Canada
Where we’ve been...
In planning the trip there were a few requirements: 1. Earliest we could go was Sunday 12th August; 2. Our daughter Sarah’s 21st birthday was on 16th August and we wanted to be at Niagara Falls on that day; 3. Maximum 5 hours driving on any one day. We visited Western Canada (Rockies and Vancouver) in 2006 and we all agreed that it was probably our best holiday so the bar was set pretty high in terms of our expectations for Eastern Canada. We weren’t disappointed. First the bad news – when we went in 2006 you could get C$ 2.40 to £1. Now you’re lucky to get much above C$ 1.50 to £1 – therefore everything is a lot more expensive. This was not surprising but it is a massive change that is not likely to improve in the foreseeable future. And so it came to pass that the Connell clan comprising me, Michelle (my wife), Sarah (our daughter), Jonathan (our teenage son) and Dan (Sarah’s boyfriend) set off safe in the knowledge that we would miss what promised to be a dreadful Olympic Closing Ceremony to London 2012, featuring the Spice Girls. We thought Canada was far enough away to escape.
Toronto
The flight was fine and we eventually got to the Royal York hotel (they had forgotten to arrange our transfer from the airport) and we arrived in the early evening and settled down to unwind with some food from the lounge and the TV. We turned on the TV to see what appeared to be a dreadful local TV show but no, it was the closing ceremony in all its glory. Considering how brilliant the opening cere mony was, we were all amazed at how tacky, bad and boring the part of the closing show we watched was. I digress. On our first day we walked out of the hotel and headed for the CN Tower before the crowds built up. We find that one positive of jet lag when you fly east is that you wake up early in the morning and can have a people free breakfast and start to the day. I suffer with vertigo (more to follow later re cable cars at Mont Tremblant) but I also have a view that if you have a once in a lifetime opportunity to do something rewarding, then you should give it a go unless it is likely to kill or injure you (bungee – no thank you). These twin objectives sometimes clash spectacularly and looking up at the Tower and its external elevators (not glass – or so it appeared) from below I was really torn between my desire to see
Toronto from the top of the CN Tower and my fear of getting to the top. In the end, the brave pairing of Jonathan and I headed for the lifts – everyone else chickened out. Doors closed, palms sweaty, feeing clammy, standing in the corner and looking at the wall if necessary – all good so far. The lift starts to move and I realise that part of the wall and the floor are glass so have to quickly look somewhere else in the lift. The ascent took longer than I hoped but I survived without accident. The views were spectacular of the city and the Islands area just across the lake. There is also a small airport by the Tower and you can see planes coming in and taking off. Jonathan braved the glass floor section but I didn’t dare. Well worth a visit. When we got down to join the others we wandered along the waterfront to the ferry across to the Islands area. Michelle had found this as a recommendation and it was a great way to spend a few hours and get acclimatised. The island area is a group of linked islands that span approx three miles over the lake from the mainland. There is a short ferry ride across and you can hire bikes (which we did), canoes/kayaks or wander about. The views of the City skyline from the islands were great.
64