On Top of the World Again, Toronto, Canada

No, not Everest this time, but the CN Tower - the highest building in the World. We had to splurge a little as it is one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World! Around 4 PM, we took the speedy lift up to the first viewing platform, 342 m (1,122 ft) above the ground. Here, there is an outdoor viewing area, and a glass floor!! Even though you see everyone else standing on them, it is still a little frightening stepping out onto the glass. We managed to take the obligatory pics laying down on the glass with the ground far below. There is also a revolving restaurant on the next floor up, for some great dining views.

But this was not high enough! We had booked to go up to the SkyPod, which is the World's Highest Public Observation located at a dizzying 447 m (1,465 ft.)!! What a view, and we had a clear day to boot! Tiny ants below driving miniscule cars! You can easily see over all the skyscrapers in town, and in the picture you can see the shadow of the CN Tower on the right hand side. We managed to spend about 4.5 hours up here, enjoying the sunset and watching the city lights come on. Our usual picnic up tall structures this time consisted of some really great stinky bleu-brie cheese freshly bought from the Kensington Market. I'm surprised we didn't stink out the whole SkyPod as it is not a large space!!

Of course, the Tower is higher than this. At a height of 553.33m (1,815 ft., 5 inches), it is Canada’s National Tower, the World's Tallest Building, and an important telecommunications hub.

It's purpose: The CN Tower was built in 1976 by Canadian National (CN) who wanted to demonstrate the strength of Canadian industry by building a tower taller than any other in the world. The construction boom in Toronto in the 1960's transformed the skyline characterised by relatively low buildings into one dotted with skyscrapers. These new buildings caused serious communication problems. With its microwave receptors at 338 m (1,109 ft.) and 553.33m (1,815 ft., 5 inches) antenna, the CN Tower swiftly solved the communication problems with room to spare. As a result people living in the Toronto area now enjoy some of the clearest reception in North America. *Stub

Take Me to Niagara Falls, Canada

.... that's what I said to Martin ! Although Ontario has been home to Martin before, for me this was all new stuff, and in my mind, no trip to this part of the world would be complete without a visit to one of the most famous waterfalls in the world - Niagara. I have to say I was very excited about seeing Niagara Falls for the first time. Sadly, the commercialism surrounding it is a sorry sight to behold with poor planning and lack of thought for the actual nature of the attraction. I did not care too much for the numerous tacky tourist attractions of wax museums and casinos right at the falls. But inspite of the tacky stuff, I was not disappointed with the Falls themselves! They were breathtaking!

For those who have never been, the Niagara river (which is relatively young at 12,000 years) straddles the border between America and Canada. An island splits the river in two giving rise to waterfalls on both sides of the border. Officially it's made up of three falls - Bridal Veil Falls, American Falls (not surprisingly, on the American side!), and Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side. Although the American falls are 9ft taller at 176ft in height, Horseshoe is the most impressive being much wider. It is - yes, you've guessed it - horseshoe-shaped! About half a mile long (2600ft) at the rim, Horseshoe has an average volume of 600,000 gallons of water flowing over its crest ... per second. Crazy! I'm very glad we came to visit at this time of year even though it was pretty cold. Apparently, Niagara receives 12 million tourists a year, and thankfully there weren't too many today, apart from the usual Chinese tour bus groups that we are now so accustomed to after our travels in China. I was shocked and relieved to see there was not much spitting going on! - something we are not accustomed to!

If it hadn't been for Martin's friend, Mark, lending us his car we would never have been able to see Niagara or explore the local area. The drive along the river passing large wine estates to the charming town of Niagara-on-the-lake was quite picturesque. All in all it was a great day out - pity we didn't have time to sample some of the fantastic wines the region is famous for! * Mush

At Earl and Joy's Cottage, Ontario, Canada

You meet so many good people when you're on the road, that you just have to go and see them in their natural habitat when you get back. Our good travelling friend's Earl and Joy live in this part of the world too. They picked us up from the Neilson's cottage and took us over to their place on Four Mile Lake near Coboconk, still in Ontario.

It was a relaxing few days and it was great to see them. It rained quite a lot, but it was cool to hear the pitter-patter on the roof and feel cosy in their cottage. We got spoilt by Joy and her good food, we took the odd trip into town and played Euchre every evening. And while Joy got me hooked on crosswords and a game called SkipBo, Martin helped Earl on his computer. When the weather was nice we went for walks, played horseshoes in the garden, or took the 'Snooz-cruze' paddle boat out on the lake. Sometimes, it was nice just to sit on the swinging chair overlooking the glass-like water and enjoy the peace and quiet, only interrupted by the occassional squark of Canada Geese overhead. It was a nice few days of chilling out, and great to see Earl and Joy before they took off for Asia again. We were disappointed that we wouldn't be criss-crossing paths with them again on those same roads. * Mush

It's Snowing! Ontario, Canada

One morning at Mark's cottage I awoke to find Michelle missing from the bed. I eventually found her with a big grin on her face outside, dancing and whirling around in the huge snowflakes falling to the ground. We haven't seen snow fall since we left Portland. So I guess she's missed snow!

