Well, we've arrived back in Vancouver after our sojourn to Knight Inlet...
Drove from Victoria up to Campbell River on Thursday, and were delivered out to our Lodge at the mouth of Knight Inlet, via a float plane - amazing scenery..
The crew of the lodge were there to greet us - 8 on the plane, all newbies to the lodge. A lovely fresh crab welcome snack, and cheese and crackers awaited us. After we settled in, we were taken on a long walk around a track on the island - no bears on this island, so pretty safe..
Dinner around a large table for 10, very convivial, plenty of wine and food. Early to bed - early start..
We were breakfasted and on our boat to go looking for bears by 7.30am. About an hour and a half later we arrived at a landing pad, in the middle of Knight Inlet. Were taken to land, and then transported via a vehicle to a salmon river to view bears. There are two elevated, secure viewing platforms, which are locked at ground level for protection!! When we arrived there was a bear sitting in the water, directly below us, fishing!! More bears came and went in the couple of hours we were there - hardly able to be bothered eating the fish they caught - mostly just biting out the belly, and eating the roe - they favoured female fish for the roe! Brilliant to see them, totally unbothered by us - I suspect most of the bears in this area have seen humans many a time, and couldn't really care less. Finally, all but one bear wandered off down the river, and so did we. Good day. On the way home we came across a "pod" of dolphins who accompanied us for about 20 minutes. Try to imagine 200 - 300 dolphins all careering about, diving in and out beside the boat, hurtling along, keeping up with us. It was amazing, and totally brilliant. The scenery en route to these little places is stunning, layer upon layer of mountains, inlets, islands by the dozen, and the weather is still beautiful; cool, but sunny. We are supplied with bright orange "survival suits" which we have to wear on the water, and we feel like outsize gorillas in them! The lodge supplies picnic lunch every day, and we eat wherever we feel like it - today it was on the "pad" in the middle of the water, but it won't always be thus!
There is a spa on the deck of the lodge, overlooking the inlet, so June and I felt obliged to jump in - her son David also joined us, and it was a nice spot for a drink or two before dinner.
The next day, we headed off to another place - "up river" to again look for bears - possibly! No luck, they were obviously busy.. Again, the scenery was magnificent, and the day started off very pleasant (weather wise), but got a bit windy later - rough in the boat going back to the lodge. Again we were accompanied back by this enormous pod of dolphins. This time, they seemed to split into two - one group was followed by the other about 10 minutes further along the way!
The other group of four went to the bears today and they had a mother and two cubs cavorting about below them for ages, she was rolling around in the grass directly below them, suckling the cubs, and playing with them. One of the girls had a video of the whole thing, and it was brilliant. They paid for their good luck with the bears by being out on the water coming home, when it became horribly rough, waves blowing up over the windscreen of the boat - and had to be rescued by a passing, much larger boat. Big excitement for them!
Our last day we went whale watching.... Not much but magnificent scenery to see for a couple of hours, and then an Orca appeared. She buzzed around us for about 30 minutes, and is apparently known to all the locals. It was brilliant to see her, and she put up with us following her for quite a while. It was a brilliant sunny day again, and very warm in the boat.
After a stop at a small village back on Vancouver Island, we headed out again. This time we ran into quite a few humpback whales. One humpback obligingly breached TWICE right beside out boat - we were delighted..... but sadly didn't get it on a camera! An hour or so later, there were many humpbacks wandering about, in close proximity, in this particular part of the harbour, and there seemed to be schools of small fish which they (and the gulls) were chasing. A very exciting afternoon, and we reluctantly left as we had to be back to the lodge to catch the seaplane back to Campbell River.
Also passed a rocky outcrop in the harbour which was draped in a whole heap of Sea Lions - totally unphased by our presence. Brilliant...
Sad to leave, but greeted our replacements who came in on the sea plane, and we went back to Campbell River. Stayed the night at a famous fishing lodge - Painter's Lodge. Joan's son David stayed for dinner with us, and then went home - he conveniently lives about 15 minutes away.
Said goodbye to Joan this morning, and flew down to Vancouver....
Really on the homeward leg now, and can't wait to get back. Three nights in Vancouver, then down to San Diego. Will probably post once more before we get back..
Cheers
Monday, September 28, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Victoria - Wednesday 23rd
Just got a photo from Anne and Wallace, their enormous Golden Retriever, Stumpy has taken up residence in one of our dogs' beds - how hilarious. He seems to be hanging all over it, but dead to the world. Good to know they are having a good time - the 'displaced' Leith dog was probably sleeping on Wallace's bed if the truth be known!!!
Victoria - Norman and Joan
Norman was waiting at the bus station for us, so he very kindly drove us home. Dying for a cup, and it was brilliant to catch up with he and Joan. Had SO much to tell them...
Poor old Norman was on rations prior to having one of "those" procedures, so we didn't play up, just had a quiet dinner.
Joan took Arthur and I walking around the area near where they live - lovely little beaches, rather pebbly, and wonderful views - over the water, past the Gulf Islands, and looking to the Olympic Mountain range in Washington State, USA. Brilliant weather again - low twenties. We have been so lucky. Had a nice lunch, and took care of the domestic chores - more washing!
Lovely dinner at home, and a couple of glasses of wine - Norman has been given the okay to drink a little again, so that was good.
Wednesday, Norman took us again to some lovely viewing spots, but unfortunately his eyes are playing up, so he had to take the afternoon to visit his eye specialist. Not good news - he's unable to come to Knight Inlet with us. What a shame - we have planned this for so many months.
Joan dropped Arthur and I in town, and we wandered around for a couple of hours - what a gorgeous small city Victoria is.. Brilliant little harbour, and float planes come and go all the time - once again perfect weather, so it was a pleasure to sit for a while and watch the entertainment. Arch and I picked up the rental car - a 4-wheel drive, ready to drive up to Campbell River in the morning, and on to Knight Inlet. Arch of course, negotiated the drive back to the house like a homing pigeon.
