Friday:
It takes us 3 hours or so to drive over to Niagara Falls. We stop on our way in to dump our car off at the motel, and then head off on foot. We’re following the broad, turquoise Niagara River far down below us. Although we kind of knew it was going to be like this, we’re still not prepared for the touristy onslaught that is Niagara. There are viewing towers, Imax theaters, casinos and any kind of Niagara ‘experience’ you can think of. Oh, and a big Buddhist temple, obviously.
The pavements are so packed it’s hard to walk without getting smeared by the copious amounts of ice cream being licked. OK, I’m exaggerating a little. It’s busy, but it could be far worse.
We can hear the falls long before we can see them. First up are the American and Bridal Veils Falls, on the US side of the border. They’re beautiful, but nowhere near as powerful and overwhelming as the Canadian Horseshoe Falls.
We’re feeling a bit jaded by it all, but figure we can’t come to Niagara without boarding the Maid of the Mist. We get lucky: a random tour guide hands us an extra ticket she isn’t using so we only have to fork out for one ticket. We’re still feeling a bit skeptical as we’re shepherded down to the waters-edge and decked out with blue ponchos (think bin-liners). On board we’re soon won over: this brave boat powers it’s way upstream until we’re right in the curve of the falls. Even with the ponchos on the spray soon soaks us through. Up close the falls are even more spectacular and suddenly it’s clear what all the fuss is about.
Back on dry land we soon dry off as we tackle the crowds to get a view from the top of the falls.
From here we can see the Maid of the Mist ferrying another group up to the falls and realize just how close we got to them.
Satisfied, we start the long walk back to our motel for a quiet night in.
Saturday:
We leave Niagara this morning, heading for Montreal. We’re going past Toronto and had hoped to have a look in, but we don’t have the time to do it justice and so decide to bypass the city. Most of the day is spent on motorways. We do detour briefly to Prince Edward County, which gives us a bit of a break. This is wine country so the scenery is pretty and we get some good views of Lake Ontario. A short ride on a car ferry takes us back to the motorway.
It’s about time to look for somewhere to spend the night. This should be easy – all the usual chain motels are represented on this uninspiring strip of road. Unfortunately they’re all charging an arm and a leg. We’re reluctant, but an hour later we still haven’t found anything reasonable so we’re forced to hand over said arm and leg for a somewhat damp and smelly room. Chased out of the room by the smell we head down the street to the Old English Pub (at least they didn’t put an ‘e’ on the end of old) for shepherds pie.
Janet adds: I was mentally prepared for Canada this time, but it’s still managed to unsettle me. It’s too much like the US to feel like a different country, but it’s also not the US. It also has blacks squirrels.
Sunday:
We’re at the start of a small stretch of road known as the Thousand Island Parkway. It follows the Saint Lawrence River and, as the name suggests, this section is dotted with islands. Some are fairly big, some not much more than a few rocks. We’re impressed with optimistic attitude people have to building on these islands – we see a few houses that take up pretty much all the exposed land.
We also see a house on the banks of the river that’s been extended onto an island, connected by a little bridge.
We’ve been driving through staunchly loyalist country and as we cross into Quebec province it feels like we’re driving into a different country – all the road signs switch to French. We stop for lunch shortly before getting into Montreal and it’s early afternoon when we pull up to our hotel. Luckily they let us check in early and we’re tempted into a cheeky nap before setting out exploring. We’ve saved a few pennies by choosing a hotel that’s a bit out of the centre of town. There’s a metro station next door and two stops take us to the centre of town.
I knew that Montreal was very French but I didn’t realize that is was pretty much completely French. The signs, the announcements on the metro, everyone we speak to – all French. Still, it’s an easy city to navigate and the French people speak beautiful English.
We spend a bit of time walking around the quaint cobbled streets of the Old Town (old by North American standards, fairly average by European standards). Quite by chance we happen to be in town for the Montreal Jazz Festival, so we wander up to have a look. A few streets have been closed off, outdoor stages are set up and there are plenty of food and drink places. It’s a warm evening and the atmosphere is great – really relaxed and friendly.
