Canada Part 2

Today we are up early and off to the airport to fly to our next destination which is Toronto.

From the hotel we where going to take a taxi to the local station and catch the skytrain to the airport but the taxi driver informs us that it will be cheaper if he takes us all the way as there is two of us, so that's what we do.

We arrive at the airport and this time it's another self service check in. We are travelling with Air Canada and it's a surprise that we have to pay extra for your hold baggage, about 56 dollars extra for the two of us which we have no choice and have to pay. The machine prints out your boarding pass and luggage tags, you put them on and then take your bag to the self service drop off point and away it goes.

As it's a 4 hour flight we ask about the on flight food, it turns out that this isn't included either and will cost extra on board or you can by something in the airport to take on.

When we get on board all seems ok and whilst we are waiting to take off we look through the movie channels to see what to watch.

We look through the pocket in front of us for our headphones and can't find any so ask the flight attendant for some as she passed by only to be told they will bring some round with them after we have taken off and you will be able to purchase them then.

"Puchase some" !! What a joke, unbelieveable that it's another thing that you have to pay for with this airline.

The whole experience leaves a bitter taste in our mouths and unfortunately we do have another flight booked with Air Canada from Toronto to Chicago later in the week which is pre booked otherwise we wouldn't be using them again.

We arrive at Toronto airport and get the skytrain into Union Station which is in the heart of the city right under the CN tower.

The CN tower when completed in 1976 was the tallest freestanding structure in the world standing at 1815 feet, today is it's the third tallest.

We catch a taxi from here and take about a ten minute journey to where we are staying. We have used Mister B & B to book the accommodation which offers rooms in people homes as a cheaper alternative to hotel stays. We are pleasantly surprised and have a very nice room and bathroom and the owner has left us a small bottle of bubbles and chocolates to enjoy.

We freshen up and then head out to Wellesley to meet with two guys Paul and Stuart that are friends of a lady called Kim that we met whilst on our travels in Vietnam.

The guys takes us to a pub for some food and then onto a few others for drink. We have a great evening and make some new friends.

Just before we leave the pub it starts to rain so catch a taxi back to where we are staying.

Day 2

Today we head back to Union Station where we are catching the train to Burrlington and a bus to Niagara Falls, the whole trip takes about two and a half hours.

We check into our hotel which is on Stanley Avenue and as we had a late night last night have a nap for a few hours to recharge our batteries.

Later that afternoon we head out to start exploring. We are just a ten minute walk from the Canadian Falls so it not long before we can see them and decide to walk to the head of the Falls to start and then stroll back along the park and the edge of the gorge which gives us a great views of the Canadian Falls and the American Falls.

We continue our walk and come to the far edge of the park where we decide to by a ticket for Hornblower which is one of the boats you can take a trip on into the falls. As it's a little late we keep the ticket for the following day as it can be used any time over the next three days.

We continue through the park and back into the town area where there are lots of amusement arcades and fast food joints, it's a bit tacky but has to be seen.

From here we go back to the gorge and find somewhere to eat and relax a bit until it gets dark when we will take a walk back along the falls to see them lit up at night. When we do the colours projected onto them create a beautiful effect.

After a while we head back to our hotel and the lady on the desk says we must go to Niagara on the Lake so she tells us the best way to get there and that we can purchase a 24 hour pass that we can use round Niagara Falls on the Go Bus, hop on hop off service to get to the Floral Clock and there we can get a connecting bus to Niagara On The Lake, so we decide to purchase that for the next day.

Day 2

Today is Andrew’s birthday so we have a lie in and I bring him tea in bed as a treat, we get up , go for breakfast in the hotel. There is a great choice on the breakfast menu and it is so cheap compared to what we have been paying elsewhere.

After breakfast we head across the road to pick up the Go Bus which takes us back down to the falls. There we change onto the green route Go Bus that takes us along the falls park area adjacent to the gorge.