Have just packed our bags - limited to 20lbs each, and after our trekking, I'm an expert. You really CAN wear your clothes more than once, in fact many times more than that!!! Black is perfect, one thing looks exactly like another!!
Anyway, that's all for now, will post again when I can , probably back in Vancouver after the week-end. Hope the football is a good match, and we'll try to find out the results. Hope the Saints win!!
Cheers,
Ann and Arch
Poor old Norman was on rations prior to having one of "those" procedures, so we didn't play up, just had a quiet dinner.
Joan took Arthur and I walking around the area near where they live - lovely little beaches, rather pebbly, and wonderful views - over the water, past the Gulf Islands, and looking to the Olympic Mountain range in Washington State, USA. Brilliant weather again - low twenties. We have been so lucky. Had a nice lunch, and took care of the domestic chores - more washing!
Lovely dinner at home, and a couple of glasses of wine - Norman has been given the okay to drink a little again, so that was good.
Wednesday, Norman took us again to some lovely viewing spots, but unfortunately his eyes are playing up, so he had to take the afternoon to visit his eye specialist. Not good news - he's unable to come to Knight Inlet with us. What a shame - we have planned this for so many months.
Joan dropped Arthur and I in town, and we wandered around for a couple of hours - what a gorgeous small city Victoria is.. Brilliant little harbour, and float planes come and go all the time - once again perfect weather, so it was a pleasure to sit for a while and watch the entertainment. Arch and I picked up the rental car - a 4-wheel drive, ready to drive up to Campbell River in the morning, and on to Knight Inlet. Arch of course, negotiated the drive back to the house like a homing pigeon.
Have just packed our bags - limited to 20lbs each, and after our trekking, I'm an expert. You really CAN wear your clothes more than once, in fact many times more than that!!! Black is perfect, one thing looks exactly like another!!
Anyway, that's all for now, will post again when I can , probably back in Vancouver after the week-end. Hope the football is a good match, and we'll try to find out the results. Hope the Saints win!!
Cheers,
Ann and Arch
Train Toronto to Vancouver/Victoria
Annie had been selected to sleep on the top bunk!!! This was accessed via a very small, almost vertical ladder - with one handrail, anchored to the bunk, and the floor, and with about 15" of space between you and the dunny door!!
Had to go off down the passage for a shower - that was fun!
Breakfast was a free-for-all and I thought it was far too hard for me to attend - I was in a rather bad frame of mind! Arch did the right thing and brought me a piece of toast.
The scenery on the first day was very boring, the odd glimpse of lakes and rivers, but mostly we just went through millions of acres of Spruce Trees - many of them dead - which are not very attractive. We were delighted to note the many little dams the Beavers had constructed in little streams - we were lucky enough to actually see one at work last time we were in Canada, so were very proud of their (sometimes) mighty efforts. Were glad we'd brought reading material and Arch had an endless supply of Sudoku to do! Spent all day in the Observation Car just in case there was anything to see. Dinner was the late shift - 9pm, so had a few glasses of wine to help me sleep! It worked!!
Awoke at Winnipeg. Had a few hours stopover, so Arch and I walked for about two hours, all over the city. Rather a lifeless place, lots of closed shops, and considering it was mid Saturday morning - very dreary. Notable event - saw my first Dual Flush Toilet in North America - a Caroma too!!! Strangely enough, Winnipeg seemed to be a dual "Nationality" town too - on one side of the river street signs are in French (the ugliest side of town), and on the other, everything is in English. Bizarre. However, nobody expected us to speak French.
Re-boarded the train just before lunch and headed off across the Prairies. This was actually wonderful. Reminded us of the Mallee/Wimmera in full harvest time. Very late over here this year, but they're hard at it now. Huge paddocks of enormous bales of hay waiting for collection, and rather short stumpy wheat crops being headed. Many small towns along the railway line - again just like the Mallee I guess. For the first time we saw actual farm animals - some nice fat cattle - mostly beef I think, although we did see one dairy farm. No other wildlife of course.....
This train stops and starts a lot too - we have to give way to freight trains, and they are plentiful and long - I reckon up to 1.5 kms long.... Single track most of the way, with passing sidings occasionally.
Sunday - arrived in Jasper. Pretty much as remembered, some new shops. Jasper is in the beginnings of the Rockies, and we knew from that point the scenery was going to get brilliant. Raced everybody back onto the train after our Jasper stop - we were determined to get a seat in the Observation Carriage. What a lovely afternoon-evening. The mountains are magnificent, and the lakes and rivers plentiful. We saw Mount Robson, covered in snow, but also with a little cloud right on top. What a nice day.... Didn't leave our post until dinner, by which time it was nearly dark anyway.
It was a standing joke amongst those passengers who knew us, that we haven't seen any wildlife in Canada. There was a shout over the intercom that there was a mother bear with her cub on one side of the train - Arthur saw them, but I missed out of course!! Waiting for Knight Inlet..
Arrived in Vancouver without incident, and of course whilst waiting for our bus tickets onto Victoria, Arthur had an altercation in the queue with one chappie who pushed in!!! He turned out to be on our bus too, and they smiled sweetly at each other!!
Had to go off down the passage for a shower - that was fun!
Breakfast was a free-for-all and I thought it was far too hard for me to attend - I was in a rather bad frame of mind! Arch did the right thing and brought me a piece of toast.
The scenery on the first day was very boring, the odd glimpse of lakes and rivers, but mostly we just went through millions of acres of Spruce Trees - many of them dead - which are not very attractive. We were delighted to note the many little dams the Beavers had constructed in little streams - we were lucky enough to actually see one at work last time we were in Canada, so were very proud of their (sometimes) mighty efforts. Were glad we'd brought reading material and Arch had an endless supply of Sudoku to do! Spent all day in the Observation Car just in case there was anything to see. Dinner was the late shift - 9pm, so had a few glasses of wine to help me sleep! It worked!!
Awoke at Winnipeg. Had a few hours stopover, so Arch and I walked for about two hours, all over the city. Rather a lifeless place, lots of closed shops, and considering it was mid Saturday morning - very dreary. Notable event - saw my first Dual Flush Toilet in North America - a Caroma too!!! Strangely enough, Winnipeg seemed to be a dual "Nationality" town too - on one side of the river street signs are in French (the ugliest side of town), and on the other, everything is in English. Bizarre. However, nobody expected us to speak French.
