I'd love to say this is about Halifax, but its not, not really...

Here's something funny. I am sitting in a cafe in Halifax, listening to two young people discuss their upcoming 2-months-travelling-around-Europe, while pouring over maps and travel guide books. From what I can glean, they are travelling next summer, which is about 8 months from now, and they are meticulously planning itineraries, number of days to spend in each place, what to do and see on which day, and how to avoid spending too much of their precious money: “like, you know, we could decide that we're going to see that one museum that day and then go have a picnic after, cuz, like, you know, restaurants are so expensive”. She has claimed to cut out some of the destinations on the recommended doing-Europe-in-2-months tour published in her guidebook, because, I overheard her say “I don't think you should rush too much through Europe”. Hah. So cute. So full of hope and excitement. I can guarantee she'll wander through Europe with a gigantic maple leaf stamped to her backpack,full of purpose and intention.

And I can't help but wonder: Have I rushed too much through Canada?

I admit, shamefully, that I'm eavesdropping. I can't help it. Its hard to ignore when A) I understand not only every word but every nuance behind every word and B) its about something I'm interested in.

I can't remember ever planning a trip quite to that extent. I wonder about if I did, if I went armed with all my guidebook info, if I would have had a different life. At least, a different travel life. Probably.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of the Lonely Planet, especially when you are me, a young woman, out there on her own much of the time. I often have one on me for the place I happen to be in. But I generally view it as one does a phonebook; useful when you need it, but no need to read every word in it before picking up the telephone. Its my reference book for when I'm there, and only sometimes do I consult it, usually for practical details, before pointing my nose in that direction. I'm glad that I've discovered the joy of spontaneity while travelling. That, yes, sometimes you need to move quickly, other times slow down, depending.... But that, really, its so much more fun the less I plan.

I bet this young girl will have read every word of every page of several guidebooks about their upcoming once-in-a-lifetime backpacking through Europe adventure, so that while she is there she will have most of it memorized, a self-appointed savvy traveller, and shouldn't be surprised or phased by any of it. Hah. Sweet, really, eh. But she will be surprised by something, I can promise that. Something will shock her, something unexpected. Of course, she'll be witnessing first hand such beauties as the Eiffel Tower and Mona Lisa, of the Parthenon and the Colliseum all of which will (and should) blow her away in her own personal way. But something unexpected will happen to throw her off a bit, something that she wasn't prepared for in all that reading and planning that she's doing about it before going. How she reacts to that unexpected moment will decide for her what kind of a traveller she is.

Good idea to go prepared, I suppose. People often ask me the question, “did it meet up to your expectations?” when inquiring into a place I've travelled through. I always find that hard to answer definitively, as I generally go places with as few expectations as possible. Its not something I do consciously, but I find it greatly enhances my travel experiences. Some places I know about more than others – for example, in my current travel across Canada I am much more aware of what Canada is all about than I was of, say, Japan, when I first moved there. I went there quite uniformed, actually, to say the least, and I think much of my enduring love of anything Japanese comes from my total lack of experience or knowledge of it before I landed. I was tabula rasa when it came to Japan and love Japan because of what I discovered while I was there.

There are places like Egypt and Greece, the stories and histories of which I knew about; there are places like the Phillipines and Sri Lanka, about which I knew comparatively nothing before I went. “Meeting my expectations” implies that I had a pre-conceived idea about what the place looked like, felt like, smelled like, tasted like, of what things I would see and what I would do and how much money I would spend before setting foot there. I am well read. I browse the internet daily. I like to think of myself as well-informed and well-educated. Yet I travel with relatively rudimentary ideas of what to expect – if, for example, I'm going to Moscow in November, I expect it will be a bit chilly outside, whereas the month before when I went to Cyprus, I similarly didn't expect to have to wear a heavy winter coat.

I think that much of the joy that I get when I travel, and indeed may be the reason why I am addicted, is that I go without the well-researched itinerary. I go knowing some things about where I am going and what I might like to do there, and look forward to discovering all that can happen when I'm actually there.

If I go expecting to be a bit surprised, to taste something interesting, to see something different, to meet someone unique, then I guess I can answer that, yes, nearly every single place I've been has met my expectations.

A recent example. Two days ago, when I was driving into Halifax, I was asked by a friend out west where I planned to stay and what I planned to do here. Besides celebrating my birthday somehow, and seeking out the nearest WalMart parking lot to sleep in, I didn't really know. He put out a call on facebook and within hours, actually just as I was driving into town, I got a message from him that a friend of his in Halifax said that I could park the Jamboree in the very big parking lot behind her apartment building. And now that I am there, I've got a view of a deliciously red maple tree outside my window and I'm only a 10 minute bike ride into town. I've gained a new friend in Halifax, Meghann, who works at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, at which I discovered some intriguing Atlantic art, including a glimpse into the very interesting life of Maud Lewis. The weather hovers above zero, so I'll stick around a few days, which includes plans to go out and about in Halifax.

How much did I plan for this year? Not much, really. Who needs a strict itinerary when such wonderful, spontaneous, genuine stories happen if you are just brave, silly, smart, or unattached enough to put yourself out there.

Now, have I ever been disappointed? Well, that also implies that I expected something and when it didn't happen, I felt it. For which, for now, I will answer, No.

PS: The pic to go with this blog is an advert prominently displayed in all NSLC (ie/ Nova Scotia Liquor Control) stores. I thought it was pretty funny. x