Halifax: Day 2

So full day number two in Halifax was lovely and well and good with all of the walking around and sightseeing.

First, my mom and I went "whale watching". Now, on the brochure of this "whale watching" is a huge whale doing a backflip with its tail sticking out of the water. Then on the inside of the brochure, it has this cute picture of a whale. Seems promising right? The brochure also goes on to mention something about other wildlife and something about a lobster demonstration and bird feeding and blah blah blah but OMG IT'S WHALE WATCHING!!! So I was pretty pumped. We hop on the boat (see Facebook pictures) and head down the bay, past Georges Island and McNabb island (no relation to Donovan McNabb, promise) and go into the nice, bright, ocean waters of the Atlantic. It's FREEZING and we see the occasional seabird, and I think I see splashes in the water of some sort of oceanic wildlife creature, but alas, nothing emerges from the water. Along the way, the tour guide (whose voice...*shudder* think Fran Drescher meets high pitched girly girl) pulls a (legal) lobster trap out of the water and promptly begins fondling the thing. Her first mate (some lanky white dude) bands its claws so it doesn't try to snap at her, and she continues talking about how to determine whether or not the lobster is male or female. She pulls out this pointy thing from its torso and says "SEE?! IT'S A MISTER LOBSTER!" and the poor thing just sits there and takes it.

The rest of the whale watching trip was relaxing and nice, but as the boat turns around, it dawns on me that no one on this boat has seen any type of exotic wildlife. NO. WHALES. I mean, it was okay since it was a beautiful day out and it was really relaxing, so I wasn't that pissed, but I mean...there were NO WHALES. Or seals. Or any other animal that they talked about.



But on the way back to dock, the little girls (wearing booty shorts...[pause] these girls are around 8 and it is FREEZING up here, wtf moms) throw bread pieces (idk where they got the bread from) and start throwing them up in the air, to which the seagulls swarm down to the boat and swoop up the food and circle the boat before repeating the same action. It was kinda scary but I got some good pics out of it so all was good.

The rest of the day was filled with walking around yada yada yada but then, after the sun set, Mom and I go to the nearest bar/pub/restaurant without a cover charge and sit at the bar. I order a Stella and my mom orders some of the Pale Ale on tap. Luckily, we didn't have to pay the $5 cover charge, cuz this singer/band playing SUCKED. Okay, maybe that's a little harsh but hear me out. First of all, this woman singer lady is in her mid-50s I'd say, dyed blonde hair, and looks like everyone's Aunt Peggy. She just LOOKS like an aunt. Then, once I make it past her face, she's wearing a leopard dress, stopping mid-thigh. [gag] And stealing a line from Sex and the City 2 I'm like, "Isn't that dress a little young for her?" I'm not one to judge older ladies trynna do their thang, but...seriously. I was confused. Especially since the rest of her band looked like grandpas trynna stay hip. I'm expecting her to do some jazz or Enya or some shit, but she starts singing STEVIE WONDER and SMOKEY ROBINSON. [forreal pause] I look at my mom and I'm like WHAAAT THE EFF. I was so turned off. She gravels her voice and lowers her octave, and I'm just....confused, and hating it. Sort of offended too. I mean, her voice was okay for a Canadian white lady, but there was just no way her voice/performing style would do Stevie and Smokey any justice.

Good thing the Argentina vs. Nigeria game was on. I'm not a soccer follower, we all know that. But, I was glued to the bar TV that night. GO ARGENTINA!

And there were no black people or any sort of minorities in this place, so needless to say, I was real uncomfortable. But my beer was good so everything sort of evened out.

Moral of the Day: Whales and black people are rarities up in this place. :(

Halifax: Day 1

After the 2 hour flight to Halifax, Nova Scotia, we pick up our luggage, walk outside, and immediately get holla-ed at by "limo" (aka sedan/taxi) drivers. This shaved head, Caucausian fellow said he'll give us the taxi rate and takes our (my mom and my) luggage, throws it in the trunk and proceeds to take us to our hotel in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. During our 40 minute cab ride from the airport to our hotel, I learned the following things:

1. Our driver's name was Suleyman. [pause] Now, what kind of name is Suleyman? [keep reading to find out]

2. Suleyman was listening to NPR. Not that weird, but he was listening to a gardening show. [pause] What kind of man listens to a gardening show?

