Central Park’s most wanted

19 Aug 2020 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Canadian birthday adventures Tags: , , , , , , , ,

On my second trip to the Big Apple in 2003 with my 2 friends Dawn and Trina we decided to get up early and go on a boat trip around Manhattan and Ellis, Staten and liberty islands. It was an extremely cold day and one of the bridges was stuck with the ice and it took a little while longer than anticipated to return to our pier.

For some odd reason we didn’t eat on the boat despite it being a long trip, so by the time we were on dry land we were starving. Trina had heard of a pub in Central Park – The Tavern on the Green. It took a nano-second to realise this was no pub, especially when the manager took the time to show us around the crystal decked restaurant and the Lulu Guiness shop!

It was all going so well, we were all tarted up and smelling lovely from the freebies in the bathroom and comfortably settled in the top bar tucking into jacket spuds and sipping on cocktails.

Therein lay the problem! Dawn vs long island ice tea! At an alarmingly fast pace she became a semi-conscious wreck vomiting in the corner. I did my best for a while mopping up the sick and staying off the radar of the staff, hoping that she would recover and we could leave with no one being the wiser. But the very same manager from earlier in the evening spotted me with a handful of napkins from the loo and stopped me for a little chat about getting my vomit covered friend out by the back door as quickly as possible. Luckily Dawn was fully recovered the next day and we had a fabulous time the rest of the holiday.

So on the final day of our North American 80th birthday adventure my mum and I decided to have a stroll around Central Park. I couldn’t resist going back to Tavern on the Green to see if there were any photos of me and my friends as a warning not to let us in under any circumstances. But I’m happy to report there was no evidence of any wanted posters and we were welcomed in with open arms…. well not quite,  but we did find a lovely spot in the garden in the glorious sunshine where we could sit and people watch all afternoon.

We had time for a turn around the part of Riverside Park that was used to film the final scene of You’ve Got Mail when Kathleen and Joe finally get it together, before heading off for our flight home.

It was a perfect end to a wonderful holiday and I’m so happy we managed to go before all of the Covid madness.

 

Niagara in the Fall

03 Jun 2020 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Canadian birthday adventures Tags: , , , , , , ,

We had a lovely brunch and one last mooch in some shops in Toronto before getting the bus. It was a relatively short trip to Niagara, in just over an hour we were at the bus station hailing a taxi to our hotel.

The following day, after an amazing All you can eat breakfast we made our way towards the incredibly loud roar of the falls. But nothing could have prepared me for the breathtaking sight of the American and Horseshoe falls.

On the walk up to the main hub and visitor centre to get a closer look, we came across a statue of Nikola Tesla. I knew he was the inventor of alternating current (AC) electricity, but I didn’t know about his connection to this area. In 1895, along with George Westinghouse, he built the first hydroelectrical  power plant in Niagara Falls. The statue on the Canadian side was unveiled in 2006.

Tesla

True to form I found myself in a tunnel, a very soggy walk down a path behind the Horseshoe falls, resulted in a very wet experience at the end out on an open platform at the foot of the falls.

But that was nowhere near as wet and wild as the boat trip right up to the mouth of the falls. I tried my very best to film the experience, but there was no way I could hold my phone and trying to keep my balance while being thrown around the boat and pelted by gallons of water. But what an experience and it was made much better because a lot of our fellow passengers were Italian and they were very animated at every thrilling moment.

As with every location on this trip we needed to get up high, so we took a ride up the Skylon Tower to have a gander at the magnificent view from above the spectacular falls.

The wonderful end to this fabulous day was the magical light show on both the falls that was just stunning.

 

We had a very early start in the morning to catch the 6.30am train to Manhattan.

Now for the important part for anyone staying on the Canadian side needing to travel to the American side…….

Allow more time than you think you need and make it absolutely clear that you need to cross the Rainbow bridge and the US border. This is our experience; When I booked the taxi I definitely said we needed to cross the border, but the first 2 taxi drivers refused to take us, the second driver was particularly rude and shouted abuse at me as he drove off. Thankfully the third driver was amazing, he was very friendly and incredibly patient at the border. Be prepared to be in the office for about 15 – 20 minutes being asked questions and fingerprinted. But a couple of stamps in our passports later and we were on our way to the Amtrak station with 5 minutes to spare.

