OK, IT`S GETTING A BIT CHILLY NOW!

So, as the nights draw in and the temperature is getting drastically colder, what have I got for you this week...

Since you last heard from me I have taken in three more cities Canada has to offer, working my way up from Toronto to Ottawa and finally Montreal where I currently am...well until tomorrow at least.

After a short 2 hour bus ride from Niagara Falls up to Toronto I proceeded to walk entirely in the wrong direction away from my hostel. After a small delay I was finally heading in the right direction and 45 minutes later I arrived...and what a place to arrive to...the hostel was like a palace (well, compared to some other palces I have stayed in) and best of all had real matresses, not those crappy foam ones they have in most places...so with a smile on my face knowing I would sleep well that night I headed out for a stroll and familiarised myself with the city before heading back to my home for the next few days to watch a film and then bed. The next day I headed out around the city and took in some culture, visiting the Royal Ontario Museum (nothing to do with the fact that it was free after 4.30pm...I promise) and after a look round, particularly the dinasour exhibit...the highlight of the museum (you would never guess from my photos!) I headed back to the hostel where I got talking to a couple of guys. So with a couple of beers (provided by the hostel owner) it became apparent that not only were we all from the London area, not only did we go to the same university, not only did we all just graduate in June this year but infact, one of the guys, Adam, was on my course and the other, Louis did classics with my friend Lauren. And if that wasnt enough, I soon realised that I had met Louis before in my first year. So after a catch up on the Manchestaaa scene we all hit sack (not together mind) ready for the next days events. They included a trip up the CN Tower, to the highest observation deck in the world...some 447m up in the air! There are actually two tourist observation decks, the one below the skypod, which is the highest in the world is a larger one where the revolving restaurant sits. Here you are able to stand on the glass floor and see just how far you would fall if it was to break. Although knowing you are completely safe, it really does mess with your mind. So gingerly putting one foot down and then the other I heard a a rather loud creek in the glass so quickly retreated. After composing myself i returned to take a couple of snaps for you all to see. later that afternoon I took a stroll along the beach front of Lake Ontario (slightly too cold to take a dip though) and then finally a night out with Adam and Louis to a few bars and a club.

Waking up pretty hungover, I got my stuff together and boarded another bus up to Ottawa, only a short 5 hour journey this time. To my surprise I got an instant buzz about the place and checked in at my new hostel where I immediately met a couple of Brits and we went to the supermarket to get some supplies for dinner. After a week of eating pizza, hot dogs and chips it was a welcome change to have a home cooked spag bowl complemented with some nice coversation and the chance to make some new friends. The next day I met some nice German people and we headed off to the Parliament buildings, and a stroll round the city. Later that night a whole bunch of us from the hostel headed out to sample the Ottawa night scene and as you can probably guess proceeded to get a bit tipsy! The next day we headed over the province boarder into Quebec and took a bit of a trek through the woods into Gatineau Park. After finding ourselves lost and it getting darker by the minute, to our relief we were kindly pointed in the right direction to the bus stop by a young lad on his bike (what he was doing in the woods on his bike i do not know!). With that ordeal over, it was a quiet night in at the hostel with some sweets and a few board games.

The next day saw me head up to Montreal, (where I am now) which when I got here I headed to the wrong hostel (having been given the wrong directions). Luckily the owner let me stay there that evening but got his own back by sending me left out the door to Downtown instead of right. After about an hour of walking and not a tall building in sight I rather belatedly realised that it was the wrong way and found the nearest subway station and started to head in the right direction. The next day I moved hostels, where I am staying now, which has got an interesting layout of a load of blow up beds on the floor and a curtain around your section (but hey, thats the Frenchies for you!). I quickly dumped my stuff and headed out in the wind and rain along the water front up to Basilique Notre-Dame... A famous church apparently. Looking rather ordinary outside, it definitely makes up for it inside (as I am sure you can see from my shots). So after an uncomfortable nights sleep last night I headed over to La Parc olympique, Montreal of course being hosts to the 1976 Summer Olympic Games. After a wonder around the site and a tour inside the stadium I headed back into town, not really knowing what to do. So I decided to climb Mont Royal, Montreal`s very own mountain. At 340 odd meters high, it isn`t the highest mountain you will come across, but when you decide to take a route off the beaten track, not really knowing where it was heaading and actually having to climb up some rocks at some point, you could argue that it was a little challenging. I was rewarded however at the top with a view of Montreal`s skyline (unfortunately it has been cold, grey and rainy since I have been here, so visibilty was not the greatest). But none the less, a very nice sight.

With one more night to go on my air bed, I fly over to Calgary tomorrow in order to get over to Banff to start a 5 day Moose Tour, concluding in Vancouver. That you will have the pleasure of hearing about next time a write to you all, but until then, goodbye.