Halifax, Nova Scotia

For many reasons, I am fortunate to have the job that I have. In addition to being a 43 week contract, there is usually a week each spring that we can take off if we wish because there are few other commitments. I also have ample vacation time to be able to take it off. This year, I am working over the summer but decided to take that extra week off and do a little traveling before summer work began. After some thought, I settled upon Nova Scotia as my destination. I'd like to visit all of the major Canadian provinces at some point (though so far my list only consists of Montreal), and Halifax is only 12 hours from Amherst. It was a random-road-trip vacation with the benefits of international ties. I didn't do any real research until Saturday, May 18th when I realized that there was way more to do than I would have time for and promptly set off on the following day.

I originally thought that I'd be able to hit Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Maine all in this vacation. Ummm, no. Halifax is a fantastic city. It is small and compact, but still with tons to do. It had a beautiful harbor, two universities, public gardens, historical sites, pubs, local coffee shops...essentially, all of my favorite things! Today, I woke up in my super centrally located hostel with my lone roommate, an older woman who ran the Halifax marathon the day before and would NOT stop talking to me. I had to go to the bathroom at 4:30am, and as I was creeping out of our room she must have woken up too. She called out "good morning!" and then tried to engage me in a conversation about how sore she was upon my return to the room. I tried to politely mumble that I was going back to sleep. This conversation was in addition to one yesterday and one this actual morning (thankfully, closer to 8:30am) about similar topics, both of which times I didn't know how to respond. Nor was it clear that she needed me to respond.

After some coffee, I started out on my walk. Halifax has some burial grounds in the middle of the city. They are right next to a church with a very pointed steeple and across the street from a giant Bell Aliant building. The juxtaposition of old and new are really interesting, and the fact that the city was wrapped up in fog was only cooler still. Then, I went to the Halifax Public Gardens and strolled some of the only Victorian Gardens in Canada. Next to the gardens is the Halifax Citadel, the old fortress to protect Halifax from potential intruders. Turns out, that was thought to mainly be the United States. They hire tons of college students to be guides and actors in the summer, which I think is the coolest idea ever. I am SO JEALOUS that UC Davis had no such arrangement with something. I could have been a gold miner in Old Sacramento or something! Come on! They did a 21 gun salute at the citadel for Victoria Day (apparently a commonwealth holiday?). I was going to watch the whole thing, but after about 3 it was so jarring that I had to leave. What an awful tribute. Genie Day is going to have something WAY more sensible.

 At this point, my misty fog turned into rain, so thankfully it was time to head indoors. To museums: I explored the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which had an exhibit on the Titanic. Did you know that they brought many of the survivors and bodies to Halifax? I had no idea, but I guess it makes sense that the rescue ships didn't go all the way to New York. Next up, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. Pier 21 is one of the Canadian equivalents of Ellis Island. As I find with most other foreign countries, I was impressed that our tour guide talked about Canada's reluctance to take Jewish immigrants leading up to World War II in an honest and open way. The United States, of course, did the same; however, I rarely see our history acknowledge past violations in the same way. To a brewery: Alexander Keith's Nova Scotia Brewery makes their tour guides pretend it is the early 19th century and dress in period garb. They have to sing and dance, including singing a version of Loch Lomond that brought back a 2005 bus tour I took in Scotland where the guide played that song on repeat. And, of course, samples!

 To a restaurant: I tried the famous peanut butter burger at Darrell's Restaurant. It was delicious. To a boat: I took the $2.25 ferry from Halifax to neighboring Dartmouth and back. It would have been nicer on a sunny day, but it was still a different view of the city and I enjoy any form of water time. Now, finally, to a coffee shop to write and read. Not surprisingly, I am totally wiped out. I thought about spending another day in Halifax, but with so much to see in Nova Scotia it seems to make sense to head out. I feel like I covered good ground today, and another day would be lovely. Still, with the time crunch, Corolla and I must keep going! Now if only hostel-mate has checked out so I can get some extra peace...