Next stop The Big Apple

 

Doing our best in Toronto

28 May 2020 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Canadian birthday adventures Tags: , , , , , , ,

Our 5 hour bus journey from Ottawa to Toronto was broken up at a quintessential truck stop in the middle of nowhere. It was just your average place to buy chocolate, supersized bags of crisps, apple pie and handguns! it certainly was an experience for 2 ladies from the UK.

truck stop

Our fabulous hotel, The Chelsea, was a short walk from the bus station and as soon as we settled in we wasted no time in making our way to the CN Tower. Due to our central location we were there within 15 minutes.

The Tower did not disappoint, after a high speed ride in the outside glass elevator we were on the Sky pod level at the very top enjoying the spectacular and breathtaking view. Next stop down to the lookout level and of course we had to trot across the glass walk and jump up and down like loonies. A lot of my friends said I was brave to do it but as it can take the weight of 14 fully grown hippos I figured I was safe! We survived that to take our place in the scrum to get the best video and photo of the beautiful sunset.

Day 2 started with a lovely substantial brunch in Fran’s Diner, a quirky retro delight serving very tasty food by attentive staff. Then we headed north to midtown in our quest to find the Casa Loma. It was a bit more of a trek than we anticipated especially when we thought we had arrived, only to discover we were looking at Toronto University! In our defence it did look kind of old, but we needed to do a few more thousand steps before we could reach our final destination.

We were rewarded by the first sights of the Casa Loma poking through the trees. This Edwardian mansion was designed by E J Lennox and built for Sir Henry Pellatt who made his fortune harnessing the power of Niagara Falls for electricity.

This castle is a delightful assembly of towers, turrets and tunnels. Anyone who knows me knows there is nothing I like more than exploring towers, turrets and tunnels and they were in abundance here.

What we didn’t know before we visited is that Lady Mary Pellatt, Henry’s wife, was the first Chief Commander of the girl guides of Canada. She dedicated most of her adult life to girl guiding and was awarded the Silver Fish Award, which is the highest award in guiding for her outstanding service. As we are both guiders in the UK it was a real treat to discover the exhibition in the castle dedicated to Lady Mary’s life and achievement in guiding.

After a very lovely and relaxing mooch around the castle and grounds we made our way downtown for a spot of dinner and to enjoy the light show on the CN tower.

CNN3

 

Due to being incarcerated in Ottawa Jail Hostel, we only had 2 nights in Toronto which was nowhere near enough. But it’s a good excuse to return, will definitely do the Edge walk at the CN tower when I go back, the queue was too long on this visit.

Next stop Niagara Falls………

edgewalk

Bang to rights in Ottawa

12 May 2020 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Canadian birthday adventures Tags: , , , ,

Originally when we planned this trip we were going to travel from Montreal to Toronto by train, but while searching for accommodation a little hostel popped up on my search that seemed far too interesting to ignore. So we decided on a pit stop in Ottawa.

We stayed in the Ottawa Jail Hostel, first opened in 1862 this was the city lock up for many years. Centrally situated this hostel has been cleverly converted to accommodate many a weary traveller. There are 4,6 and 8 bedded dorm rooms,  deluxe double rooms with en-suite facilities. We however had one of the double cells, converted from original cells there are single and double rooms. They are very bijou, furnished with ether a single bed or bunk beds, a table and clothes rail, it really is like being in prison! if you are claustrophobic I would probably give them a miss. Showers and toilets are shared but cleaned on a very regular basis. One of the original inmates of our cell was Patrick O’Shea in 1886 serving time for theft. Included in the room price is a very substantial buffet breakfast with cereal, eggs, fruit, bread, bagels, cheese and lots more on offer with unlimited tea and coffee to wash it all down with. A word of warning though, there is no lift in the original part of the prison and there are 6 floors!

