Halifax, Nova Scotia
'Just take a right, go 1,000 kilometers, and you're there!'
Despite the map, it's warm and sunny!
Travel is great for a vast number of reasons, but, among them, are the contacts you make. While taking the train to Aguas Caliente down in Peru, Jack had the good fortune to meet a friendly and beautiful Canadian woman traveling with her fiance and family. She and Jack kept in contact and this lead to him writing a travel article for the magazine Optimyz. She also extended an invitation to come visit her in Halifax should he ever get out that way. ExJack is one of those crazy people who actually will show up on your far doorstep if you say he can show up. And that was one reason why Jack took a road trip with his best friend, Zap, up New England, followed the coast around Canada (visiting another friend in New Brunswick) and ended up on that little hook of Canada dipping its toes into the Atlantic. Life is a long and winding road that sometimes ends you up at Halifax.
There are some pretty places along the coast.
How to get there
You can fly, drive, or even take a ferry. There are many ways to get to Halifax, but with a little seaside city so nice, will you ever want to leave?
Jack and Zap drove in from New England and had no issues crossing the border, navigating the wide, very empty freeways, or once in the city itself.
Wallet Roll
The city isn't too expensive. A night out can range from the cheap to prohibitively expensive (7 Loonies for bar snacks!). We stayed in a university dorm room and typically got cheap street food for meals. Our whole weekend in the city probably only rang up a few hundred altogether (mostly for beer).
You can fly, drive, or even take a ferry. There are many ways to get to Halifax, but with a little seaside city so nice, will you ever want to leave?
Jack and Zap drove in from New England and had no issues crossing the border, navigating the wide, very empty freeways, or once in the city itself.
Wallet Roll
The city isn't too expensive. A night out can range from the cheap to prohibitively expensive (7 Loonies for bar snacks!). We stayed in a university dorm room and typically got cheap street food for meals. Our whole weekend in the city probably only rang up a few hundred altogether (mostly for beer).
Two artists enter. . .
What to do
The universities and old cemeteries are both pleasant walks and if you enjoy alternative culture there is a small, vibrant art district. The waterfront had some interesting art, old ships, and plenty of waterfronty things (tourist trap shops, food stands, etc.)
We were invited to a few art shows, poetry readings, etc. and would have went if we'd had more time.
The universities and old cemeteries are both pleasant walks and if you enjoy alternative culture there is a small, vibrant art district. The waterfront had some interesting art, old ships, and plenty of waterfronty things (tourist trap shops, food stands, etc.)
We were invited to a few art shows, poetry readings, etc. and would have went if we'd had more time.
Arrrr
Party Time
Halifax has some international tourists, but we mostly encountered locals and college kids taking summer courses. If you're of college age, it could be quite bountiful. Like most Canadians, the people are usually open and friendly.
Halifax has some great bars that are all within walking distance. During the summertime, there are outdoor festivals, art shows, and plenty more.
Halifax has some international tourists, but we mostly encountered locals and college kids taking summer courses. If you're of college age, it could be quite bountiful. Like most Canadians, the people are usually open and friendly.
Halifax has some great bars that are all within walking distance. During the summertime, there are outdoor festivals, art shows, and plenty more.
Adventuring
There are many day trips you can take from the city if you crave ocean or overland action. Jack and Zap didn't have much time (or money) to do any of that, but Halifax is a proper city that goes a little exuberantly crazy in the summer time so there will be stuff to do if you're looking for a little bit of adventure.
Jack and Zap didn't have time to check out the national parks along the coast, but they really wanted to. So you should go do that! Perhaps a sea excursion as well?
Pisas of the Dead
We came across a historic cemetery and had a little look. Besides some of the famous Halifax figures, it also held the graves of some of the Titanic passengers. There was no Jack Dawson. Zap still believes that movie is a documentary. Gravestones and monuments, many in various stages of tipping over, and many a century or so old, sat comfortably surrounded on all sides by the modern city. Something about the mushy ground made the great slabs start to tilt like hundreds of miniature, macabre Pisa Towers.
