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A VACATION TO REMEMBER

by  Madelyn Miller

Can you imagine what it must have been like to be on the Titanic? What if you could actually see the icebergs that caused the ship to go down? And eat the same meal the passengers were served on that last fateful night?

Better than the movie, the Titanic Historical Tour enables travelers to "see" what happened on that fateful night of April 14th, 1912. Vacationers who visit Newfoundland and Nova Scotia this summer have an opportunity to experience some of the events of that "night to remember".

There's a boat excursion to "Iceberg Alley," off the coast of Newfoundland, where from April through July a procession of massive icebergs drift southward. These have been cut loose by the Greenland Ice Flow, the polar ice cap formed 10,000 years ago that carved the iceberg that sank the R.M.S. Titanic. For an incredible souvenir, get yourself photographed just a few yards from these walls of ice that tower four stories high.

At St. John's, visit the cable station at Cape Race, where the first distress signal from the Titanic was received. Eventually, a life preserver from the doomed liner washed up on Newfoundland shores, and is now on display at the Newfoundland Museum.
 
At one of the city's finest restaurants, you'll sit down to an interpretive meal, based on the last meal served in the First Class Dining Room of the Titanic. The menu featured lobster thermidor, asparagus salad with champagne-saffron vinaigrette, and chocolate �clairs with French vanilla ice cream.
 
In Halifax, view the "Titanic Exhibit" at the Maritime Museum, where you'll see the only surviving deck chair from the luxury liner, the original wireless log from Cape Race, and a remnant of a carved wooden archway from the First Class Lounge (Kate Winslet floated on this at the end of the movie). Also in Halifax, visit grave sites of Titanic victims, including a violinist from the orchestra, and tour locations used in making the movie.

Luckily, you will have time to finish your travels after the Titanic Historical Tour. And there are many other interesting things to do in the area.

St. John's, the oldest city in North America, is the place where the sun first rises on the New World, where the waves of Europe crash onto these shores. It's a town steeped in history, where on Signal Hill in 1901 Marconi received the first transatlantic radio signal. St. John's also is a town full of fun, with high-energy fiddle and accordion music, dancing to lively jigs and reels, and companionable pub crawls along George Street.

Halifax, with the world's second-largest natural harbor, is home to Bluenose II, a replica of Nova Scotia's most famous sailing ship. The sleek schooner docks alongside a historic waterfront crammed with shops, pubs, and eateries, and offers tours and excursions. Other attractions include the Halifax Citadel National Historic site, a star-shaped fortress that has watched protectively over the city since 1828, and the city's most familiar landmark, the Town Clock, which has been keeping time since 1803. On Sundays in summer, outdoor concerts are held at the Public Gardens, the oldest formal Victorian Gardens in North America.

Reservations and additional information:
Maxim Vacations
P.O. Box 23055
Churchill Square P.O.
St. John's, Newfoundland
Canada A1B 4J9

709-754-6666 or 1-800-567-6666.

courtesy of Newfoundland & Labrador Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation

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