31 Days to Acadia

[OZDUCK]

This is the first post in my first trip report. It covers our recent trip to eastern Canada for the period 27 July to 1 September.

We flew CX Perth/Hong Kong/Toronto and then travelled by train, car & ferry to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Acadia in the thread title refers to the name that the French settlers gave to "New France" which basically comprised Eastern Quebec and the Canadian Maritime Provinces (PrinceEdward Island, Nova Scotia & New Brunswick).I was surprised by how much this part of the past is still referenced in these areas.

We flew CX in J – some of you will remember my questions about this choice last year. The flights were pretty much as others had said – very good seats (my wife & I both thought that they could be both a little softer and wider)but with average food and FA’s who while polite and efficient made little attempt to engage with the passengers and had absolutely no intention of offering anything that wasn’t asked for.Still 1,000% better than Y and I don’t regret my choice.Especially, as the return trip took about 46 hours door to door and included 9 hours in the fantastic Pier Business Lounge in HK.


We had a 24 hour stopover in Hong Kong on the way there, staying at the IBIS Central. The rooms were small but clean, well laid out and with good staff. The weather was excellen tand we had a good time .However after this, admittedly very short,experience of Hong Kong I am now firmly on the Singapore side of the Hong Kong or Singapore debate in a thread earlier this year.


I have attached a few photos of our trip to Toronto to this post and in the next one will get to the real destination – beautiful Canada.Also, I will start by offering my thanks to those we answered my questions before the trip or even just posted information that I used.

View from "The Peak"




View from our room







Sunset & Sunrise within 1 hour over Alaska

 

[Major]

That has to be one of the clearest days I've seen for HKG. Normally there is a lot of haze

 

[RooFlyer]

I was thinking exactly the same thing. Looking forward to Acadia.

 

[OZDUCK]

Major & Roo Flyer - there had been a few showers earlier in the morning and that may have cleared away a bit of the haze - perhaps?

 

[OZDUCK]

My apologies for being dilatory in continuing this thread but my son was married this week and I have been rushed off my feet for the last 10 or so days being asked to do unexpected things at the last minute.

I promise faithfully to get my reporting back in train asap.

Regards

 

[OZDUCK]

As a taster - or deterrent - depending on your point of view a couple of photos.

One is of Toronto from the Toronto Islands & the other is of some lovely Victorian villa's near the district of Cabbagetown.

 

[OZDUCK]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]TORONTO[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
Ihave read a number of complaints about Toronto Pearson Internationalbut our inward experience was excellent. We arrived at about 14:30,which is apparently a quiet period at Terminal 3. The long walk toimmigration took more time than the rest of the process. Second inline at immigration with a 50 second “chat” with the womanofficer about our travel plans. A 10 minute wait for our baggage (ourpriority bags worked well at all airports), straight through customsand a 5 minute wait for the inter-terminal shuttle train to Terminal1. Then jumped straight onto the departing Airport Express train.Altogether, would not have taken 30 minutes to be on the train fromleaving the plane.[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]TheAirport Express train to Union Station in down town Toronto workedreally well for us. The line is only a couple of years old andbecause of initial poor patronage the price has been slashed to $12one way for an adult – compared to about $60 for a taxi. Seniorsover 65 get a $6 fare. We had paid on-line so it was a quickboarding. Our carriage was really crowded and we had to stand -trip of only about 25 minutes.[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Ouraccommodation in Toronto was at the Atlantis Suites in York St. Thiswas only about a 5 minute walk from Union Station. These are a fewapartments in a brand new condo – less than 2 years old. Ourapartment was on the 50[SUP]th[/SUP] floor with amazing views overRogers Stadium home of the Blue Jays and the CN tower and out to theIslands. The apartment was fully self-catering with enough food inthe cupboards and freezer so that you could have just lived off theprovided supplies.[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Torontohas a “big city” feel – which is I guess why it often fills infor New York in movies. The infrastructure definitely requires a lotof money being spent. Many of the trams are old, rattly and leaky. Isaw one lose its pantograph as it turned a busy corner in the centreof town – causing an instant traffic jam. The metro trains areoften old and grubby and there was an article in the local paperabout a number of them not having working A/C for months – whentemperatures were hitting 35°C and with high humidity.[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Thecity seems to have only recently discovered that it is on a beautifullake and they are now building walk/bike paths along the waterfrontwith restaurants starting to pop up. The people who built the CahillExpressway in front of Circular Quay appear to have kindred spiritsin Toronto as they built an elevated expressway between the city andthe lake.[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Iorganised a free walk with the “Toronto Greeters” organisation.This operates out of City Hall and is similar to other organisationsworld-wide (including Sydney) where local volunteers will take youfor a free guided walk around the city. They try to match yourinterests with the volunteer. We had about a 4 hour walk around thecity centre with a retired public servant – he was an interestingguide and wouldn’t even have a cup of coffee on us.[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Torontoclaims to be the most multicultural city in the world with 140languages being spoken. The wide ethnic diversity is certainlyapparent as you walk around town. There are are a number of ethnicDistricts in the city – Chinatown, Greektown, Little Italy, LittlePortugal etc. Of course these areas are mixed. More interesting forsome would be the Distillery District (actually was a hugedistillery/warehouse area turned in to food & arts complex.Perhaps a bit like Bercy Village in Paris.) We also spent a few hourson the “Toronto Islands” just a 10 minute ferry trip on the lake.[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]TheKensington Market area was a bit of a highlight full of many“alternative” people and fascinating fusion food - we had pulledpork & beans from a Jamaican/Italian stall and there were otherssuch as Pad Thai Schnitzels etc.[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Thetram & train system is reasonable but it is an easy town to walkaround – being pretty flat. We walked about 17 km one day.Altogether an interesting if not fantastic city. The weather was goodand surprisingly warm – low to mid 30’s with high humidity.[/FONT]