There are many day trips you can take from the city if you crave ocean or overland action. Jack and Zap didn't have much time (or money) to do any of that, but Halifax is a proper city that goes a little exuberantly crazy in the summer time so there will be stuff to do if you're looking for a little bit of adventure.
Jack and Zap didn't have time to check out the national parks along the coast, but they really wanted to. So you should go do that! Perhaps a sea excursion as well?
Pisas of the Dead
We came across a historic cemetery and had a little look. Besides some of the famous Halifax figures, it also held the graves of some of the Titanic passengers. There was no Jack Dawson. Zap still believes that movie is a documentary. Gravestones and monuments, many in various stages of tipping over, and many a century or so old, sat comfortably surrounded on all sides by the modern city. Something about the mushy ground made the great slabs start to tilt like hundreds of miniature, macabre Pisa Towers.
A Tale of Two Cities
In many ways, Halifax is a bit of a strange duck. And not just because its set along the water and seems to have waterproof feathers. Often, the city seems to be full of gruff (for Canadian) blue collar types that brave the elements to make ends meet and just want to pound a few cold ones and watch hockey. However, it is also true that Halifax is a strange, alternative arts city. It's a city that seems to be bursting with college-aged kids and all the engaging performances, street art, and 'Keep Halifax Weird' mentality.
This clash of culture shouldn't work, but it does.
In many ways, Halifax is a bit of a strange duck. And not just because its set along the water and seems to have waterproof feathers. Often, the city seems to be full of gruff (for Canadian) blue collar types that brave the elements to make ends meet and just want to pound a few cold ones and watch hockey. However, it is also true that Halifax is a strange, alternative arts city. It's a city that seems to be bursting with college-aged kids and all the engaging performances, street art, and 'Keep Halifax Weird' mentality.
This clash of culture shouldn't work, but it does.
The Seal Club
Should you ever find yourself in this part of Canada, Halifax is a nice little stop. It won't be your sole reason for heading to the great, white north, but it's a charming, small city with lots of festivals and culture.
Should you ever find yourself in this part of Canada, Halifax is a nice little stop. It won't be your sole reason for heading to the great, white north, but it's a charming, small city with lots of festivals and culture.
Travel Tip #26: There are few feelings in the world that the view from the top of the mountain your just hiked can't cure.
Travel Well Traveled Giv'n her
It's SUMMER TIME
Raeggae Pride:
You Really Can Dance If You Want To
During ExJack and Zap's excursion into the night in Halifax, they had a few mini-adventures and one very interesting musical seduction. Leaving their little room at the university, our brave pair found some on-street parking within walking distance of the bars and then started to meander on over.
After visiting the historic cemetery having a pre-beer donut at Tim Horton's we arrived at a long strip of bars. Many brews were being drunk while many Halifaxians (Halifaxites? Halifaxinasious?) sat outside and reveled in the glorious summer weather. Music would occasionally pour out from the bars, but it was a rather tame area for the major city in Nova Scotia.
Jack and Zap were drawn to the Rogue's Roost, both as a reflection of their rather rougish personalities and so we could say 'Arrrrr!' a bunch. I'm sure the staff there had never had patrons do this, ever, and they were undoubtedly very charmed with our originality.
We visited a few other simple pubs and were having quite a modest night. Since Jack and Zap are no longer spring chickens and were a little bushed from all the driving, whale-watching, and wooly mammoth shenanigans of the past few days, they decided to call it an early night. Jack sensed that Zap was getting a little bleary-eyed. She had just flown in from LA and could barely hand the cool, crisp, clean air of Nova Scotia.
On the way back, we cut through a small park and were suddenly set upon by by some shoeless college kids running and giggling along the path. Some strange, catchy noise was coming from far off in the dark trees. From where we were, we could just make out strange shapes, moving and contorting themselves in silhouette. The air pulsed with a rhythmic series of heartbeats.
When we emerged into the clearing (well, when we stepped off the small path into the open grass), we were mildly shocked to see that there was some sort of reggae concert going on in the park. It was a small, intimate affair with perhaps fifty people swaying, dancing, and sitting on the cool grass while a band rolled through some tunes under a little tent.
