Hiltons in Canada 2018

Last day in Ottawa. Slow start. Breakfast then pack up. Store bags and go out for walk. Buy mandatory been-there t shirt. Bit more shopping then pick up bags and head to station. Go 100yards and Judy realises doesn’t have her backpack. Reverse up, get bag and off again. 2 hour train trip to Montreal. A few hassles getting subway to Place d’Armes, but finally arrive at apartment. Quite good on 13th floor of apartment building on edge of old Montreal area. Settle in and Judy excited to do her first load of washing. Out to dinner and where do you eat in the French Canadian province? Chinatown! Boiled and fried dumplings. Best ever! 1st day in Montreal. Head out to explore old Montreal. First to Place d’Armes the sight of Maisonneuve’s victory over the Iroquois Indians. Then Notre-Dame cathedral. Huge queue so decide to come back later. Head off to the old port area. Lots of historic buildings, great old architecture, restaurants and pubs and tourists. This is where Canada day celebratio...

Thursday. Really good day today. Start out early after breakfast and Oscar’s piano accompaniment. First to parliament to try to get in-demand tour tickets. Get some for 2:20 session. Then just in time for changing of the guards ceremony in front of parliament. Spectacular display of very British process. Pipe band, brass band, lots of guards, precision marching etc. took about half hour. Next go down to locks to watch boats climbing up into Rideau Canal. Apparently takes each boat about 1.5 hours to climb up through 6 locks. Catch water taxi across river, coincidentally crossing into Quebec province with the border in middle of river. Go to fascinating Mosaiculture exhibition in Jacques-Cartier Park. From a distance this looks like topiary animals, but is actually shapes built with framework then covered in flowers. Fascinating process. Massive wire frames in general shapes. Then small “buckets” of compacted soil are attached. Whole thing covered in fabric membrane. Then small holes...

First day we arrived at B&B early and found it was ok to check in. Lillian and Oscar hosts in old multi story heritage house. Lillian very talkative and explained the house rules etc at length. Very pleasant and welcoming. Our room on 3 level with narrow stair cases to lug bags up, but with Oscar’s assistance. Funny old fashioned room. Quite big with ensuite. Bit like big attic room. Out exploring. Find Byward Market area. Lots of market shops, fruit, veggies, meats, cheeses,delis bakeries etc. Have lunch in ubiquitous Irish pub. More exploring.big shopping centre. Pretty tired so buy bread rolls, ham, cheese, tomatoes, wine. Steal salt, pepper, plastic knife from food court. Home for picnic in room and early bed. Next day, breakfast with another guest family while Oscar plays very good light jazz piano in adjoining room. Nice way to start day. Out again to explore parliament precinct. Get on hoho bus and do 1.5 hour tour which is good. Back to parliament precinct and spend hour ...

Back on train this morning for short trip further up the St Lawrence river to Brockville. Check into 1000 Islands B&B. Nice older well maintained house in tree lined street. Leave bags and head out exploring. Wander along shopping streets with interesting shops, cafes, restaurants  etc. bit of a country town feel. Have breakfast at little old fashioned bakery. Lots of fantastic old architecture. Can’t stop taking photos of buildings. Walk down to waterfront where there is a marina with lots of expensive looking boats, plus a couple of tall ships. Big park lining the river bank. Next check out the train tunnel which is supposedly the oldest in Canada now an historical item but also a thoroughfare under the town’s streets. Next do a 1.5 hour cruise on the river around the “1000 islands”. Actually 1800odd islands along the river. All sizes, some privately owned with houses, some public parks, many just islands. Pass by lots of big houses lining the river. Really good cruise. Bac...

Arrived Kingston on upper stretches of Lake Ontario and mouth of St Lawrence, early afternoon after good train trip from Toronto. Check in and head off walking around town. Interesting town of around 100,000. Apparently reasonably affluent city where university & jails are main employers. Quite British in appearance with interesting streetscapes. More Irish pubs and churches per square mile than Dublin by the look of it. Also quite a few Cambodian/ Thai restaurants. Lots of shops and many open on Sunday. Quite a few big grand buildings - town hall, churches etc. very little modern architecture with many examples of historic and ornate architecture. Had intended cruise here but bad reviews so will do from Brockville tomorrow which has good reviews and cab driver here agreed.

Toronto, or Trono as we locals say. Here the locals say that the 2nd T stands for Tourist. Quite good flight from Vancouver. Check into Fairmont Royal York hotel. Good big old grand hotel. 3 hour time difference threw us a bit and found us staying up until 1am and getting up at 10.  First day, Judy still sick so did the hop on hop off thing which minimised required walking. Good overview of city. Dinner in ordinary Italian place near hotel. After dinner drink in the hotel’s library bar, comfortable old style bar. Meet server Michael who becomes a great source of info. Recommends 3 restaurants and some things to do. Next day get back on hoho bus (48 hour tickets) to visit some places drove past yesterday. First St Lawrence markets. Good big markets with everything you can think of fruit, veg, meat, fish, bakeries,  deli’s, all sorts of food outlets, clothes, souvenirs etc. good morning there. Then onto boat cruise (included in hoho ticket) for cruise around Toronto islands...

Catch ferry and bus back from Victoria to Vancouver. Board ship ms Volendam. Good cabin with balcony. Head north through inside passage. Welcome dinner for group in top restaurant on ship. Fantastic quality far exceeding expectations. First stop Juneau. Interesting old town with obvious fishing influence. Huge crab legs being steamed at Tracy’s King Crab House on waterfront. Talk walk around town see statues of politician who organised purchase of Alaska from Russia, governor’s house (no security), ancient Russian church. Drink in the Red Dog hotel furnished with moose heads, bears, guns etc. fun entertainer singing country music. Taking piss out of Aussies. “What’s the difference between a canoe and an Aussie?” Wait staff all yell answer “a canoe will tip”. 😏 Next stop Skagway. Bit of a Hollywood film lot look about the town, but the best bit was the trip on the White Pass and Yukon railway. Old train and ride up into mountains along the railway built in late 1800s. Fantastic engin...