Ottawa is the constitutional and political capital of Canada and the centre is very compact and easy to explore on foot. The 2 days we had there were the wettest of our holiday, so it kind of hampered our enjoyment of the city, but only a little bit because we’re Brits and won’t let a bit of rain put us off!

We had a good nose around the parliament buildings for free,  in a bid to try and stay a little drier. We did want to climb the Peace Tower but unfortunately it was closed for restoration work. The sun did make an appearance long enough for us to explore Byward Market, have some lunch and buy some delicious goodies to prepare later in the hostel’s kitchen for dinner.

 

Next ……. road trip to Toronto

Quirky Quebec

29 Apr 2020 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Canadian birthday adventures Tags: , , , , , , ,

Our journey started with a very turbulent flight to Montreal, I think we only had 3 hours of smooth flight in the whole 7 hours. I must admit I enjoy a bit of turbulence so it didn’t put me off my film fest.

18 hours and a bus ride later we had arrived in Quebec. My heart sank a bit on the taxi drive to our hotel as it seemed quite a way out of town. The Bate’s motel lookalike had a very comfortable room and a lovely warm swimming pool to relax in. Once we got our bearings and worked out the bus routes it was all good.

bates motel

The best part about our location was our close proximity to the Montmorency Falls, it was just a short bus journey away. Situated and protected in the Montmorency Falls Park, the waterfalls are 83 metres tall, that’s 30 metres taller than Niagara Falls. The sight and sound of the falls from the suspension bridge is breathtaking. For the brave (and slightly fit) tourists there is a staircase all the way down the cliff to the foot of the falls.  The 487 steps are more than manageable on the way down, but I found the ascend just a little more challenging, fortunately there are quite a few places to stop and take a well earned breather. The park around the falls and the main house are stunning, and we were so lucky to see it in autumn.

Quebec is an exceptionally pretty French city, Vieux Quebec is a UNESCO world heritage site and this so well deserved. It’s full of beautiful architecture, quirky shops and cafés and divided into the lower and upper cities. These are connected by either a steep walk or by the funicular. Travelling down the cliff at a 45 degree angle and track is 64 metres long, it was first opened in 1879. Originally it was propelled by a water ballast system, but converted to an electrical system in 1907. It’s a lovely way to get to the lower city and port, but I still felt the need to challenge myself by taking the picturesque steep walk back up.

While on our day out to the falls we saw the Queen Mary 2 sailing into port in the distance. So on our second visit to Vieux Quebec we knew we needed to make our way to the port to get a good look at this beautiful ship. When we tracked it down we noticed a smaller less elegant boat offering a return trip up the Saint Lawrence river. I don’t usually like boats as I tend to feel sick just looking at them. But the on-board tour guide was so entertaining and knowledgeable that I didn’t feel the need to frequent the loos to vomit at all. It was a very relaxing journey that returned to port just as the sun was starting to go down, giving the city a lovely magical glow.

Quebec is an amazing place to visit but a word to the wise, it is a predominantly French speaking city, it is everyone’s first language. There are many people in the shops, cafes and restaurants that do speak English, but it is not guaranteed. I brushed up on my school girl French as soon as I booked up our trip, also quite a few holidays in France helped me to remember. They really do appreciate you trying to speak in French if you can.

Next stop …back to Montreal

80 fabulous years young

29 Apr 2020 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Canadian birthday adventures Tags: , , ,

In March this year my mum turned 80. Some of my merry band of followers may remember me writing about my adventures doing fifty fabulous things to celebrate reaching my half century.

Funnily enough my mum didn’t think she would be able to come up with 80 things to do to celebrate this significant birthday. Just as well given that we are now in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic.

But luckily we did manage to celebrate with a week long agenda of outings and family gatherings including a surprise party, ten pin bowling and lunch at the Ivy in Winchester, before the lockdown commenced.

But the best bit of luck was booking our big trip away last year before all this madness began. While discussing possible birthday treats we decided a big holiday would be fabulous, both of us had always fancied visiting Canada.

So a plan was hatched ….. three weeks in the east coast, visiting Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara Falls and finishing off over the border in Manhattan.

The next few posts are about our adventures in North America and bits of local information which might entice you to visit this amazing part of Canada.