Canada & US Summer 2017

You UIWe used a hop-on-hop-off bus to take in some of the sights around town and also a cruise around the islands near the shorefront of the city. Trains, buses & streetcars make for cheap & easy travel around the place.  Our first stop was CN tower, a 553m observation tower overlooking the city. Much has changed since the tower was constructed in 1976 but it offers a fabulous outlook over the fastest growing city in North America.  Toronto also has a lovely waterfront area containing a number of islands housing homes, yacht clubs & sailing facilities.  On this occasion however all islands are closed and homes evacuated as the water level has risen by a metre due to flooding as a result of nonstop rain in recent months.  After a bite to eat at one of the lovely waterfront bars we continued the bus trip to meet up with Judy for an evening watching local baseball favourites 'Blue Jays'. They won! 

We had a lovely day for our trip to the falls although heavy rain had been predicted for the whole day. There was some rain when we were at lunch but fortunately it cleared while we were on the lake and by the falls later on. It really is spectacular from all angles.  En route we stopped firstly at a local winery-Trius. There are many wineries in the region. Ice wine is the specialty of the area & it uses grapes frozen on the vine to make a particularly sweet variety.  Next stop was Niagra on the lake, a quaint and charming old town that sits on Lake Ontario and overlooks Toronto in the distance.  The town sells lots of local produce & is popular with tourists. It also boasts an intriguing building which is North America's smallest working church that accommodates only a maximum of 6 people & is apparently a popular wedding venue. 

Flight here was long & arriving before you left previous country after 13 hours seems to mess with your head & other body parts. The city seems modern & very efficient. People are friendly & Judy's place is central to so many things with a lovely view over a marina. Everything turns to snow & ice in the winter. 

The Canadian Adventure DATE PLACE ACCOMMODATION Sunday 25 June Depart Brisbane International Airport Hyatt Hotel Soeul $208 Paid (Expedia) Sunday 25 June Arrive Toronto 09.55am Travel to Judy’s apartment.   Remainder of day at leisure. Judy’s Place Monday 26 June Toronto Explore Toronto Judy’s Place Tuesday 27 June Toronto Niagara Falls day trip – booked by Kaye - Viator