Re-boarded the train just before lunch and headed off across the Prairies. This was actually wonderful. Reminded us of the Mallee/Wimmera in full harvest time. Very late over here this year, but they're hard at it now. Huge paddocks of enormous bales of hay waiting for collection, and rather short stumpy wheat crops being headed. Many small towns along the railway line - again just like the Mallee I guess. For the first time we saw actual farm animals - some nice fat cattle - mostly beef I think, although we did see one dairy farm. No other wildlife of course.....
This train stops and starts a lot too - we have to give way to freight trains, and they are plentiful and long - I reckon up to 1.5 kms long.... Single track most of the way, with passing sidings occasionally.
Sunday - arrived in Jasper. Pretty much as remembered, some new shops. Jasper is in the beginnings of the Rockies, and we knew from that point the scenery was going to get brilliant. Raced everybody back onto the train after our Jasper stop - we were determined to get a seat in the Observation Carriage. What a lovely afternoon-evening. The mountains are magnificent, and the lakes and rivers plentiful. We saw Mount Robson, covered in snow, but also with a little cloud right on top. What a nice day.... Didn't leave our post until dinner, by which time it was nearly dark anyway.
It was a standing joke amongst those passengers who knew us, that we haven't seen any wildlife in Canada. There was a shout over the intercom that there was a mother bear with her cub on one side of the train - Arthur saw them, but I missed out of course!! Waiting for Knight Inlet..
Arrived in Vancouver without incident, and of course whilst waiting for our bus tickets onto Victoria, Arthur had an altercation in the queue with one chappie who pushed in!!! He turned out to be on our bus too, and they smiled sweetly at each other!!
Toronto to Victoria
Well, the haircut didn't actually eventuate!! The nice little Francophone girl managed to do the colour, but couldn't actually work out how to cut my hair it seemed, she snipped a few of the ends off, but just fluffed around... It was all getting too hard, and I was beginning to worry about what she would do as she had such a poor grasp of English that I just let it go.... At least the colour was done!! Thank god I have made an appointment for the day after I get home!
Had one last walk around Montreal, and had to kill a few hours before we got on the train to Toronto at 3.40pm. The train ride was memorable..... The train stopped and started, stopped and started, and then "hurtled" along at about 5kms per hour for an hour or so, stopped again, and we finally got into Toronto about 2 1/2 hours late...... Definitely not happy Jan....
We decided to take an early morning trip out to Niagara Falls, but decided so late that we had actually missed the bus. The hotel sent a driver to take us to meet the bus - good service!! There are many wineries on the way, to stopped for a "wine tasting" at one - were given one teaspoon full of wine which had been bottled yesterday, or possibly two days before!! Evil tasting stuff... Noticed an "Australian" wine for sale in the shop - "South Australian wine, bottled in Canada, from imported and local grapes"!!! Omigod - can't imagine what it actually was..
Next stop was a small airfield, where Arch and I took a helicopter flight over the falls. Brilliant.. Arthur won the lottery big time, and had the seat up front with the pilot. His view was spectacular - glass bottom in the chopper, and unrestricted views for 180 degrees... Short flight, but well worth doing.
The American falls and the Niagara Falls are both magnificent. The weather was again stunning - about 25 degrees, and absolutely gorgeous. Took a ride in the "Maid of the Mist" which is the little boat which takes you to the face of the falls - clad in shiny blue raincoats. Good thing to do indeed.... Spent some time walking right along the cliff to the edge of the falls, and took photo's of the water from the top going over the edge... Tee hee..... good fun.
The Totonto Film Festival is on, so the city is positively buzzing. Found a nice Chinese Restaurant for dinner, great foood. On the way home saw an Asian fella busking in the street, actually heard him first - the distinctive sound of a didgeridoo!!! The instruments were man-made versions, one had a really long gentle curve, with a flared end, but they sounded wonderful. I'm sure most of the crowd had no idea what the noise was.. He was self-accompanied by a guitar and a drum - excellent.
Arranged to meet Jim Bell, a friend of Robin and Ian Munro, for lunch. Took us to a really novel restaurant - lots of totally different meal options, choose whatever you like, they zap your card, and then you pay at the end. Lovely fresh produce, and it was good food.
It's also a relief to be in an English speaking city - absolutely nobody speaks to you in French as a first option! Caught a ferry over to a small island off the main city - Totonto Island, a lovely summer playground for the locals. Acres of beautifully manicured lawns, an ornamental lake, a "luna park" type thing, and hundreds of Canada Geese. They have large shallow swimming pools for the kids, and a nice sandy beach created on the lake. This is right on Lake Ontario, so there are also enormous ships in port.
U2 was also in town today, and there was a "Game" (ice hockey) on, so there were thousands of people around, again.
Our apartment had a washing machine and drier, so did ALL the washing!! Have finally worked out how to use the ubiquitous coffee machine which is in every apartment.
Went to the CN tower for a look-see. What an amazing view - this has recently been re-designated the tallest freestanding tower in the world!! Spent an hour or so there, taking endless photo's. After this, we walked to the other side of town to a market, where we had lunch. Not a patch on our Victoria Market, but the locals think it's a good place to go - grabbed lunch here.
Had a few more hours to fill in before catching the train, so turned into Mall Rats... Sat watching the world by in a shopping mall. We also discovered there is an almost entire city built underground in Toronto. Absolutely amazing, and the entrances to these underground malls are really well disguised, and you enter almost by accident. Everything under there - restaurants, shops, McDonalds, etc..
Finally got to the station - we'd been sent on one of these underground trails by our hotel, but without the kindness of a stranger, who showed us the correct way, we would possibly still be down there!!
We had not been told to pack a small bag to take on the train!!! We had to unpack a couple of days' clothes in the passageway, to take into our miniscule carriage.... Omigod - nearly died of shock when we discovered the size of the dog box we were to sleep in for four nights. (If you're reading this Catherine - be very glad it was not possible to ring you at that time!!)
