Honolulu and goodbye

Honolulu:

Here are the highlights of our stay in Honolulu to round off this blog. As we had been here before we took things easy rather than running around doing the tourist stuff we had been doing since May.

One night we went to the show put on by our hotel – the Magic of Polynesia, which is a kind of ‘Las Vegas meets Hawaii’ show. It featured lots of really good Polynesian dancing and an excellent performance by local illusionist John Hirokawa. Magic shows are not really our thing, but this guy was amazing.

We decided that we had clearly not added sufficient stimulus to the American economy in the last three months so we made amends by getting the bus to the Waikele factory outlets. No doubt thanks to our efforts the US will soon start to pull out of its current mess!

Phil decided to visit the US Army Museum, and especially enjoyed checking out the World War Two tanks and other boys toys on display. That night we went to a luau at a lovely beach about 40k outside Honolulu. It was a night of great Hawaiian cooking and Polynesian entertainment. Phil wants to know how women move their hips like that. Sue says he is not likely to find out J.

On the Tuesday before we left we decided it was time for a swim at Waikiki beach. Most of the beach seems to be the domain of surfers, but we found a semi-enclosed area that had good waves and was free of boards. The water was perfect – a bit of a bight when you get in, then wonderfully refreshing. That night we enjoyed a dinner cruise on the Star of Honolulu, which seats 1500 passengers for different dining styles! We had the three course dinner and enjoyed the sights of Honolulu from the water and the magnificent sunset. What a great way to finish an excellent adventure!

Train and Whistler

Toronto to Vancouver:

On Thursday night we boarded the train for Vancouver. After walking miles down to our carriage near the rear of the train – it had 21 carriages pulled by 4 engines – we found our luxurious first class stateroom. Well, not exactly. It is very cramped and had a toilet and sink, but we had to share a shower with the rest of the carriage. We had double bunks, so Phil had all the joys of climbing into and out of the single top bunk!!! A far cry from the Royal York Hotel which we left on Thursday night!! We also had no wifi so checking email was an impossibility. It felt like we had our right arm cut off!!! But those were the only negatives. The staff were really friendly and helpful, and the food in the dining car was plentiful and really great.

The scenery was beautiful. Through Ontario it was mainly forests peppered with pretty lakes and streams. We arrived in Winnipeg, Manitoba on Saturday and took a short boat tour on the river. The river is about 9 feet above the normal level as you can see from the picture above. The steps are under water!! One of the more interesting sites was the Catholic cathedral which was originally a huge structure built long ago when Winnipeg was a booming rail junction, the gateway to western Canada. It was burnt out in a fire many years ago leaving only the vast shell. As the city was less prosperous at the time they built a smaller cathedral inside the old shell. It is an odd sight.

After we left Winnipeg the scenery changed to fairly flat farmland where many crops were being grown, most notably hay and canola. We were lucky enough to spot a coyote among the hay bales. Subsequently spotted deer and mountain sheep, but no elk which we had expected to see in Jasper L.

We reached Edmonton on Sunday morning at 6.30am and raced up to the station lounge to check the emails. It was frustrating not having wifi, but at least we were able to send a few replies that morning and let people know why they weren’t hearing from us. The train then took us through forest country to the Rocky Mountains and a stop at Jasper, Alberta. Up till then the weather had been patchy, but it grew worse once we got into the mountains. We took few photos due to the rain and the fact that most of the snow had gone from the peaks. But as we had driven through the Rockies in 1998 we did not feel that we had been cheated.

The food on the train was first class. On Sunday night, for instance, we had a choice of fish chowder or tomato and spinach soup, then salad followed by either rack of lamb with a blueberry glaze, salmon in filo pastry with maple butter dressing or stuffed chicken something. That was followed by chocolate caramel torte or carrot cake, followed by tea or coffee and after dinner mints. We are sure going to have to walk miles (or kilometres) to make up for all the food we have eaten while on the train!!!

We arrived in Vancouver on Monday. Rob picked us up on Tuesday and drove us up to Whistler, venue of the last Winter Olympics. Summer has been very mild in western Canada and there was still a surprising amount of snow around. The drive to and from Whistler is pretty spectacular and the Whistler Village has that wonderful alpine feel that you might expect. All up we had a great day, but we did miss Marg who was unable to join us.

We are now in Honolulu so the next blog will probably be the last before we get home.

Ottawa and Niagara Falls

Ottawa

We travelled to Ottawa on Thursday through the lovely forest and farmlands so typical of this part of Canada. Ottawa is a lovely city – clean, easy to get around, and very friendly. The Parliament buildings are very impressive and feature many beautiful works of art reflecting Canada’s history. As with the other cities we visited here in eastern Canada Ottawa has many grand old churches and other buildings that one never tires of seeing. Ottawa also has the Canadian Museum of Civilisation, which traces human history from its beginnings.

It was very interesting to watch the operation of the locks that are used to move boats from the Ottawa River up to the Rideau Canal. The eight locks are hand operated using winches – a strange sight in this automated age we live in.

Toronto and Niagara Falls:

On Saturday we travelled to Toronto. On the way we stopped at Gananoque on the St Lawrence River and took a one hour “1000 islands cruise”. That particular section of the river is a popular summer holiday area and has around 1800 small islands many of which have at least one house, most of them obviously expensive. What a beautiful part of the world.