Neither of us had ever been too much into reggae (my hair doesn't dred correctly and Zap is too innately violent), but there are few kinds of live music that aren't wonderfully infectious. Like a disease that makes you grow cupcakes in your ears, the meandering, endless beats wormed their way into our brains and we were hooked.
"Care to dance?" I asked Zap.
"You just try and stop me, you glorious sonofabitch," she said with fiery passion.
Okay, I can't remember what she actually said, but I do remember that we jumped into the middle of the jumping, swaying, lurching mass of people directly in front of the band and began our own very white interpretation of reggae dancing. The songs went on for ages, which is quite a blessing when you get lost within your own dance steps and need to construct a rudimentary map to find your way clear again.
Conga lines formed and competed against each other, curving about the well-trod grasses like two great snakes squaring off. Zap and Jack broke out all their best moves and none of the witnesses ran away screaming, so the night was a success in that regard, too.
I still remember that the lead singer kept shouting out 'It's summer time!' and 'We love the summer!' again and again to much cheering from the crowd. I'm sure Halifax's geography is both a blessing and a curse. The winters must be a little brutal here so perhaps they appreciate their precious summer months even more. The unselfconscious glee of the crowd, the rhythmic reminders that the world can still be a glorious, warm place, and the charming nature of stumbling upon this little dance party during a random night out in Halifax all combined to make it my favorite memory of my time in the city.
One of the things that Jack has always encouraged his students to do was to dance when they wanted to. If you're afraid to dance (afraid to look foolish), but you want to, then you are denying yourself a happiness just so that strangers might think you're not weird. It's not even so the strangers think you're cool. The happiest people Jack has come across dance when they want to. Most of them aren't good dancers. But they look at a small group of Canadians doing reggae in a park and say 'Quick! Let's get in on that conga line!' and they love every silly minute of it.
Remember, you can dance when you want to. You can leave your friends behind. But your real friends will get in that conga line with you and that will be just fine.
You Really Can Dance If You Want To
During ExJack and Zap's excursion into the night in Halifax, they had a few mini-adventures and one very interesting musical seduction. Leaving their little room at the university, our brave pair found some on-street parking within walking distance of the bars and then started to meander on over.
After visiting the historic cemetery having a pre-beer donut at Tim Horton's we arrived at a long strip of bars. Many brews were being drunk while many Halifaxians (Halifaxites? Halifaxinasious?) sat outside and reveled in the glorious summer weather. Music would occasionally pour out from the bars, but it was a rather tame area for the major city in Nova Scotia.
Jack and Zap were drawn to the Rogue's Roost, both as a reflection of their rather rougish personalities and so we could say 'Arrrrr!' a bunch. I'm sure the staff there had never had patrons do this, ever, and they were undoubtedly very charmed with our originality.
We visited a few other simple pubs and were having quite a modest night. Since Jack and Zap are no longer spring chickens and were a little bushed from all the driving, whale-watching, and wooly mammoth shenanigans of the past few days, they decided to call it an early night. Jack sensed that Zap was getting a little bleary-eyed. She had just flown in from LA and could barely hand the cool, crisp, clean air of Nova Scotia.
On the way back, we cut through a small park and were suddenly set upon by by some shoeless college kids running and giggling along the path. Some strange, catchy noise was coming from far off in the dark trees. From where we were, we could just make out strange shapes, moving and contorting themselves in silhouette. The air pulsed with a rhythmic series of heartbeats.
When we emerged into the clearing (well, when we stepped off the small path into the open grass), we were mildly shocked to see that there was some sort of reggae concert going on in the park. It was a small, intimate affair with perhaps fifty people swaying, dancing, and sitting on the cool grass while a band rolled through some tunes under a little tent.
Neither of us had ever been too much into reggae (my hair doesn't dred correctly and Zap is too innately violent), but there are few kinds of live music that aren't wonderfully infectious. Like a disease that makes you grow cupcakes in your ears, the meandering, endless beats wormed their way into our brains and we were hooked.
"Care to dance?" I asked Zap.
"You just try and stop me, you glorious sonofabitch," she said with fiery passion.
Okay, I can't remember what she actually said, but I do remember that we jumped into the middle of the jumping, swaying, lurching mass of people directly in front of the band and began our own very white interpretation of reggae dancing. The songs went on for ages, which is quite a blessing when you get lost within your own dance steps and need to construct a rudimentary map to find your way clear again.
