K & L's Travel Blog

The first morning it is hard to wake up.  I am deep in vivid dreams and I just want to sleep.  But the pull and excitement of the day wakes me up.   Even with all our planning we had neglected to deal with the phone.  Jane and I have a long tradition of calling each other from airport waiting areas, but this time the call from Toronto came through costing tons of money.  Oh yea, what plan are we on?  Lots of drama but finally Lorena got the phone fixed so we can use it.  

It is funny to have neglected this basic element.  Travel is such a push pull between control and lack of control.  It feels so good when a plan works out, like the local bus we took from the airport.  Lorena had seen that “seniors” ride free on Tuesdays. We could not quite believe it as the driver waved us on with a smile.

But some plans don’t go as expected. Lorena had spotted “Montreal Style Bagels” right next to our hotel.  She makes it out and comes back with fresh bagels.  They were awful.  As flat and tasteless as possible.  The guys in the store were sweet and friendly but this is not our style of bagels.  Have I mentioned that everyone in Canada is kind and helpful?  It has emboldened us to ask for help in a way we have not done since we first started traveling.  We stop everyone with “Where is…? and “How do we…?” and we have not once been put off or rejected.  

We ride the ferry to Halifax and walk around the city.   The terrain is hilly shooting up from the water.  It is in transition with lots of construction, funky old turn of the century buildings and sleek modern buildings.  There is a strong woo woo vibe with small stores hawking brightly colored art mixed in with high rise glass office buidings.  The shopkeepers  are happy to see us.  Everyone asks “Where are you from?” I think they are so glad to see tourists coming back.  Just like we are so glad to be traveling again. 

Lorena guides us to the municipal gardens and I am thrilled.  They are very British and classical in style.  The spring weather is about 3-4 weeks behind us so the rhododendrons and flame azalea are in full bloom. It is beautiful.  Lots of workers planting and working on the beds.  I can’t take it all in so all can think is that “I have to come back.”  

For lunch we find a Japanese restaurant.  We order squid and baby octopus.  I am attracted as always to the Japanese fried chicken but I am determined to eat seafood.  It is all very fresh and beautifully prepared.  Lorena is eating the squid and looks horrified.  Truly horrified.  I thought maybe it was the squid ink but it was the chewy texture of the tentacles.  I finished off the dish – no problem here.  

We head back to the ferry and buy wine at the ferry shops.  We are both exhausted and I approach a seafood shop and ask, “what can we buy that we can eat in our hotel room later on?”  “Take back some of our clam chowder.”  Oh, what bliss, chowder with lobster, clams and haddock with bread and wine while watching the ferries in the bay from our hotel balcony.