We took a day trip to Niagara Falls on Sunday. What an amazing experience! We were told that the amount of water flowing over the Falls could fill one million bathtubs per second. That is easy to believe when you see them. Our group boarded the Maid of the Mist which sails into the spray beneath the Canadian side of the Falls. When you board they give you a poncho, and boy do you need it! The boat sails into water that is churning like a washing machine, and the spray is drenching. Put that together with the roar of the water and you have one fantastic experience.

That night we had our tour farewell dinner in the revolving restaurant high up in the CN Tower – still the second highest man made structure in the world. The view from the restaurant is fabulous, encompassing the city and suburbs of Toronto and far out into Lake Ontario. It was really hard to say goodbye to everyone as they were a great fun loving group and we have made such good friends. But with any luck we might see some of them again in Australia.

We now have a few days in Toronto before taking the train to Vancouver on Thursday night. So no more blogging for a few days folks. We is buggared and intend to take some much needed R & R.

Quebec

Quebec:

On Tuesday we travelled to Quebec. The countryside is very pretty in summer, with lots of farmland and forest along the way. Quebec city is the only walled city in North America north of Mexico, and unlike Montreal its authorities have made a serious effort over time to preserve historic buildings. Le Chateau Frontenac and the Provincial Parliament building are especially impressive examples of classic French architecture. The old town has a very distinctive French feel about it. It reminds Phil of old Geneva and Ferney Voltaire in southern France. Our guide for the city tour was ideal, as he grew up in an old neighbourhood in the 1950s and 60s and was able to talk about the way in which the ethnic mix of families had changed over time.

That night went drove past the Montmorency Falls on the way to dinner. The falls are 30 metres higher than Niagara Falls so are very spectacular. At night the city lights them up in beautiful rainbow colours – a lovely idea. The dinner was in an old mill house that had been built in the 1700’s and still maintains the original stone walls both inside and out. The meal included the traditional maple sugar pie – it was sooo nice but no doubt contained a million calories – hence the long walk on Wednesday to balance the equation!!

Wednesday was a free day so we took a ferry across the St Laurence River and back, then another walk through the old town and up the funicular to the Chateau Frontenac. Phil saw the changing of the guard at the Citadel, which is an historic fort but still a functioning military base. But much walking up and down hills was involved in all this, so we returned to the hotel pretty well stuffed! Sue is not doing any more walking uphill!!! EVER!!! Ottawa and Toronto had better be very flat, or have lots of very cheap taxis.

Montreal and Quebec

Montreal:

We spent Sunday and Monday in Montreal and began our Globus tour of the historic cities of eastern Canada. Montreal has a nice feel to it. It’s older and more wealthy areas include many beautiful old buildings and cobbled streets. On Monday morning we visited the Notre-Dame Basilica, which is built of stone but is decorated with magnificent wood carvings that you would swear were made of stone.

One of the most memorable things about Montreal is the so called underground city. As Montreal can receive up to 4 metres of snow in winter there are 55 city buildings connected by an underground system of multi-level passages and shopping arcades. The system is linked to Central Station so that Metro commuters lucky enough to work in one of those buildings don’t have to step out in the snow to get to work. Good thinking! It is just like a great big Westfield Centre, but completely underground!!

Another memorable site is the stadium built for the 1976 Olympics.

Fifty-five per cent of people here speak French as their first language, so all signs are in French and only some are also in English. While we had been told to expect this it is strange, and rather exotic, to be in Canada rather than France but have everyone greet you with “bonjour” all the time.

The tour looks like it will be a lot of fun. Lisa, our tour director, is a very bright personality and extremely helpful. There are 42 people on the tour, including 10 Aussies. But as usual we have made friends with Americans first. Funny how that happens. We have teamed up with Chuck and Barb from Las Vegas and Al and Sandy from Michigan. We are all baby boomer world travellers so we have traded a lot of funny stories. We have found it strange having to ask for a fridge in most American/Canadian hotels. Some even try to charge you for them, but “no way Jose” is my mantra. So far it has worked, so we’ll see how it goes on this trip.

Boston quickie

More Boston:

We thought we had finished our Boston blog, but on Friday morning we walked several blocks to a Laundromat to find that it was located directly opposite historic North Boston Church. In April 1735 an American revolutionary placed two lamps in the steeple of this church to inform Paul Revere that the British army would attack the Continental army by water, not land. So while we were waiting for the washing to finish we visited the church and then walked a couple of blocks to Paul Revere’s house. The house is a grey-painted wooden two story house built in 1680 and is the only surviving building of its type in Boston. This was a real bonus as we thought we had run out of time to see these sights. Meant to be I guess. Tomorrow it is off to Montreal. Vive la Canada or something!!!!

Boston quickie

More Boston:

We thought we had finished our Boston blog, but on Friday morning we walked several blocks to a Laundromat to find that it was located directly opposite historic North Boston Church. In April 1735 an American revolutionary placed two lamps in the steeple of this church to inform Paul Revere that the British army would attack the Continental army by water, not land. So while we were waiting for the washing to finish we visited the church and then walked a couple of blocks to Paul Revere’s house. The house is a grey-painted wooden two story house built in 1680 and is the only surviving building of its type in Boston. This was a real bonus as we thought we had run out of time to see these sights. Meant to be I guess. Tomorrow it is off to Montreal. Vive la Canada or something!!!!