Hello and welcome to my second stop, Canada!
After leaving Iceland last week I flew across the rest of the Atlantic to land in Toronto. It is fantastic to be back in this lovely country after a gap of four years. This time I am on the eastern side of the country and enjoying it very much.
There are two main adaptions being in Canada as opposed to Iceland. Firstly, it gets dark at night-time! It is dark around 9pm here which was strange to start with after 24hrs of daylight. Secondly, it is rather warmer and sunnier here, going from an average of 7 degrees Celsius in Iceland to 33 degrees. Long trousers, jumper and gloves were promptly washed and packed away for the foreseeable future. Shorts and flip-flops are the order of the day here.
In Toronto I have been busy taking in the sights and enjoying the atmosphere of the city- including being mistaken for an Australian a number of times! I usually do one big-ticket attraction per destination and for Toronto this was naturally the CN Tower. It is a truly majestic structure and, it goes without saying, very tall. On the day I visited the weather was really clear so the views were amazing. It takes around 45 seconds in the lift to reach the first viewing platform with the plate glass floor. A second platform is further up and the views great too.
As you can see it’ s a long way down and not for the faint-hearted! It was quite pricey at $59CAD, but I definitely think it was worth it. I don’t think a visit to Toronto would be complete without it.
The other main trip was to the Niagara Falls, about 2 hours south of Toronto at the base of Lake Ontario. It was, as all the days have been here so far, scorching hot. The falls themselves, both American and Horseshoe, are spectacular. The Canadian side, I think, has the best views. The water goes through the rapids, over the falls and into Lake Eyrie at an incredible rate. In fact it’s quite hard to get good close up pictures of Horseshoe Falls as the spray is everywhere! It was also very busy with tourists there as well as wedding shoots. However, it was a great experience to see the falls for real.
The American Falls
The Horseshoe Falls
Other visits included the brewery district, a theme park and watching the Canada Day (celebrating Canada’s birthday) fireworks on Lake Ontario. It was another wonderful experience of another national holiday, I seem to be happening on them quite often!
As I write this I am sitting in the lobby of a hostel in Ottawa, Ontario. I travelled up from Toronto today on the train, Via Rail to be precise. This is a great way to travel in Canada if you are not driving. Flying within Canada is not much of an option unless you have a considerable budget or book many months in advance: the antithesis of an on-the-fly traveller. I got a budget-economy seat and it was entirely adequate. The train wasn’t that busy and I certainly made use of the power points to charge devices. The journey took a little longer than expected as there were speed restrictions due to the track being too hot. For UK readers, it’s not just Britain having some hot temperatures!
Upon arrival there was a big thunderstorm in Ottawa which has made it a little cooler. The wind picking up the dust beforehand blew everywhere! Tomorrow I shall be heading out to explore Ottawa and take in some of the sights. I hope this has brought you up to date, and remember that my social media accounts also contain lots of good stuff. My Twitter is @mrlukeniktravel and Instagram @mrlukeniktravels.
Until next time, stay safe and travel on!