We travelled to the west of Vancouver Island last Sunday with the very happy Canadians who were taking every advantage of the spectacular weather for their Labour Day weekend. Tofino was beautiful and the three nights at the Middle Beach Lodge just lovely (thanks Anne V). Whale watching on an ocean of smooth seas, much like molten glass, would have been delightful even without the pods of orcas and three grey whales. The local Botanic Gardens so unique and the unkempt waterside forests of ancient gnarled trees was like nothing I'd seen before.
 |
| View from our balcony Middle Beach Lodge |
 |
| Orcas ( aka killer whales) |
 |
| Tofino Botanic Gardens |
 |
| Radar Hill lookout |
 |
| Wickannish Beach |
Many thanks to all of you who sent your birthday thoughts and wishes. I haven't been able to reply individually but please know your emails meant a great deal. THANK YOU!
I found the big drive back to Victoria exhausting and I'm only just recovering. Not use to 5 hour drives these days. But the evening in Victoria was delightful as I did an extended waterside walk which was just what I needed.
 |
| Victoria sunset walk |
 |
| Parliament Victoria, capital of British Columbia |
It was with a touch of sadness we left "Beautiful British Columbia" - their number plate claim to fame. The five weeks we spent there was without a doubt some of my holidaying lifetime highlights. I'm such a lakes and mountains girl so I was delighted to see snow capped mountains everyday in Part 1, 2 and 3 of the opus.
But after a long day of flying, via Calgary we arrived in Toronto. Another Fairmont which continues to impress. Our group is bigger but all seem very pleasant and our guide very knowledgeable and ready to meet our every need. Toronto is big and the underground city that extends for 11 km is most impressive. Our HIGHlight was choosing to have lunch in the revolving restaurant in the CN Tower (their Centrepoint). The weather was, you guessed it - spectacular! - and our server very willing to answer our question of "What's that?" The first being the city/buildings we could see across the lake. 75 km away was Niagara! Visibility was fantastic and the lunch deal extraordinary. Our $35 one course turned out to be a $10 2 course. Long story!
 |
| CN Tower, Toronto |
We hit the road the next day to Niagara. My first sighting of the falls was from a helicopter! Amazing! Again perfect weather. Breath taking stuff. The Maid of the Mist boat was fun and we enjoyed the town of Niagara on the Lake enormously - Berry on steroids! The falls at night was novel but the coloured lights a bit tacky. We could see both falls, the famous Horseshoe falls and the lesser known American falls, from our 25th floor room. Only draw back was the Casino was between the two! A unique view for card playing.
 |
| Niagara on the Lake |
 |
| US Falls |
 |
| Obligatory photo taken by me! There is only 1! |
 |
| Horseshoe Falls |
 |
| View from our room at the Hilton |
 |
| Sunrise from restaurant at breakfast |
The 1000 Island cruise on the St Lawrence River was something I had been looking forward to and it didn't disappoint. Being Sunday the pleasure craft darting between the islands added to the experience. When I'm not pressed for Internet time I'll get the address of a wonderful PowerPoint I know if you are interested in seeing the 1000 islands. (Thanks Anne C). I found it ....
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/INSOMNIA555-197269-thousand-islands-beautiful-nature-travel-places-ppt-powerpoint/
 |
| Lots of pictures to choose from. Have a look at the powerpoint to get the idea. |
We are having an afternoon off in Ottawa and the minutes are ticking away so I must post now or I'll lose this. Please forgive typo's/errors as editing time will be limited.
Adieu!
No comments:
Post a Comment