the instruments no longer worked and were repurposed as decorations. If they were stuck on the fence in working order, Toronto's weather would have made quick work of them.

     Another section featured two guitars and a photo of a pier.

      A few other sections featured animal artwork. These were most likely to remember favourite pets.

    How did it come to be and who may be the mystery curator of this fence full of art? We may never know. What we do know is that when all the other galleries are closed, you can always take a walk or a drive up Craven Road.

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Map of Our World
Craven Road

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Post # 345