Michey_b’s travelling around

So getting up at 6.30 in not fun even on holiday especially when you have crazy people sitting outside your dorm window until the early hours drinking and singing – urghh wish i had been able to join them its no fun when you are the sucker trying to get some much needed sleep.

Its either the fresh air out here or the fact that i have walked more this week than well i dont care to remember when, but i am totally knackered by 10pm and ready for my bed – yeah i know i such a crazy hard arsed traveller right – who knows things may well change.

Anyhow back to the point instead of ramble – met up with Simon and Katrin and we headed out of Halifax and down the coastal road – shouting stop to Simon and getting him to pull over everytime there was a kodak moment – and let me tell you there were a lot – kudos to Simon for getting to grips with driving not only on the wrong side but in a powerless automatic. I just dont see the point in them takes the fun out of driving – is it just me who likes to ram through the gears like a racecar driver – yeah thought so!!

This crazy country and their obsession with Halloween – i tell you its still two weeks away and the Canucks have gone crazy with th decorating of their homes. To give thm credit some of the ones we saw were awesome and looked really cool – we ended up pulling up in people’s driveways to take pictures – a little rude i grant you but just paying our respects to their artisticness.

Stopped in at Peggys Cove which is a major tourist highlight – but really its just a lighthouse on some rocks and a few shops – but hey at least i went there right – although i saw some better views on the way there – especially at Goat Lake – love their names of places here. Carrying on driving we came to Mahone Bay – which has three chuches almost in a line with each other – had to go round other side of bay to capture this as the sun was in the wrong place but i was cool. We were having a blast in the car listening to Candian radio – cool song out here by a group called State of Shock and he song If i give you my money honey or something like that – well it was a cool song. Simon also decided to introduce Katrin to The Wurzels and unfortunately meant i was randomly singing ‘i’ve got a brand new combine harvester’ most of the day – argghh

We stopped for lunch in Lunenburg which is a cool little town and then headed out back down the coast to Coves Park and Rissers Beach – and after some lucky navigating eventually made our way back to Halifax as it started to rain. Got back into the hostel at around 7 – a totally awesome day and remade the point that having a car over here is the way to go.

Hit upon the idea to stay in Halifax for an extra night so i could watch the rugby and then catch the train with Pattie on sunday – the twenty hour train ride was beginning to loom. Very surprised with Via Rail – they were extremely helpful and the changing of my ticket took a whole 30 seconds amazing – i love this country.

Saturday loomed with driving wind and rain – great so treated myself to a lie in – i know my life is so exciting right!! and then headed to the Irish bar the Old Triangle to get my seat ready for the rubgy. As it turned out this was the only pub in Halifax showing the game and so 2 hours before it was jam packed with Brits, couple of Springboks and a few randoms who were all cheering on South Africa – everyone just loves England – yeah right. Met some very lovely ex pats who had taken over the pub and continued to watch a very nervewracking game – and then it was all over England had lost and the Springboks were champions – fair play to them they were awesome.

And that ended my time in Halifax which was a truly awesome place and a great city to start my trip. Montreal here i come!!

Well thats it the trip started and i find myself a transatlantic flight later in Nova Scotia.  Flight was good if uneventful – well thats what you want really but aint much to write about.  I recommend flying with Zoom if you get the chance, they were great, nice comfy seat with plenty of leg room, good food, good movies the time just flew (ahem sorry) by.

So got to Halifax around 4pm local time – the thing i noticed from the air was the colours.  Man i know i had been told that autumn is great here but that as a slight understatement the colours are reds. orange, yellows and greens and a variety of shades in between. 

So enough about trees – i can sense you are losing interest already – got into Halifax proper and the thing i noticed straight away was just how nice the people are here  – i mean even the passport control man was giving me tips on Halifax and sending me on my way with a smile – usually they just wave you through – i even had the greeters in the airport dressed in their tarten colours welcoming me to Nova Scotia.  So i think maybe this is just a one off – but no the airport shuttle driver goes out of his way on his route to drop me outise the hostel instead of the hotel down the road – and considering my pack weighs a ton and it had started to rain i was mega happy.

This happy friendly vibe continues through the hostel with the staff and the other guys staying at the hostel.  This hostel shoots staright into the top 5 of the best hostel i have stayed in – the one downside is no alcohol allowed – i can hear the shocks of horror from here – no alcohol you say – well its not so bad there are two pubs within a 20 sec stagger so i can forgive it on this one occasion.  But ok off the subject of alcohol and lack of – the hotel is clean, the rooms are spacious and the bunk beds dont creak and groan result.

So as its the first stop on the trip i have taken it pretty easy first couple of days – didnt see the point in getting burn out from museums in the first week – but in last couple of days i have walked all around Halifax from the harbour walk which is fantastic and considering they are having a freak summer here – its been really nice blue skies, not a cloud in the sky.  I also didnt fully research the fact that this is one very hilly city – think San Francisco and so huffed and puffed my way to the top to see the Citadel and almost fell back down when the cannon was set off at 12 noon – so wasnt expecting that.

Back to the freakishly happy and friendly Halogonians – they even stop their cars to let you cross the road – sometimes whilst in the middle of a very busy intersection and just wave you across.  Man i love this place – maybe i will just stay here??  hmmm

So its been gorgeous weather – sorry think its raining back in England right!!! and today (thats thurs) caught the bus out to York Redoubt which was part of the city’s defence system – and is totally dead and no one else around except for me and my new friend Pattie – you gotta love coming at the end of the season we had this entire historic park to ourselves so just kicked back and checked out the views which i have to say were awesome – pics to follow when i find a place to upload them.

Its such a small world – sat in the kitchen at the hostel eating my spag bowl – i know you were so totally interested in knowing that – but anyways the guy sat opposite me is from Poole that was scary enough – here i am in Nova Scotia chatting to Simon from Poole.  He has come with a car from Boston and so we are headed to Peggys Cove tomorrow and then further along the coast so should be a good day will let you know.