Didn't sleep more than an hour that night....
Had one last walk around Montreal, and had to kill a few hours before we got on the train to Toronto at 3.40pm. The train ride was memorable..... The train stopped and started, stopped and started, and then "hurtled" along at about 5kms per hour for an hour or so, stopped again, and we finally got into Toronto about 2 1/2 hours late...... Definitely not happy Jan....
We decided to take an early morning trip out to Niagara Falls, but decided so late that we had actually missed the bus. The hotel sent a driver to take us to meet the bus - good service!! There are many wineries on the way, to stopped for a "wine tasting" at one - were given one teaspoon full of wine which had been bottled yesterday, or possibly two days before!! Evil tasting stuff... Noticed an "Australian" wine for sale in the shop - "South Australian wine, bottled in Canada, from imported and local grapes"!!! Omigod - can't imagine what it actually was..
Next stop was a small airfield, where Arch and I took a helicopter flight over the falls. Brilliant.. Arthur won the lottery big time, and had the seat up front with the pilot. His view was spectacular - glass bottom in the chopper, and unrestricted views for 180 degrees... Short flight, but well worth doing.
The American falls and the Niagara Falls are both magnificent. The weather was again stunning - about 25 degrees, and absolutely gorgeous. Took a ride in the "Maid of the Mist" which is the little boat which takes you to the face of the falls - clad in shiny blue raincoats. Good thing to do indeed.... Spent some time walking right along the cliff to the edge of the falls, and took photo's of the water from the top going over the edge... Tee hee..... good fun.
The Totonto Film Festival is on, so the city is positively buzzing. Found a nice Chinese Restaurant for dinner, great foood. On the way home saw an Asian fella busking in the street, actually heard him first - the distinctive sound of a didgeridoo!!! The instruments were man-made versions, one had a really long gentle curve, with a flared end, but they sounded wonderful. I'm sure most of the crowd had no idea what the noise was.. He was self-accompanied by a guitar and a drum - excellent.
Arranged to meet Jim Bell, a friend of Robin and Ian Munro, for lunch. Took us to a really novel restaurant - lots of totally different meal options, choose whatever you like, they zap your card, and then you pay at the end. Lovely fresh produce, and it was good food.
It's also a relief to be in an English speaking city - absolutely nobody speaks to you in French as a first option! Caught a ferry over to a small island off the main city - Totonto Island, a lovely summer playground for the locals. Acres of beautifully manicured lawns, an ornamental lake, a "luna park" type thing, and hundreds of Canada Geese. They have large shallow swimming pools for the kids, and a nice sandy beach created on the lake. This is right on Lake Ontario, so there are also enormous ships in port.
U2 was also in town today, and there was a "Game" (ice hockey) on, so there were thousands of people around, again.
Our apartment had a washing machine and drier, so did ALL the washing!! Have finally worked out how to use the ubiquitous coffee machine which is in every apartment.
Went to the CN tower for a look-see. What an amazing view - this has recently been re-designated the tallest freestanding tower in the world!! Spent an hour or so there, taking endless photo's. After this, we walked to the other side of town to a market, where we had lunch. Not a patch on our Victoria Market, but the locals think it's a good place to go - grabbed lunch here.
Had a few more hours to fill in before catching the train, so turned into Mall Rats... Sat watching the world by in a shopping mall. We also discovered there is an almost entire city built underground in Toronto. Absolutely amazing, and the entrances to these underground malls are really well disguised, and you enter almost by accident. Everything under there - restaurants, shops, McDonalds, etc..
Finally got to the station - we'd been sent on one of these underground trails by our hotel, but without the kindness of a stranger, who showed us the correct way, we would possibly still be down there!!
We had not been told to pack a small bag to take on the train!!! We had to unpack a couple of days' clothes in the passageway, to take into our miniscule carriage.... Omigod - nearly died of shock when we discovered the size of the dog box we were to sleep in for four nights. (If you're reading this Catherine - be very glad it was not possible to ring you at that time!!)
Didn't sleep more than an hour that night....
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Quebec City
Had a lovely day with our car - thanks to the Satellite Naviation fella - who even spoke mostly English. We managed to get out to a waterfall, really only about 20 minutes from Quebec City - The Montmorency Falls - these are actually higher than Niagara Falls apparently. Quite a lot of water going over the top, but hard to imagine what it must be like after the snow is beginning to melt. And absolutely impossible to imagine the entire thing frozen, but there is much pictorial proof that it freezes every year, and forms an amazing ice-climbing challenge for some people!!
About 45 minutes further on there was a really spectacular Canyon - called Saint Anne!!! Brilliant canyon with a stunning amount of water barrelling down, crashing into the walls, and turning corners as it rushed to the bottom. Several suspension bridges over the canyon, and many stairs to climb. This is also a major downhill skiing area for the locals, with many ski runs carved out of the nearby hills. Excellent day, and well worth the nightmare drive on the wrong side of the road!! We also drove around the Island of Orleans which is accessible from the mainland by bridge. Very sleepy little communities - didn't actually find one place to have a coffee... Tiny little houses on very small blocks of land, almost always two storey, timber, brightly painted, with lots of tizzy bits here and there. Great lengths of clothes line from the house out to some shed, or pole, and the line on pulleys as they do in Asia... Such neat washing you wouldn't believe... Everything hung in order.... No fences anywhere, around houses or paddocks. Obviously no pets, or they are kept indoors.
Arch had his first visit to the ubiquitous Tim Horton's (Canada's doughnut king).... Very average, VERY sweet, and once was enough - even for Arthur!
Drove for about 3 hours the next day too - absolutely nothing to see really, and pretty much a waste of time. Took the car back early - too hard to park, and wasn't needed!
Thursday - our last day in Quebec City. Decided to do our own thing after breakfast.. I managed to find the Observation Tower for a look over the town, and took some photo's of some photo's someone else had taken, of the St. Lawrence River frozen. Absolutely impossible for me to imagine... After pounding the pavements, decided to have a couple of hours at the pool. Nice. Hot spa and a cold beer. Some American woman decided that with my accent I must be Canadian - they really have NO idea..