Conga lines formed and competed against each other, curving about the well-trod grasses like two great snakes squaring off. Zap and Jack broke out all their best moves and none of the witnesses ran away screaming, so the night was a success in that regard, too.
I still remember that the lead singer kept shouting out 'It's summer time!' and 'We love the summer!' again and again to much cheering from the crowd. I'm sure Halifax's geography is both a blessing and a curse. The winters must be a little brutal here so perhaps they appreciate their precious summer months even more. The unselfconscious glee of the crowd, the rhythmic reminders that the world can still be a glorious, warm place, and the charming nature of stumbling upon this little dance party during a random night out in Halifax all combined to make it my favorite memory of my time in the city.
One of the things that Jack has always encouraged his students to do was to dance when they wanted to. If you're afraid to dance (afraid to look foolish), but you want to, then you are denying yourself a happiness just so that strangers might think you're not weird. It's not even so the strangers think you're cool. The happiest people Jack has come across dance when they want to. Most of them aren't good dancers. But they look at a small group of Canadians doing reggae in a park and say 'Quick! Let's get in on that conga line!' and they love every silly minute of it.
Remember, you can dance when you want to. You can leave your friends behind. But your real friends will get in that conga line with you and that will be just fine.
Travel Tip #117: Mass transit can be confusing for visitors, but locals will be amazingly helpful. Pay it forward.
The Waterfront: Fronting your water since 1964
Every city should have a nice waterfront. Every city tries to. Even Las Vegas attempts to have a waterfront with all those fountains. Halifax does it naturally and politely, just like a Canadian should.
Historical Graveyard
The gravestones sway, the moss grows thick, the crows watch you, and somewhere, off in the distance, you can hear the soft whispers of the victims of The Titanic. They call to you as if saying 'Hold on Rose. Never let go!'
Halifax Nights Out
The great Canadian tradition of drinking. We hit up a few pubs, got some Tim Hortons, secured a kebab, attempted to find an arthouse party some locals had told us about, stumbled across a reggae concert in the park, and finally swayed our way back to the room to watch MST3K before going to sleep.
Halifax Unchained
We walked from near our university stay through the center of the city and to the waterfront. The city is very walkable and the summertime weather was oh, so fine. Some of the older houses are pretty and the big green areas in the city center do well to compliment the very big blue area just outside it. It's a colorful place with a surprising amount of activities for also being a rather small city.
Public Gardens
The public gardens were quite lovely. Although not massive compared to other cities, they still felt quite spacious and varied. One minute you were strolling past a gazebo with oriental influence, the next you were at a small lake with weeping willows. Around the bend was some flower art, then some bulky geese, and a few small artisan bridges. We were lucky to be there just as the flowers were bursting into life and the gardens got quite crowded in the afternoon.
Videos
Halifax Travel Video w/Music
See Zap and Jack stumble around Halifax and dance to a little reggae. Also, for more videos, more 30 Seconds of Zen and time lapse photography, be sure to check out the videos section here.
30 Seconds of Zen: Ladybug Stroll
Just the Hali-facts
It's a nice little city along the coast, except quite a bit farther north than I'm used to. Halifax was the final destination of the road trip and it did not disappoint. Though it wasn't as packed as Boston or as bizarre as Portland, the little city was charming, relaxing, and just different enough to remind us we were in another country. If you're in Nova Scotia or just want to take a quick jaunt somewhere else, why not consider Halifax?
This was yet another Jack and Zap road trip adventure. We've been doing that since college and this is the second time that the siren song of Canada has called us up to the great white north.
We both agreed that our favorite memory of the city was the impromptu reggae concert. Those are the memories that stick with you when you're traveling. Of course you have to be willing to jump in that conga line.
This was yet another Jack and Zap road trip adventure. We've been doing that since college and this is the second time that the siren song of Canada has called us up to the great white north.
We both agreed that our favorite memory of the city was the impromptu reggae concert. Those are the memories that stick with you when you're traveling. Of course you have to be willing to jump in that conga line.