The scenery is lovely with glimpses of the Canadian and American Falls and along the way there are various other points of interest that you can stop at such as the Rapids Gorge Walk, the Whirlpool Cable Car crossing, the Botanical Gardens and Butterfly house.

We arrive at Niagara On The Lake and the bus drops us just on the edge of town. From here it’s a five minute walk into the town which is very picturesque with it mix of timber buildings painted in different colours and old brick buildings.

The streets are planted up with trees, shrubs and bedding plants along the verges and down the middle of the main street, its very beautiful.

Off the main street there are many leafy roads with stunning homes, some old, some new but they look like they have come out of a homes and gardens magazine.

We walk right to the end of the road down to lake Ontario where across the water you can just about see Toronto and the CN Tower in the distance.

From here we do a circular walk back to the town taking in the views across the lake and going through the lovely leafy streets.

We end up at Corks restaurant in the town for Andrew’s birthday lunch. He has French Onion Soup with garlic bread and I have breaded brie with a marmalade sauce and we both have a birthday beer to wash it down, most enjoyable.

After lunch we catch the bus back to Niagara Falls and head to the Hornblower boat ride that takes you on a trip on the water right into the horseshoe falls.

You are provided with a poncho to keep you dry as when the boat gets near to the huge waterfall the spray and mist coming off them can get you soaked. It’s a great experience and we both thoroughly enjoy it.
From here we head to the tunnels experience which are tunnels that give you access behind the falls and an area where you can step out beside them at a lower level and get a good view.

Being next to them and experiencing the noise makes you appreciate the volume of water that is cascading down, in fact some 34 million gallons of water tumble over the falls every minute.

After that we walk back towards our hotel along the falls to the Incline Cable Car which is a quick way to get to the top off the gorge and gives you a great view as you go up.

As it's Andrew's birthday on the way we stop at a bar with glimpses of the falls and sit for a while with a beer and enjoy the view. Then its onto a Steakhouse for a lovely Birthday meal and for a change we have a nice bottle of red wine to go with it, perfect

After dinner we head back to the falls as we have heard that at 10.15pm there will be fireworks.

As we walk down it starts and we get a glimpse of it through the trees, it's doesn't last for long but never mind we have discovered a different area we hadn't walked through before which is beautifully planted and has a great water feature in the middle which is illuminated with changing coloured lights.

We are now getting a bit tired so head on back to our hotel and to finish the day I had left a bottle of bubbles chilling on ice in our room so when we get back we pop the cork and enjoy a glass to round off Andrew's birthday celebrations.

Day 3

Today we only have the morning left here in Niagara as we will be heading back to Toronto at 2pm. We go back for a walk around the area where the fountains were lit up last night to have a look at the lovely gardens, in fact all the parks around Niagara are lovely, well maintained and full of colour and very pleasant to walk through. One of the parks specialities seems to be Hosta's, they are grown everywhere and grow to a good size and don't seem to get eaten by slugs or snails.

Well that's are visit for Niagara done and we get a taxis from our hotel to the bus pick up point which is 15 minutes down the road by a bit far to lug our bags that distance as we found when we arrived. The bus picks us up and takes us to the train station at Burlington for the connection to Union Station back in the City Centre in Toronto.

We are being met there by a friend we made whilst on our Vietnam leg of our tour, a lady called Kim and her partner Mark pick us up at the station and we have arrange to spend that afternoon and evening with them.

Kim takes us to a small bar to listen to her friends band playing loud rock and roll music and have a few beers. Then it's onto a tapas bar where we enjoy some food, a few jugs of Sangria whilst catching up with what we have all been up to. It's a great evening and great to meet Mark, but the time has gone to quickly and it's time to head to our next stop which is a hotel right next to the airport as we have an early flight tomorrow to Chicago and need to be up at 3am.

Mark and Kim very kindly drop us at the hotel and along the way shows us a few sites in Toronto.