We don't have very much in the way of warm gear with us as we sent what we had to B.C. after we left Tibet, so the jacket that Michelle has on is Mark's and is about 10 sizes too big for her! * Stub

Neilson's Cottage, Cottage Country, Ontario, Canada

Mark and Cathy managed to fit some relax time into their busy schedule and took us up to the family cottage on Dickie Lake, just East of Bracebridge (which is about a 2 hour drive North of Toronto). As you can see, the weather was turning a bit, but what better place to be in a snow storm than huddled up warm and cosy by the fire in the cottage.

First night on arrival into Baysville, we had a good meal at the local dive - the Pav! Not much happening there this time of year though, so it was off to the cottage for some evening games and a little wine!

Mark took the role of chef for the weekend and cooked us up some delicious meals (I had no idea he was such a good cook!). After a hearty brunch, we went up to Algonquin Park to do a 4-hour hike along the Track and Tower Trail. Unfortunately, we missed the Fall colours in the trees, but it meant we could enjoy the colour on the ground as all the leaves had fallen and created a bed of yellowy-browns and rusty-reds, and see more through the trees! A good hike, with a beautiful lookout over some of the lakes at the top of the cliff. We didn't manage to see much wildlife though. It was back in the evening for some more tasty warm grub and relaxation enjoying the good company and some good laughs.*Stub

Canadian Thanksgiving

Well, we hit it good for Thanksgiving. Knowing our passion for food as you all do, think of three turkey dinners in a row!!! We loved it!

Thanksgiving Dinner #1. Starting on the Friday Oct 6th, we cruised up to Keswick,Ontario, to Colin and Shona's place. It was time to get together with the best friends from High School. We each brought our significant others and some kids, and a dish to add to the feast. It was great to spend the day and evening together because it is very seldom that we all get together in a group like this. The turkey was great too, succulent and juicy.

Thanksgiving Dinner #2. We borrowed a car from Mark and made our way up to Midhurst (near Barrie) also in Ontario, to visit Michelle's cousin Anna, her husband Andrew and kids Seb and Dom. Michelle's Auntie Alda and Uncle Umberto were visiting from Portugal too which made the visit even better. She hadn't seen them in about 10 years. We were also joined by their friends from when they lived up in Yellowknife. Once again, the turkey dinner was fabulous and the hospitality was great.

Thanksgiving Dinner #3. Back at my sister's place, we enjoyed some of my Mum's cooking. As usual, it was fantastic, although we all chipped in a bit. A beautiful Fall day was spent outside in the garden with the kids, a good meal and some fun games in the evening.
We were available for a turkey on the actual Thanksgiving Monday, but no offers came in. We did manage to have turkey soup for lunch though. I think the turkey hangover lasted the rest of the week, but it was great while it lasted. Roll on Christmas - we're ready for the next turkey! *Stub

Birthday With Family and With Friends

October 4th was my 36th birthday. I was lucky enough to have my entire immediate family in town to celebrate with. My Mum and Dad were visiting from Kelowna. Of course, my sister Lorraine, brother-in-law Marshall, nephew Spencer and little niece Jayden live in Brampton. We went out to lunch to an all-u-can-eat buffet with roasts, pasta, seafood, salads and desserts! My celebratory lunch was courtesy of my Dad, who had a big surprise sale on E-Bay of an old Indian money order which fetched about $1700 - sweeeet! He had no idea!! It was nice to spend the time with family, although we missed my nephew Spencer, who had to be at school!

In the afternoon, we met up with Sacha and headed down to the Beaconsfield Bar in Toronto. It was great to catch up with old friends Sacha, Mark, Greg, and Kimmy D. All good friends from my high school days at Brampton Centennial. There was also an additional guest - Leigh Wingfield - who I had not spoken with or seen in at least 13 years. Great to catch up. Also good to spend time with new friends - Mark's girlfriend Cathy and her 8 year old son Nathan who spent some time up at the bar by himself, chatting on a Blackberry, ordering Coronas. Kids grow up so fast these days! Plenty of beers of course and a few surprise shooters courtesy of Kimmy D. We managed to spend the night down at her place near High Park, and enjoy a morning with her before getting back to Brampton. Good times. *Stub