Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
This is entry no. 3 and already Phil is getting fed up of having to help with input!! (but he's here too so he has to!)
We left Toronto last Thurs and took a 5 hour journey on the Greyhound to Canada's capital city, Ottawa. As soon as we arrived we were caught in a downpour! How dare it rain here?!! So we ducked inside for a coffee to shelter! It soon passed and we got to our hostel which was the old Ottawa jail! It was really cool all the dorm rooms were the original cells and there were bars on all the windows. We, however, had our own room in the former officers' quarters so not as jail like to sleep in! Phil looked like he belonged there, as in Toronto he'd had his head shaved - REALLY short!
We only had one full day here unfortunately and when we got up it was chucking it down! Oh no! However it was only showers all day and when the sun came out it was nice and warm but we were a bit miffed about having to use our waterproofs already, "already"! So we took in the sights of Parliament Hill. First up was the changing of the guards which look exactly like the guards in London - but then Canada was part of the mighty British Empire! We did a tour round the Parliament buildings with a very enthusiastic guide which was very interesting. Our guide kept refering to the Queen of Canada so we pointed out she is also the Queen of England!
Ottawa is situated on the Ottawa river and across that is the province of Quebec. (They wish it was their own country!), but it is French-speaking Canada. Therefore everything in Ottawa is bilingual, didn't practice my French though, it's not French as we know it, it sounds wierd here!
In Ottawa we saw our first bit of North American wildlife too. A groundhog just grazing on the grass, a groundhog just grazing on the grass, a groundhog just grazing on the grass and a few chipmunks scurrying around. I like them they are so small and cute!
It was another 5 hour journey next from Ottawa to North Bay- a small town on the shore of Lake Nipissing. This was really just a stop over for us on our way to Thunder Bay otherwise the journey would've taken about 24hrs! Bit of luxury for us here too as we stayed in a Comfort Inn motel, v. nice! We got to make the most of our room too as it was another rainy day when we arrived, boo. So we got Chinese take out delivered to our room and sampled some Canadian fizz which wasn't bad. The next day was glorious so we had our picnic lunch by the lake before boarding the bus for our longest journey yet, 17 hrs to Thunder Bay.......aaarghhh!
It ended up being 19 hours though as the coach broke down one hour away from Thunder Bay! Noticed how nice and different the Canadians are to us Brits though as not one person complained or asked the driver stupid questions, everyone accepted it and waited for a replacement bus to turn up. We were in no hurry anyway and thought it was all part of travelling! Arrived here yesterday morning, staying in another motel (no hostels here!), this time on the shore of Lake Superior (one of the 5 great Lakes, Phil keeps calling them seas as they really are HUGE!) right by the marina and we have a balcony so it's great! Weather has perked up again so we've had a good look around. Today we visited a place called Fort William. I have been to Thunder Bay and Fort William 12 years ago when mum and dad brought us and remembered it being really good so I took Phil. It is a replica of one of the old fur trading posts which were common across Canada in the 1800's. It's a working museum and all the staff are dressed in period costume and act like it's 1815 (in this case). It was really interesting, we had a tour round all the buildings within the fort walls and learnt about life back in the day of fur trading (Beaver Fur was the most sought after as it was the most fashionable in Europe at the time), saw some wigwams too! Then had a trip on the river in an authentic bark canoe, it's amazing how they built them. Phil also had a go at axe throwing so I stayed well back! ha ha.
We leave Thunder Bay tomorrow night to do the overnight journey to Winnipeg, we're leaving Ontario and moving into Manitoba, heading West...... Tomorrow we may do a sailing trip on Lake Superior, the largest fresh water lake in the world. Phil's facts - it's 383 miles long and 160 miles wide, you could fit Wales in it!
Getting a good tan, enjoying nice food (Phil had his much sought after rack of ribs last night!) but spending up too fast! there's so much to do!!!
Love to you all, we miss you.
love us two X
ps. did you all spot Phil's film reference?!!
- comments