Canada

Toronto

We luckily changed bus drivers before heading across the border. This was the first land border where we didn’t have an exit stamp, but after being reassured that the US don’t care about the exit stamp, we settled in for the rest of the journey.

We arrived at 6.30am to a muggy Toronto. The metro had just started working and a few shops were waking up. Luckily for us there was a fruit store that was on our way and I picked up as much as possible, sitting on the tube eating a tub of blueberries all dreary eyed.

We arrived to meet our next host, Pasha, a Russian born guy living in Toronto for a number of tears now. He was nice and chatty, but we needed some sleep, so whilst he set off for work, we napped until the late morning.

We awoke (again) to a lovely sunny day. We took a metro downtown and walked along the waterfront. After a ton of sushi, we took the ferry over to the Toronto Islands, a collection of islands all joined by bridges. We walked along the paths and sat on the beach for a bit, watching boats bobbing around.

It didn’t feel like you were in the city until you turned your back and saw all the skyscrapers lined up on the mainland, including the famous CN tower.

We took a ferry back over and walked around a little bit to get a feel of the place. We ended up in the Bata shoe museum where it told the story of shoes worn in different eras, centuries and ages. And from different cultures all around the world; the Chinese shoes women squeezed into with their bound feet, the snow shoes used in the arctic and the blocks the Japanese shoes looked like. There were shoes from famous people that were donated, including Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jordan and…Adam Sandler???




Toronto skyscrapers

 

That evening we had an interesting conversation with Pasha where he claimed Greece just want out of the EU and we should just let their debt go, good for them! And that he’d gladly pay out his pocket for it to be cancelled. Well, that’s not coming out of Russia or Canada’s pockets, but everyone in the EU…only a small 200 billion euros. Sure Greece, let’s cancel your debt that you refuse to pay back so you can sleep soundly at night. And whilst we’re at it, we’ll tuck you in and get you a hot chocolate.

Enough politics!

The next day we took an early bus to Niagara Falls. We walked from the bus station, along the riverfront until clouds of mist came into view. There were two falls; The America Falls and Horseshoe Falls. Both were pretty impressive, but for me, failed in comparison to Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zim.




 America Falls

 

We walked along the Canada side, taking in views from all angles, and getting a little wet. From the mist that lifted from the base of the falls…although it was pretty welcome in the heat!

We decided against a boat ride to the base of the falls and headed back to Toronto after sampling some ice wine.





Niagara Falls

 In the morning on our last day, we headed to the Distillery district, an old distillery that has been converted into shops, cafes and restaurants. It’s got a lovely feel to it, with cobbled streets everywhere. There was even a choir singing a few tunes, including Sweet Caroline. These little events were popping up everywhere because of the Pan America games being hosted here.

We walked through from the distillery district, through the financial one and into the entertainment district, popping into little shops and cafes along the way. It did have a very clean and cute feel to it, this city, and we felt pretty safe wandering around it.

Before we knew it, we were leaving on another early bus to head to…

Montréal

The bus journey was pretty decent, and we arrived in Montréal to be met by our next host, Phil. He was originally from Quebec City so had a strong French accent, but pretty decent English considering he only recently took a language course.

We headed back to his house and had a meal that evening together. He was on vacation, and only more than happy to show us around the next day.

We all headed to Mount Royal (after which the city was named) and climbed the mountain (ahem, hill) to get a view across the city. I’ve got to say that I was a little disappointed and it looked like it was stuck back in the 70s with old school buildings everywhere. It looked very industrious and without character.

It did change however as we walked down and into the old town. We passed by the old bank which was beautiful, and Notre Dame cathedral which was stunning, on the edge of the square.




Saint Paul's St

My favourite street was Saint Paul, where tourist shops, cafes, bars and restaurants littered the French looking street. I can only describe it as cutesy and very European. There were street performers further up, giving it a feel close to Covent Garden and families everywhere, out for the school holidays. We walked back along the riverfront, past sail boats and docks.

The following day was a study day, and we headed to the library…surrounded by Lonely Planet books, we did our research on Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador! Best to be prepared!!! It was a great library, and for a moment, I felt like I was back in Durham university, sitting amongst students, albeit a nicer topic this time.

The next day wasn’t much different apart from our planning turning to New York and Washington – places that were fast approaching! We took the rest of the afternoon to visit St Helena’s island, just a couple metro stops from Montréal island. We were going to head to the swimming pool for a couple of hours, but as we came across it, seeing hundreds of children splashing about in a tiny area, we decided against swimming in concentrated kid’s wee and headed for the beach instead. When I say beach…I mean, a bit of sand and grass surrounding a lake. But it was a bit calmer, less crowded and had a nicer feel to it.


Notre Dame in Montreal

It was sweltering, and the dip in the lake was just the nicest thing ever! It’s a bit strange here, with temperatures peaking around 5pm…to 34 degrees Celsius today! It’s so strange how it can change from 34 to -25 here. Phil told us about a winter where the rain didn’t freeze until it impacted the ground or other surfaces, so everything looked like a glacier or an icicle…cars, trees, roofs, and electrical wires, leaving the city in darkness for weeks.

We had to be up at 5.30am the next day to head to the bus station for our early start to New York City. For some reason, the bus wasn’t very full and we got to spread out and sleep a fair bit.

Poor lady at immigration was shocked we got a year off and managed to save enough money to travel for that time…it was meant to be her day off today, and she chuckled when we asked if she gets 10 days off a year, ‘if I’m lucky’ she said!

Well, I consider myself very lucky to have this time off and see the world. If you don’t like it, change it!!!