We happened upon a restaurant which specialised in Mussels for dinner - they came every way you can imagine, and then some. Nice.. Then nearby there was then a laser produced visual display of the history of Quebec, shown on the side of some Silos at the port - brilliant effect.
This year is the 250th anniversary of the English "victory" over the French in Quebec, and this might be the historical truth, but in fact, Quebec is so French it's bizarre.... And it will never be any other way.
Before we got on the train, we had one last look down to the waterfront, there was another Holland America ship in port - actually the one we were originally scheduled to sail on. Amazing to see how small it is in comparison with ours.
Train to Montreal - okay, but the elderly gent in front decided he needed to lie down all the way, so I got to inspect the top his bald, scabby head for 3 hours. Nice....
Nice little hotel in the old part of Montreal, just one block back from the waterfront again. Lovely for walking about. We got a room upgrade (just because we're gorgeous Aussies) - now have our own lounge room, looking out over a garden/restaurant (we're on the ground floor). Had a late afternoon walk, and happened upon a pedestrian mall, lined with bars on both sides, and a very good busker doing his thing singing, so before we knew it, we were settled in for Happy Hour!! Thought we might as well stay for dinner, so hadn't moved for a few hours by the time we struggled home!
Gorgeous croissants (and chocolate ones too) for breakfast, and then set off on one of our famous marathon walks...... Covered the entire city centre of Montreal, saw McGill University, the major shopping centres, all buzzing with shoppers. Very sunny, warm day again (we have been so lucky with the weather) and we found ourselves on the top of the highest point in Montreal - a large park called Park Mont Royale - their Central Park really. A sad little lake in the middle, lots of lawns, lots of natural parkland, and an enormous, imposing, empty house overlooking the city... Possibly used for grand events occasionally, but with the exception of a tiny room which sold postcards etc., actually echoingly empty!! Great view over the city, but it's not really a very pretty city anyway. We had walked up major inclines for a very long time to reach this peak, and after we had walked through it, we left via some stairs - to get half way down, we walked down 287 steps(!) and then walked downhill again for 15 minutes!!! At least we walked off the croissants! But, the knees are a bit sore!
Came home through Chinatown - rather sad, very small area - pretty grotty, and not the sort of place which would attract you for a meal. Having been to San Francisco's China Town, everything else pales in comparison!! This made us decide to try to find an Italian restaurant for dinner - nice food, and a nice change!
Today, Sunday 13th, the Montreal Marathon was run. We stood on a corner just near our hotel and cheered the runners on for half an hour or so, and then the cyclists joined in (on the other side of the road!), so we stayed for about 45 minutes more. Quite impressive really, some old farts running who should have been home digging in the garden we thought... Have no idea how many actually finished, but we walked off, and about 45 minutes later came across them again, and a sign which said they had done 19 of 42 kilometres!!! Some not looking too flash, and had a long way to go!!
On our way back to the hotel, I stopped to ask a Policeman a question about the Marathon route, and he didn't have enough English to give me an answer. How appalling..... There are many English speakers in Montreal, I wonder how this bloke would deal with an incident involving them? Once again, really shocking to think this is Canada......
I'm off to have my hair cut in the morning (will have a few weeks to grow out if it's a disaster), and then we catch the train to Toronto. Will post again eventually.
Cheers everyone...
About 45 minutes further on there was a really spectacular Canyon - called Saint Anne!!! Brilliant canyon with a stunning amount of water barrelling down, crashing into the walls, and turning corners as it rushed to the bottom. Several suspension bridges over the canyon, and many stairs to climb. This is also a major downhill skiing area for the locals, with many ski runs carved out of the nearby hills. Excellent day, and well worth the nightmare drive on the wrong side of the road!! We also drove around the Island of Orleans which is accessible from the mainland by bridge. Very sleepy little communities - didn't actually find one place to have a coffee... Tiny little houses on very small blocks of land, almost always two storey, timber, brightly painted, with lots of tizzy bits here and there. Great lengths of clothes line from the house out to some shed, or pole, and the line on pulleys as they do in Asia... Such neat washing you wouldn't believe... Everything hung in order.... No fences anywhere, around houses or paddocks. Obviously no pets, or they are kept indoors.
Arch had his first visit to the ubiquitous Tim Horton's (Canada's doughnut king).... Very average, VERY sweet, and once was enough - even for Arthur!
Drove for about 3 hours the next day too - absolutely nothing to see really, and pretty much a waste of time. Took the car back early - too hard to park, and wasn't needed!
Thursday - our last day in Quebec City. Decided to do our own thing after breakfast.. I managed to find the Observation Tower for a look over the town, and took some photo's of some photo's someone else had taken, of the St. Lawrence River frozen. Absolutely impossible for me to imagine... After pounding the pavements, decided to have a couple of hours at the pool. Nice. Hot spa and a cold beer. Some American woman decided that with my accent I must be Canadian - they really have NO idea..
We happened upon a restaurant which specialised in Mussels for dinner - they came every way you can imagine, and then some. Nice.. Then nearby there was then a laser produced visual display of the history of Quebec, shown on the side of some Silos at the port - brilliant effect.
This year is the 250th anniversary of the English "victory" over the French in Quebec, and this might be the historical truth, but in fact, Quebec is so French it's bizarre.... And it will never be any other way.
Before we got on the train, we had one last look down to the waterfront, there was another Holland America ship in port - actually the one we were originally scheduled to sail on. Amazing to see how small it is in comparison with ours.
Train to Montreal - okay, but the elderly gent in front decided he needed to lie down all the way, so I got to inspect the top his bald, scabby head for 3 hours. Nice....
Nice little hotel in the old part of Montreal, just one block back from the waterfront again. Lovely for walking about. We got a room upgrade (just because we're gorgeous Aussies) - now have our own lounge room, looking out over a garden/restaurant (we're on the ground floor). Had a late afternoon walk, and happened upon a pedestrian mall, lined with bars on both sides, and a very good busker doing his thing singing, so before we knew it, we were settled in for Happy Hour!! Thought we might as well stay for dinner, so hadn't moved for a few hours by the time we struggled home!