Views from our room - Day, night & early morning plus one of the Islands

 

[OZDUCK]

TORONTO


I have read a number of complaints about Toronto Pearson Internationa lbut our inward experience was excellent. We arrived at about 14:30,which is apparently a quiet period at Terminal 3. The long walk to immigration took more time than the rest of the process. Second inline at immigration with a 50 second “chat” with the officer about our travel plans. A 10 minute wait for our baggage (our priority bags worked well at all airports), straight through customs and a 5 minute wait for the inter-terminal shuttle train to Terminal1. Then jumped straight onto the departing Airport Express train.Altogether, would not have taken 30 minutes to be on the train fromleaving the plane.


The Airport Express train to Union Station in down town Toronto worked really well for us. The line is only a couple of years old and because of initial poor patronage the price has been slashed to $12 one way for an adult – compared to about $60 for a taxi. Seniors over 65 get a $6 fare. We had paid on-line so it was a quick boarding. Our carriage was really crowded and we had to stand -trip of only about 25 minutes.


Our accommodation in Toronto was at the Atlantis Suites in York St. This was only about a 5 minute walk from Union Station. These are a few apartments in a brand new condo – less than 2 years old. Our apartment was on the 50[SUP]th[/SUP] floor with amazing views overRogers Stadium home of the Blue Jays and the CN tower and out to the Islands. The apartment was fully self-catering with enough food inthe cupboards and freezer so that you could have just lived off the provided supplies.


Toronto has a “big city” feel – which is I guess why it often fills in for New York in movies. The infrastructure definitely requires a lot of money being spent. Many of the trams are old, rattly and leaky. I saw one lose its pantograph as it turned a busy corner in the centre of town – causing an instant traffic jam. The metro trains are often old and grubby and there was an article in the local pape rabout a number of them not having working A/C for months – when temperatures were hitting 35°C and with high humidity.


The city seems to have only recently discovered that it is on a beautiful lake and they are now building walk/bike paths along the waterfront with restaurants starting to pop up. The people who built the Cahill Expressway in front of Circular Quay appear to have kindred spirits in Toronto as they built an elevated expressway between the city and the lake.


I organised a free walk with the “Toronto Greeters” organisation.This operates out of City Hall and is similar to other organisations world-wide (including Sydney) where local volunteers will take yo ufor a free guided walk around the city. They try to match yourinterests with the volunteer. We had about a 4 hour walk around the city Centre with a retired public servant – he was an interesting guide and wouldn’t even have a cup of coffee on us.


Toronto claims to be the most multicultural city in the world with 140 languages being spoken. The wide ethnic diversity is certainly apparent as you walk around town. There are are a number of ethnic Districts in the city – Chinatown, Greektown, Little Italy, Little Portugal etc. Of course these areas are mixed. More interesting for some would be the Distillery District (actually was a huge distillery/warehouse area turned in to food & arts complex.Perhaps a bit like Bercy Village in Paris.) We also spent a few hours on the “Toronto Islands” just a 10 minute ferry trip on the lake.


The Kensington Market area was a bit of a highlight full of many“alternative” people and fascinating fusion food - we had pulledpork & beans from a Jamaican/Italian stall and there were others such as Pad Thai Schnitzels etc.


The tram & train system is reasonable but it is an easy town to walk around – being pretty flat. We walked about 17 km one day.Altogether an interesting if not fantastic city. The weather was good and surprisingly warm – low to mid 30’s with high humidity.

Some views from our room :- early morning, day, night and one of the islands.

 

[OZDUCK]

Toronto (2)

Some views of Toronto from the Islands, The Distillery District & St Lawrence Markets

 

[OZDUCK]

Toronto (3)

Kensington Market - plus a local delight

 

[OZDUCK]

Toronto (4)

Inside the Eaton Centre & another "Flatiron Building (1892)

 

[OZDUCK]

Niagara Falls

We took a day trip to Niagara Falls from Toronto. Saved $20 by being picked from a pre-determined spot rather than our building. Traveled in an 18 seater coach - pretty comfortable and good tour guide - Sri Lankan by birth. All the tours seem to have the same format - stop at a winery (wine not fit for a cardboard box), deter via the airport for those who wish to take a helicopter flight over the falls (my wife took the flight - I don't "do" helicopters.). Then quick stop for lunch in Niagara-on the Lake" Pretty town but overrun with tourists - like us - during the summer.

