Niagara Falls, Montreal, Quebec and Ottawa

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Well Toronto to Niagara Falls is only a couple of hours away but beware traffic in Toronto can be very slow going so it can take longer than you think. Arrived in our B&B and were plesantly surprised. It was within easy walking distance to the falls, the room was lovely and the breakfasts were delicious. On first walking upto the falls Bazi said "I don't like to say this but I'm a bit underwhelmed by the falls at the moment". I think as we walked up we first saw the America Falls and thought is this it but a little further along the road and the horseshoe falls open up before you and then yes it's an awesome sight. The sheer power and volume of the water cascading over the edge and plummeting downwards is amazing, in fact it's quite mesmerising watching it go over the top. After spending time just gawping we ambled into what we thought was going to be a pretty town with nice restaurants and shops. HOW WRONG! It's a mega tourist attraction and as such a series of fast food restaurants, ghost train rides, madam tussauds, tacky tatty shops, tattoo parlours and everything else you can think of is here. It's horrible and a huge disappointment. To get a nice town you need to stop in the car and keep going until you reach Niagara on the Lake. Anyway the next day we had booked a half day trip which included the Maid In The Mist boat trip. On hindsight we should have just gone and done this on our own from the Canada side but not knowing what was in store for us off we went. First thing we did was go over the bridge to the American side so we all had to jump off the bus, take our passports and stand before the officials who asked loads of questions before we were allowed back on the bus to carry on with the tour. Alas we sat outside Starbucks for 20 minutes waiting for people that were late. We ended up with an American family behind us who were a giant pain in the ass. I kept thinking next stop I am going to throw mother, daughter and bawling sprog over the dam falls!! we spent time visiting things that we had little interest in, waiting for people and a lunch stop that wasn't really needed. We felt as though the whole day was a game of going from Canada to America and back again. The only highlights were the boat trip right upto the base of the falls which was magnificent. We got to wear a really sexy huge blue plastic bag which did keep us dry. Seeing the water coming down from above makes you appreciate the power of the falls and after getting off the boat we climbed up the side of the falls to get an even better view and further soaking. It's hard to imagine why people would want to get into a barrel to go over the top plunging a mere 51 metres to the bottom. In fact if you pull a dare devil stunt without permission you can be fined $100,000. Just as well we didn't have the time or the money!! We went up the tower to get a birds eye view which was good and later on at night we went back up the tower to watch the fireworks. I had been really looking forward to this and had especially booked everything around being in Niagara for a Friday firework night, unfortunately being in the tower with hundreds of other people, being pushed and shoved out of my space by 6 large burly men and not seeing anything I felt proper upset. Sometimes we build things up in our heads to a point that we think they are going to be so manifique that when it doesn't happen it's a bit deflating. Bazi bless him did his best to say that they were no good anyway but hey ho. What is impressive though is that the falls are all lit up at night in different colours, yellow, purple, red, blues and they look lovely. In fact dispense with the fireworks and just give us the light show. Every night they are lit up until 11pm and it's great. The falls were great, our accomodation lovely but the trip we had booked and the area around the falls we didn't like and were a bit disappointed in.

Off on the road again today and it's a brief overnight in Kingston. A nice town with lots of nice shops and restaurants. It has a harbour and you can take a two hour cruise from here to see the thousand Island. Unfortunately we didn't have time for this and tomorrow we are heading off to Montreal.

Well a couple of days in Montreal to look forward to and on arrival we were shown around our apartment which is nice, given loads of information by our host and a map and then off we went. Couple of things I didn't know about Montreal was that it is an Island as it is surrounded by both the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa rivers and it is totally not what I expected as it is very very French. All the road signs, menus and tourist information is in French and this was a little difficult as obviously all we know is a bit of the language we learnt at school. Surprised at this as we are in Canada and they are Canadian French so I kind of expected the English language to be present but sadly not. Thank goodness we know what snails and frogs are in French or we could be eating all sorts!! Anyway armed with our map we set off and made our way down Rue Saint-Catherine which is a long pedestrianised street and it takes you through the gay village, the ladies of the night area, although we didn't see any and after a quick turn left we ended up down all these lovely typically French streets all cobbled and lined with pavement cafés, street artists, music, horse and carriages and even a market with everyone dressed up in French costumes going back to the 1700's it was really lovely. We finished off our day in a Burma restaurant which was a cross between Thai and Chinese food, it was delicious. Next day and off out for more tramping the streets, we visited Notre Dame de Montreal which was a magnificent building. We walked across the bridge to the Islands of Sainte Helena and Notre-Dame to see the Grand Prix circuit and even walked some of the track. It was a bit of a boring walk as you can imagine so we headed off as soon as we could. Just a bit of interest Michael Schumacker holds the record for the most wins a the Canadian Grand Prix with a total of seven. We ambled through the gardens, saw the Biosphere which is a great building and houses a museum to the environment. A quick stop and mooch around the Montreal Casino, no betting, just a free coffee, rest for 10 minutes and a nosy before getting going again. Basically we spent the day walking until we were exhausted And our feet were throbbing, it was a hot one as well so we were glad to get back across to the city where we found an Italian restaurant for a refreshing jug of sangria , some good food and we even had the street entertainers to amuse us. So as everyone seems to say over here "perfect".