Gorgeous croissants (and chocolate ones too) for breakfast, and then set off on one of our famous marathon walks...... Covered the entire city centre of Montreal, saw McGill University, the major shopping centres, all buzzing with shoppers. Very sunny, warm day again (we have been so lucky with the weather) and we found ourselves on the top of the highest point in Montreal - a large park called Park Mont Royale - their Central Park really. A sad little lake in the middle, lots of lawns, lots of natural parkland, and an enormous, imposing, empty house overlooking the city... Possibly used for grand events occasionally, but with the exception of a tiny room which sold postcards etc., actually echoingly empty!! Great view over the city, but it's not really a very pretty city anyway. We had walked up major inclines for a very long time to reach this peak, and after we had walked through it, we left via some stairs - to get half way down, we walked down 287 steps(!) and then walked downhill again for 15 minutes!!! At least we walked off the croissants! But, the knees are a bit sore!
Came home through Chinatown - rather sad, very small area - pretty grotty, and not the sort of place which would attract you for a meal. Having been to San Francisco's China Town, everything else pales in comparison!! This made us decide to try to find an Italian restaurant for dinner - nice food, and a nice change!
Today, Sunday 13th, the Montreal Marathon was run. We stood on a corner just near our hotel and cheered the runners on for half an hour or so, and then the cyclists joined in (on the other side of the road!), so we stayed for about 45 minutes more. Quite impressive really, some old farts running who should have been home digging in the garden we thought... Have no idea how many actually finished, but we walked off, and about 45 minutes later came across them again, and a sign which said they had done 19 of 42 kilometres!!! Some not looking too flash, and had a long way to go!!
On our way back to the hotel, I stopped to ask a Policeman a question about the Marathon route, and he didn't have enough English to give me an answer. How appalling..... There are many English speakers in Montreal, I wonder how this bloke would deal with an incident involving them? Once again, really shocking to think this is Canada......
I'm off to have my hair cut in the morning (will have a few weeks to grow out if it's a disaster), and then we catch the train to Toronto. Will post again eventually.
Cheers everyone...
Monday, September 7, 2009
Hi guys,
After spending the last day in port at Quebec city, actually swanning about on the ship, we felt ready to hit the city. As it was a day for sightseeing for most of the people on the ship, we had the place pretty much to ourselves. We spent the morning sitting in the lounge of the Exploration lounge - big leather recliner chairs, in the sun. Very quiet, and we had a first hand view of what it's going to be like when we've been consigned to an old people's home.... Omigod - sitting there reading, we looked about and we were amidst a whole bunch of oldies, who could barely stay awake - and this was 11am!! There was the odd loud fart emanating in the silence, which made us hysterical (quietly hysterical anyway)... The occasional conversation started up, and they were talking so loudly, it could be heard everywhere. We were actually spooked at what might await us!!!
Went to a wonderful restaurant on board for the last night - had steak to die for - Arch stupidly ordered and tried to eat an enormous rib eye steak.... It was so magnificent, he tried to eat the lot, and we barely made it up to our room... The Americans eat this size meal every day, AND have entree and dessert!!
We exited the ship yesterday, and are now ensconsed in THE Chateau - the most photographed building in Quebec city. Amazing and so surprising how little English is spoken in this town - shocking to think that this is actually Canada, and many people have absolutely no English. I'm trying to imagine going to Brisbane and having them speak another language, and not having English. Really sad actually.
The old town is very pretty, and not surprisingly, the architecture is very French too. We've hired a car for tomorrow, and plan to run away for a couple of days. Hope they don't think we've been abducted when they come to clean our room and discover the bed hasn't been slept in. Arch is going to brace himself for the wrong-side-of-the-road driving, and hope for the best.
Will post again when we get back to Quebec City. We're here until Friday morning when we catch the train to Montreal.
Cheers,
Ann
After spending the last day in port at Quebec city, actually swanning about on the ship, we felt ready to hit the city. As it was a day for sightseeing for most of the people on the ship, we had the place pretty much to ourselves. We spent the morning sitting in the lounge of the Exploration lounge - big leather recliner chairs, in the sun. Very quiet, and we had a first hand view of what it's going to be like when we've been consigned to an old people's home.... Omigod - sitting there reading, we looked about and we were amidst a whole bunch of oldies, who could barely stay awake - and this was 11am!! There was the odd loud fart emanating in the silence, which made us hysterical (quietly hysterical anyway)... The occasional conversation started up, and they were talking so loudly, it could be heard everywhere. We were actually spooked at what might await us!!!
Went to a wonderful restaurant on board for the last night - had steak to die for - Arch stupidly ordered and tried to eat an enormous rib eye steak.... It was so magnificent, he tried to eat the lot, and we barely made it up to our room... The Americans eat this size meal every day, AND have entree and dessert!!
We exited the ship yesterday, and are now ensconsed in THE Chateau - the most photographed building in Quebec city. Amazing and so surprising how little English is spoken in this town - shocking to think that this is actually Canada, and many people have absolutely no English. I'm trying to imagine going to Brisbane and having them speak another language, and not having English. Really sad actually.
The old town is very pretty, and not surprisingly, the architecture is very French too. We've hired a car for tomorrow, and plan to run away for a couple of days. Hope they don't think we've been abducted when they come to clean our room and discover the bed hasn't been slept in. Arch is going to brace himself for the wrong-side-of-the-road driving, and hope for the best.
Will post again when we get back to Quebec City. We're here until Friday morning when we catch the train to Montreal.
Cheers,
Ann
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Eurodam
Great that we chose to have our own two days in Boston, as the day dawned when the ship was in Port - absolutely pouring, and continued to do so all day. Pity the poor buggers who had only that day to do their sightseeing!