3. We're in a residential part of who-knows-where stopped at a stop sign, he points to the left out the window and asks my mom, "what kind of flowers are those?" We both look at the pink flowered bush, and my mom answers, "those are hydrangeas." "Hydrangeas?" "Yeah, they like acidic soil. "Ooooh okay, I've always wanted those. I just didn't know what they were called." "Yeah, hydrangeas."

[pause]

First of all, why does my mother know so much about hydrangeas? She can't even keep basil alive in our backyard! Second of all, why in the world does Suleyman the Limo Driver like Hydrangeas???

4. So our drive continues and ask him if he knows of any good bars around and what young people do for fun around here. He's like..."uhh bars I guess", and I said, "do you know any particular places?" And he remains silent. (awk)

After we pay our taxi dues and check in, my mom says, "you know he was Muslim right? A familyman, too. You know he probably has 6 kids running around his garden." Awk. Def didn't pick up on that, hence, why it was so awkward for me to ask about alcohol, because my mom was like, "yeah, definitely a familyman, devout Muslim." Oops. Cultural No-No #1.

Now, Dartmouth is a hop, skip and a ferry trip across the water from Halifax. We arrive at our hotel expecting a rundown place, since in America, if we stayed at this particular hotel, we would probably find seamen [sic] and bugs everywhere, but this place didn't smell, the people were very nice, and actually seemed pretty clean! Win!

When we arrived to check-in, we ask the friendly hotel lady where she recommends we eat. She names this place around the corner and go. I order Donairs (If you don't know what they are, IT'S AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS, order it!!) and my mom orders Fish&Chips. Our order comes out, and the fried fish look like uncircumsized penises. ...

...

...

And if you know me and have eaten out with me, you know I always take pictures of my food before I eat it, so if you ever wanna see what an uncircumsized penis looks like in food form, I'll be sure to post it for ya. You're welcome.

Then, we take the ferry over to Halifax, which we needed exact Canadian change for, which we didn't have. So the nice, older Canadian police/ferry attendant lady let us cross and described where the closest bank was located once we got over there. We find the bank and the first thing my mom and I notice is that all the bank tellers are wearing matching t-shirts and jeans. Weird. What kind of bank is this?? It's our turn and Gillian (the nice bank teller lady with a British accent and a pixie haircut and an anorexic frame (esp how her clothes looked real baggy on her)) explains the whole exchange process and is very nice and has to make phone calls regarding our American-ness for security purposes, meanwhile I ask her where she's from ("Liverpool, Beatle country") and the dress code ("it's BlueWater day" (whatever that means)). When she finished our transaction, she gave us this nice little coin holder for the beach fo free and wishes us well. She was nice. I liked her. Nice people, these Canadians. Even when we held up the line

for a good 10 minutes, people still smiled and remained patient.

Up the hill at the exit of the bank is the Halifax citadel, a hilly overlook with the town clock that overlooks the entire cityscape/water. Very beautiful. The historic, educational part cost upwards of $80, so needless to say HELL NO we didn't see all that. But, we did see the Beefeater guarding the entrance. And of course I awkwardly stood in front of him and took a picture:

We then walked a few more blocks to Halifax's Public Gardens, and if you ever visit Halifax, you MUST. GO. TO. THE. PUBLIC. GARDENS. Beautiful!! It's free and pretty and romantic (if you're into that) and just a nice, clean family-oriented landmark. I loved it!!

We explored some more, many, many shops and restaurants, and walked downhill toward Barrington Street. By this point, I have only been in Halifax for maybe 3-4 hours, but I had noticed a lot of guys walking side by side...closely (but no holding hands/other PDA) and many...butch looking women also walking side by side...closely. But since there was no PDA, I couldn't fosho determine what was up.

Until we walked Barrington Street. Obviously, THIS is where the young'uns hang out and party. A sex shop, a bong shop, a store called "The Black Market", and a few nightclubs later (esp one that featured a drag show), it was clear that THIS is where the Housewives of Halifax party. Except when I say Housewives, I mean the gays. Lots of well-kept men around here. Not necessarily good looking, but well-kept. Fashion isn't big around these parts from what I've seen.

After walking all around town and seeing a lot for 5 hours, and being up since 4am to catch our flight, we were quite tired and returned to our hotel in quiet, not-as-exciting Dartmouth.

And I watched 106&Park while my mom slept.

It was a good first day :)

(still not at the Semester at Sea trip yet though)

More to come!