Oh my goodness, just how lovely is the old town of Quebec, it's delightful and that is the opinion even in the pouring rain! We have an apartment in the middle of the old town so we are in amongst the cobbled street, pavement cafés, little winding streets that open up into a square, incredible buildings and shops and patisierre's which look so inviting that you can't help but just fall in love with the place. It is tres manifique!!! Well what can I tell you about the region and it's people well the history is that of a people that have strong roots which stem from Aboriginal, French and British influences. Quebec itself is made up of several regions and it is a mix of both the old historical part and the new Quebec, it has many museums, a citadel, parliament building, Montmorency Falls which are higher than Niagara, not as wide and not nearly as spectacular and Quebec is considered one of the safest places in North America. The population of the area is around 670,000 and 95% of those people are French speaking although you can get a menu in English and a lot of people do speak English but only as a second language. The city sits on the Lawrence river and the name Quebec means where the river narrows. They have a saying here that the people are born under the White Lilly of France but live by the Red Rose of England. We did the tourist hop on and off bus which took us around the upper and lower towns, drove out to the falls and just enjoyed mooching around the town. In the evening there were guys doing a ghost tour and they were all dressed up and walking around with lanterns, it is all just so atmospheric. We have loved it all, what a picturesque, beautiful town it's no wonder that last year it was voted as Canada's best.

Arrived in Ottawa and on driving through the city centre the Parliament building is prominent on Parliament hill. It looks just like our Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, it was late afternoon when we arrived so we just had time to dash to the information office, pick up maps and a to do list before heading back down Elgin street for some tea. Elgin street is a long street full of bars restaurants and apartments, it's a bit of a students area. We went back up to Parliament for the 9.30pm light show and OMG it was so worth it. Its called northern lights or Lumieres Du Nord and it is a sound and light thematic journey through Canada's history, it is presented on the Parliament building itself and it was fabulous. There were a few thousand people who had come to see it, most with there chairs and picnics. It lasted for thirty minutes and was a great spectacle. Another day and we have been inside Parliament on a guided tour. A lovely building, very much like our own. It has a library attached to the building which is very gothic and has over 600,000 books in it that politicians refer to on a daily basis and in the centre of the room stands a statue of Queen Victoria. As you would expect we had to go through all the usual security just like at the airport and there were armed police inside, no political leaders however as they are all out on the campaign trail as their elections are in October. A great tour guide, lots of info and free!! After this we walked down by the river and past the canal locks which run through the centre of the city. They were created in the 1700's by John By who wanted to link up Ottawa with Kensington and Montreal. Its a lovely walk and a great cycle track and totally unexpected as we had no idea there was a canal in Ottawa. We went to the statue of remembrance which is a huge monument and beautifully done and there are soldiers standing vigil at the monument and on the hour the piper pipes in the changing of the soldiers which was nice. Then it was off to the By Ward Market which is a bit like Covent Garden. Lots of restaurants, street entertainers, individual shops and stalls selling all kinds of fresh fruit and veg. We stopped here for pizza and then discovered a chocolatier which was just to die for. I had a yummy ice cream and Bazi decided on something beyond sweet and then proceeded to taste all the fudge that had been left out for people to try. It was supposed to be one each but with his cheeks bulging I dragged him out before we were asked to leave!!! Today we have walked our socks off around the canals and down along the river, what a glorious walk on a lovely sunny day. Ottawa was not what we expected at all but what another lovely city.

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Comments

[Sue Draycott]

Fireworks
never mind Vics the disappointment of the fireworks, the world champion ones start in blackpool on the 11/9 for a few weeks and OMG you will be back to see some of them !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! where did that year go.