There were actually two "Dam" ships in port that day, and our taxi delivered us to the wrong one - Arch was concerned about not finding our name on the passenger list when the light dawned on me.... Had to get a nice fella to take our luggage down to the correct ship - this necessitated a tip of course!!!
Had to fight our way on board, some charity had organised a "viewing of the ship and lunch" to raise funds, and our arrival coincided with theirs.... Finally got to our cabin - nice room, but we had been upgraded to a larger room which was nice, but sadly, this time on Starboard, nor the Port side. Not to worry - we'll just spend less time in our room..
This ship is H U G E.... After getting off our little Arctic ship (100 guests) onto this (2,000 guests) - we are a bit in awe..
Got our good clobber on for dinner, and were posted to share an intimate dinner with 8 other strangers - okay, meal okay as well. Arthur dying to head to the Casino, so did just that for a couple of hours.
Went sightseeing at Bar Harbour, Maine the next day. The National Park about which I had heard much positive stuff, was the place to go. So we did. The view from the top of the highest peak in the Acadia National Park was apparently to die for - alas and alak - covered in pea soup fog when we got there. Imagination is a wonderful thing! The casino is keeping Arch amused..
Next stop was Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Once again did a full day excursion to see "stuff". Much interesting, but much also not so flash. On this part of the island, there is actually a Gaelic School - really!! They teach the gaelic language, piping, and everything a respectable Canadian would need to know to pass as Scottish!! VERY bizarre. They have tartan everywhere, play Scottish music everywhere, and you drive past cemeteries dedicated totally to one of the "Mc" Clans. It is like being in a time warp..
Halifax, Nova Scotia is supposed to be inserted here....... see below..
Next stop was Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island - known as P.E.I. See, we're locals already!
Lovely warm, sunny day, about 24 degrees C. Were greeted by some sort of Corroboree by the local natives, doing an endless repetition of "singing" and drumming. We were happy to get on our bus for yet another outing - this time to a town about 30 minutes away, where we went on a cruise up the estuary, to see how they grow and harvest millions of mussels. We also made the acquaintance of a few fat seals, lolling about on their little mussel shell island.
Dressed for dinner tonight, and forced ourselves upon a nice little foursome - some kind of family relations, Canadians/Americans. Now, that was an interesting dinner. Arch and I had attended the "sail away" party on deck for a short while, and had had one or two glasses of something... We landed up with this group, none of whom apparently drank - anything - and proceeded to shock them to the core! It is SO much fun, and SO easy to do.... 99% of the passengers are American, they are all so bloody pious, SO religious, and SO delightfully shockable!! We love to tell them that nobody in Australia goes to church any more, we never have our kids Christened, much less have our deceased buried by a Man of the Cloth - it's absolutely fantastic to see their faces whilst they pretend not to care!!! I had breakfast this morning with a woman who couldn't wait to tell me that she was a devout Catholic who went to Mass every day - even on the ship, and I couldn't wait to tell her my version of life!! I'm loving it, I can tell you.
The Nationalised Health Care issue is big in the US at the moment, and it has been funny to watch their faces as ALL the Canadian tour guides tell them what a fantastic thing their health system is (very similar to Australia's), and that they wouldn't have it any other way. Hopefully it has given the Americans something to think about when they go home.
Today has been totally at sea as we are travelling between P.E.I. and Saguenay Fjord in Quebec. - arriving tomorrow morning.
The weather has been a bit average today, so haven't done much. Did do a 5km walk around the Promenade to raise for Breast Cancer research. Good fun, and very easy to walk without hindrance!! Formal Dress for dinner tonight, so Arch and I went to the ultra casual dining room and ate in great comfort - no boring conversations either..
Somehow, this next bit has been juxtaposed, and I can't find a way to cut and paste....... Bear with me....
Next day, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Whatever you've heard about Nova Scotia being in a time warp, and still wearing the tartan, and bearing their "Scottishness" with pride is true, and somewhat hilarious!! We visited an amazing place called "Peggy's Cove" which consists almost entirely of absolutely humungous rocks, left behind when the last glaciers receded about 200 thousand years ago - under ice was which was about 1 mile thick... Must be something to do with Global Warming!! We were greeted at Peggy's Cove by an extremely talented female Piper, piping her way to College she hoped, and her case was indeed full of money. Good on her.
The ship sailed at about 5pm so it was nice to be up on deck watching the town disappear from view. Dinner was again at a table with 8 other strangers - really tedious having to talk to a heap of total strangers, so mostly didn't bother - just conversed with one woman near us!!
You really cannot imagine the variety of people on this cruise - all a big eye-opener to us. I reckon we are really the only passengers who have not been cruising for years - when listening to snippets of conversation, you hear that they have all been everywhere!! Aussies obviously came late to cruising, and we feel totally unable to converse with them about their Cruise experiences. There are SO many zimmer frames, wheel chairs, and the lame and infirm making their way about the ship, one has to proceed with caution! Happily there are more physically capable, and some even young passengers to balance this out..
The facilities are amazing - those who have cruised will know, but it's very revealing to us "cruise virgins".
The main Recreation room is on the Observation Deck, and it's really lovely. Picture windows about 180 degrees, leather recliner chairs facing the ocean (the front of the ship), heaps of other chairs, leather lounges, wine tables, etc.. A lending library, a book exchange, CD and Video library, any game you can imagine, card and board games - two huge jig-saw puzzles on an equally huge table, just there for anyone to spend a minute or ten. When the puzzles are completed, magically a new one appears. Very good indeed. There is also a coffee shop and a bar on this section of the ship, and indeed I am there now, using the internet...
All in all, a very relaxing holiday, and we're really only using our fellow-travellers for our entertainment and amusement - if you don't feel like talking to anyone, you just don't....
If you can be bothered "Googling" (on Google Earth) the Coastline around between Boston and Quebec City, you will find it is fantastic, and we're really enjoying the scenery.
Okay, that's it I think. I'm off to have another glass of wine, and watch the sun set.
Cheers,
Ann and Arch
We arrive in Quebec City in a couple of days, and that will be interesting - considering our French is non-existent!!!