We’re too cheap (and not big enough jazz fans) to fork out for tickets for any of the big names, but there are plenty of free gigs to keep us busy. We find a spot on the grass, grab a beer and while a way a few hours. Later on in the evening we’re lucky enough to catch the Soul Rebels Brass Band – they’re brilliant – before getting the metro back to our hotel.
Monday:
We’re in no hurry to get going today, so we have a bit of a lie in. It is a gorgeous hot and sunny day so we can’t stay indoors for too long. We go into town, pick up some sandwiches and head to the park. After our picnic we walk up Mount Royal (which gave Montreal it’ name) for some great views of the city.
A walk through the park takes us to the Plateau area of the city. Nick decides to head back to the hotel for a little rest while I do a bit of window-shopping.
I meet him back at the hotel and in the evening we decide to see what’s going on at the jazz festival again. We get beer and pizza slices while we wait for the band to start. Unfortunately this time we’re not so lucky. The band is not our cup of tea (I’m being polite) and we’re forced to leave.
Janet adds: I’m somewhat bewildered by the Montreal metro. It’s more like a whole string of buses – complete with big chunky tyres – than a train.
Tuesday:
It’s Nick’s birthday today and, being a devoted wife, I have of course planned a day full of presents and surprises. Or maybe not quite. He does get ham & cheese croissants for breakfast though, which makes a change from the usual bowl of Cheerios.
We leave Montreal and drive the 3 hours or so to Quebec City. This time we’ve gone for a hotel a little closer to the action and are pleasantly surprised to find that it’s right in the middle of the Old Town. We get settled in our room and then go out for a walk. The Old Town is utterly charming and very European: narrow cobbled streets, beautiful old buildings and the remains of the city wall.
We walk out of the city gates to the Grande Allee, which is lined with bars and restaurants with people spilling out on to the pavements. A nice looking brewpub entices us in for a couple of beers before we go in search of food. We find ourselves on Rue Saint-Jean, which also has plenty of cafés and restaurants but seems a bit less touristy. We find a good place to eat and then get ice-creams to eat on the walk back to our hotel.
Janet adds: On our wanderings today we found this little guy fiercely protecting his shop. The next day we passed by again to find him asleep on his own red velvety cushion.
Wednesday:
We start our little tour of the city with a walk around the city wall. You can’t actually walk on them (although you can go up at various points for a look). Whilst the Old Town is beautiful, the surrounding scenery is somewhat industrial. Quebec City is on the banks of the St Lawrence River, which is a shipping route. There are proper cargo ships unloading at the docks. We walk to the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac, supposedly the most photographed hotel in the world. It is a very grand building, although undergoing some construction that marred the scene a little.
We have a little look in – the hotel is meant to have it’s own dog ambassador, but if he’s in residence we can’t find him.
It’s about lunchtime and our quest for food takes us out of the city gates again (the Old Town is packed with ‘fine dining’, but is a bit lacking on the more casual front). We find a Mexican Café that does the best veggie burritos ever and some pretty decent beef tacos.
After lunch we walk back to the Old Town, this time dropping down to the lower town where we wander the pretty streets and squares.
We end up walking a bit further than we’d anticipated and by the time we make it back to our hotel (via 300 odd steps) we’ve got to put our feet up for a bit. Later in the evening we find a great pub for a couple of beers and then grab a pizza.
Janet adds: Kept thinking I was in France today.
Thursday:
We pack up our bags and get checked out. We’ve got a driving day ahead of us and it’s probably a good thing as it rains pretty much all day. We drive almost all of the way back to Montreal and then head south. The border crossings seem to get easier each time we do them and this time we’re through in no time. We’re now in Vermont. It’s green and leafy and the sun is finally threatening to break through. We’re staying in a motel just outside Burlington and it’s late afternoon by the time we get there. We spend the evening on boring stuff like picking up groceries and getting some washing done.
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