My plane landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia at the end of October 2013. With no plan but to hop on a train and go from one side of the country to the other, to my intended destination of Vancouver on the west coast, I could never have imagined where I was going to go in North America or what I would I see or who I would meet. I purposely travel with no set agenda but with an idea of places I want to see. I walked off the plane onto Canadian soil and saw the national flag waving in the wind - I knew I'd finally made it Canada and I was where I had to be. I walked through customs and was greeted politely and given directions on where to obtain my visa. Arriving around 10pm was great, as there was only a few people ahead of me. I had my visa in time to see the baggage coming out to a greatly surprised Chris. I picked up my bags with the biggest smile on my face, here I was, in Canada!
I hopped in the car with Chris and his family, and headed first to Dartmouth to drop everything off. It was awesome to see houses decked out in Halloween decorations and to see beautiful North American houses, very different to those in Brisbane. Chris took me across the bridge that separates Dartmouth and Halifax, and gave me a quick tour of Halifax. We stopped outside my hostel, exchanged numbers and I thanked him for the lift into town. I dropped off my bags at the hostel and decided I was hungry and needed to go for a walk around Halifax. I found a grocery store, an ATM for some Canadian currency and an open pizza shop. With the further realisation that it was Halloween later in the week, I thought to myself, where would be the best place to go? The idea of New York crept into my head, and I just couldn't shake it. I decided to head back to the hostel and get some sleep.
The next morning, I woke reasonably early and decided to think about New York later on that night after I'd spent time wandering around Halifax. I left the hostel and wandered into a cemetery, where people from the Titanic where buried. Interesting, I didn't know Halifax played a part in the rescue. Next I headed towards the Citadel with a coffee on the way.
Rich with history on World War II and the War of 1812, the Citadel acted as a crucial point to protect Halifax from incoming enemy forces. A few hours later and I wandered down the hill towards the Museum of Natural History. Being a Tuesday, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic stayed open late and was free, perfect. After a few hours at the MNH, I wandered towards the waterfront to the MMA, stopping at some maple leaves along the way.
Cutting through the Halifax Public Gardens on the way back to the centre of town, I had a look around downtown Halifax a little more and headed to the Maritime Museum at the waterfront. Here I learned about the Titanic and the rich maritime history of this part of Canada. Spent from looking at museums all day, I decided to catch the ferry over to Dartmouth to go to a Haunted House. Lots of fun. Upon returning back to Halifax, I headed for a drink and some late dinner, and to make a decision on if I should head to New York for Halloween.