Onto Niagara Falls via the "Whirlpool. Botanic Clock etc. The advantage of the tour was the pre-booked cruise - saved probably an hour waiting in line. Tour was from about 8:45 to 18:00 and reasonable value for money. You can certainly do it cheaper by yourself but for a one-off was fine. I will let the photos do the rest of the talking.


Fort Niagara - USA across the lake from Niagara-on-the Lake (Can)


Horseshoe Falls





American Falls

 

[OZDUCK]

Niagara Falls

More views of the Horseshoe falls. Amazing how close the boats get to the base of the falls.

 

[OZDUCK]

Niagara Falls 3

A couple of my wives helicopter shots - she absolutely loved it and would do it again in a flash. It was great still & clear weather for her.





Also a couple of photos to prove that in Toronto the "Greektown" sign tells the truth

 

[OZDUCK]

Toronto to Ottawa via the 1,000 Islands

We picked up our AVIS car in Downtown Toronto just up from Union Station. This meant I only had to do a couple of left turns and travel about 1Km to get on the Gardiner Expressway out of town. Having waited until about 0930 to allow the traffic to clear a bit and it was an easy drive onto the Expressway, then the Don Valley Parkway and onto Highway 401 until just past Kingston. Then, on the advice of members here, we detoured to use back-roads for a more interesting drive into Gananoque. We stopped there overnight so we could do the 1,000 Island 5 hour cruise.

Gananoque is a lovely little city on the Banks of the St Lawrence. The next day we headed off to Ottawa, again avoiding the main freeway and again using the backroads via Smiths Falls - a much more interesting drive and, according to Google Maps, only about 10 minutes longer.

This was our first taste of Canadian drivers and to me they seem more patient and courteous than Australian ones. However they do appear to have little regard for speed limits. On the 401 the limit was 100 k/hr, I was doing 112 and not keeping up with the majority of traffic. I had booked a Barina but upgraded to a Ford Fusion (Mondeo) for only $8 a day - it was a very nice "top" model with sunroof, built-in GPS etc - well worth the extra money.

401 split into 4 zones - our side was moving well



we are in Canada



Typical Gananoque B &B (usually right side up)



a couple of the 1,000 Islands

 

[OZDUCK]

More 1,000 Islands

As part of the cruise the boat stops at Boldt Castle. This is a "stately home" built by George Boldt the then manager of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York (and involved with the development of the eponymous 1,000 Island Dressing). He built the house for his wife (changing the shape of the island to that of a heart) and, in the best tradition of tragic love stories, she died before it was fully complete and he never returned to the site. It is the United States so we got to be photographed, fingerprinted and pay our fee to be allowed ashore for a couple of hours. This does mean that we have really visited the US and not just been in transit.

more islands



the Castles "Boat House"



showing the size of ships in the river



the Castle

 

[OZDUCK]

Yet more




one island is in Canadian waters and the other in the U.S.



it was really gorgeous



This is when we first became aware of how importantly Canadians view the war of 1812.
It seems to have become a sort of founding memory, even though it happened before the "creation" of Canada.
I think the defeat of their "big" neighbours is a nice memory for them



if you thought we were having nice weather this proves it - just outside Ottawa and 35C

 

[OZDUCK]

Ottawa

We spent 4 nights in Ottawa at the Delta Ottawa City Centre - now part of the Marriott group. The location was pretty good - especially being literally just across the road from the AVIS drop-off garage. However the hotel was nothing special - very tired and the A/C could not cope with the 35C days. The staff were nice but I wouldn't really recommend it at the price ir charges.

Ottawa itself is a pleasant city with some nice Government buildings,pleasant views and good museums. We walked to the other side of the river into Gatineau - which is in Quebec and firmly francophone. We really only saw the government district which had unfortunately a "brutalist" architectural style.

We were in Ottawa for my wive's maternal family line reunion - 18th Century German via Malacca/Singapore. The local orgainsers had put on some interesting treats like a night tour of the Gatineau Canal area by a local historian, visit to the Canadian Museum of Civilization and a "First Nations" (definitely not Indians) display.

To be honest while we enjoyed our time in Ottawa I wouldn't have it on my must see list for any future trips to Canada.

Parliament House ( Gothic Revival - Completed 1927



Son et Lumiere



On a different night with fireworks in the background



These carts for the kids seem to be more popular than pushers in Canada



Trooping the colours - every day from late June - August

 

[OZDUCK]

More Ottawa

R1deau Canal - takes about 1 hour to move through this set of locks. Rideau Canal was built as a military transport link following the War of 1812.



During summer manually operated by Uni students doing summer work



Visited by Obama during his first visit



"Famous" Canadian treat at Byward Market



Basically doughnut dough deep fried with sauce added and then coated with flavourings.
This one was "original" - sugar and cinnamon. It actually was not very nice. It appeared to have been cooked too quickly or at the wrong temperature and tasted like a soggy doughnut. We had another later in Halifax which was a lot better. But still not as nice as i had thought it
would be.

 

[Viridianne]

We drove from QC to New Brunswick last summer. I love the charm of eastern Canada. Looking forward for the rest of your TR!