There were actually two "Dam" ships in port that day, and our taxi delivered us to the wrong one - Arch was concerned about not finding our name on the passenger list when the light dawned on me.... Had to get a nice fella to take our luggage down to the correct ship - this necessitated a tip of course!!!
Had to fight our way on board, some charity had organised a "viewing of the ship and lunch" to raise funds, and our arrival coincided with theirs.... Finally got to our cabin - nice room, but we had been upgraded to a larger room which was nice, but sadly, this time on Starboard, nor the Port side. Not to worry - we'll just spend less time in our room..
This ship is H U G E.... After getting off our little Arctic ship (100 guests) onto this (2,000 guests) - we are a bit in awe..
Got our good clobber on for dinner, and were posted to share an intimate dinner with 8 other strangers - okay, meal okay as well. Arthur dying to head to the Casino, so did just that for a couple of hours.
Went sightseeing at Bar Harbour, Maine the next day. The National Park about which I had heard much positive stuff, was the place to go. So we did. The view from the top of the highest peak in the Acadia National Park was apparently to die for - alas and alak - covered in pea soup fog when we got there. Imagination is a wonderful thing! The casino is keeping Arch amused..
Next stop was Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Once again did a full day excursion to see "stuff". Much interesting, but much also not so flash. On this part of the island, there is actually a Gaelic School - really!! They teach the gaelic language, piping, and everything a respectable Canadian would need to know to pass as Scottish!! VERY bizarre. They have tartan everywhere, play Scottish music everywhere, and you drive past cemeteries dedicated totally to one of the "Mc" Clans. It is like being in a time warp..
Halifax, Nova Scotia is supposed to be inserted here....... see below..
Next stop was Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island - known as P.E.I. See, we're locals already!
Lovely warm, sunny day, about 24 degrees C. Were greeted by some sort of Corroboree by the local natives, doing an endless repetition of "singing" and drumming. We were happy to get on our bus for yet another outing - this time to a town about 30 minutes away, where we went on a cruise up the estuary, to see how they grow and harvest millions of mussels. We also made the acquaintance of a few fat seals, lolling about on their little mussel shell island.
Dressed for dinner tonight, and forced ourselves upon a nice little foursome - some kind of family relations, Canadians/Americans. Now, that was an interesting dinner. Arch and I had attended the "sail away" party on deck for a short while, and had had one or two glasses of something... We landed up with this group, none of whom apparently drank - anything - and proceeded to shock them to the core! It is SO much fun, and SO easy to do.... 99% of the passengers are American, they are all so bloody pious, SO religious, and SO delightfully shockable!! We love to tell them that nobody in Australia goes to church any more, we never have our kids Christened, much less have our deceased buried by a Man of the Cloth - it's absolutely fantastic to see their faces whilst they pretend not to care!!! I had breakfast this morning with a woman who couldn't wait to tell me that she was a devout Catholic who went to Mass every day - even on the ship, and I couldn't wait to tell her my version of life!! I'm loving it, I can tell you.
The Nationalised Health Care issue is big in the US at the moment, and it has been funny to watch their faces as ALL the Canadian tour guides tell them what a fantastic thing their health system is (very similar to Australia's), and that they wouldn't have it any other way. Hopefully it has given the Americans something to think about when they go home.
Today has been totally at sea as we are travelling between P.E.I. and Saguenay Fjord in Quebec. - arriving tomorrow morning.
The weather has been a bit average today, so haven't done much. Did do a 5km walk around the Promenade to raise for Breast Cancer research. Good fun, and very easy to walk without hindrance!! Formal Dress for dinner tonight, so Arch and I went to the ultra casual dining room and ate in great comfort - no boring conversations either..
Somehow, this next bit has been juxtaposed, and I can't find a way to cut and paste....... Bear with me....
Next day, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Whatever you've heard about Nova Scotia being in a time warp, and still wearing the tartan, and bearing their "Scottishness" with pride is true, and somewhat hilarious!! We visited an amazing place called "Peggy's Cove" which consists almost entirely of absolutely humungous rocks, left behind when the last glaciers receded about 200 thousand years ago - under ice was which was about 1 mile thick... Must be something to do with Global Warming!! We were greeted at Peggy's Cove by an extremely talented female Piper, piping her way to College she hoped, and her case was indeed full of money. Good on her.
The ship sailed at about 5pm so it was nice to be up on deck watching the town disappear from view. Dinner was again at a table with 8 other strangers - really tedious having to talk to a heap of total strangers, so mostly didn't bother - just conversed with one woman near us!!
You really cannot imagine the variety of people on this cruise - all a big eye-opener to us. I reckon we are really the only passengers who have not been cruising for years - when listening to snippets of conversation, you hear that they have all been everywhere!! Aussies obviously came late to cruising, and we feel totally unable to converse with them about their Cruise experiences. There are SO many zimmer frames, wheel chairs, and the lame and infirm making their way about the ship, one has to proceed with caution! Happily there are more physically capable, and some even young passengers to balance this out..
The facilities are amazing - those who have cruised will know, but it's very revealing to us "cruise virgins".
The main Recreation room is on the Observation Deck, and it's really lovely. Picture windows about 180 degrees, leather recliner chairs facing the ocean (the front of the ship), heaps of other chairs, leather lounges, wine tables, etc.. A lending library, a book exchange, CD and Video library, any game you can imagine, card and board games - two huge jig-saw puzzles on an equally huge table, just there for anyone to spend a minute or ten. When the puzzles are completed, magically a new one appears. Very good indeed. There is also a coffee shop and a bar on this section of the ship, and indeed I am there now, using the internet...
All in all, a very relaxing holiday, and we're really only using our fellow-travellers for our entertainment and amusement - if you don't feel like talking to anyone, you just don't....
If you can be bothered "Googling" (on Google Earth) the Coastline around between Boston and Quebec City, you will find it is fantastic, and we're really enjoying the scenery.
Okay, that's it I think. I'm off to have another glass of wine, and watch the sun set.
Cheers,
Ann and Arch
We arrive in Quebec City in a couple of days, and that will be interesting - considering our French is non-existent!!!
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