Category: Around the World in 60 Days

Sunday, 20 June 2010 Quebec City, Canada Glad to leave Montreal. Not one of my favourite places. Feels grubby. Am in need of a bit of cleanliness. So after three and half hours travelling by train to Quebec City you can imagine my delight as I check in to the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac Hotel (https://www.fairmont.com/frontenac-quebec/).… Read more

Saturday, 19 June 2010 Montreal, Canada My view of Montreal being grungy doesn’t improve as I walk down Rue St Denis in the Latin Quarter and pass through some grungy looking hippie hangout under some concrete walkways strewn with tents and sleeping bags. But then. It improves slightly as I enter the old city. A… Read more

Friday, 18 June 2010 Montreal, Canada Some thought has gone into the timing of the rail journey between Ottawa and Montreal. Coincides with the kick off time of the England v Algeria World Cup football match. Cunning plan to pass the two hour rail journey watching a live stream of the match. Find a live… Read more

Thursday, 17 June 2010 Ottawa, Canada It’s 0545hrs. Three taxi drivers are arguing the toss over who should take me to the railway station. A few blocks away. None want to take me. No. They want to do an airport run. An expensive fare rather than my paltry CA$6. Security measures are in place for… Read more

Wednesday, 16 June 2010 Toronto, Canada Up on the 23rd floor the hotel is shrouded in rain. And the view is of the inside of a cloud. Tipping it down. Am struggling to walk, dear reader. My left foot. Is knackered. Decide it needs seeing to. A massage is required. Chinatown will definitely have massage… Read more

Tuesday, 15 June 2010 Toronto, Canada Arrive Toronto station an hour and a half late. And you moan about a few minutes on your daily commute. The first impression on approach is the CN Tower. It. Is. Tall. Toronto reminds me of New York. Same style skyscrapers. Same architecture. Same shadows in high summer caused… Read more

Monday, 14 June 2010 Toronto transit, Canada After an emotional evening, left Winnipeg behind on the train departing at 2330hrs last night. For a 34hr rail journey to Toronto. On a real high last night after a memorable weekend in Winnipeg. Train trundling across the prairies. Landscape has morphed into rock and boreal forest as… Read more

Sunday, 13 June 2010 Winnipeg, Canada Assiniboine Park houses an art gallery. Notable, dear reader, as it has the only known oil painting of Winnie the Pooh. Winnie the Pooh being named after Winnipeg. Enroute to join the Canadian Army Veterinary Corp at the start of World War 1, Harry Colebourn purchased a bear cub.… Read more

Saturday, 12 June 2010 Winnipeg, Canada Continue the weekend theme of all things World War 2 at the Western Canadian Air Museum. Small display tucked away in a corner dedicated to Coastal Command shows a Sunderland Flying boat and its dimensions. Its only now that I realise how big and bulky the Sunderland Flying boat… Read more

Friday, 11 June 2010 Winnipeg, Canada Introduced to Tim Horton’s by Mr & Mrs Manitoba. Canada’s answer to Starbucks. Breakfast for the three of us costs CA$ 7!!! About £4. Three coffees and bagels. Bloody hell. That’s cheap. Costs about £4 for a coffee alone in the UK. We’re to meet Maurice Shnider. A small… Read more