Tuesday 30 May
Caught the 9am BA flight from Edinburgh to London Heathrow then the 1.10pm BA flight to Toronto which took off 50 minutes late.
Whilst we were unpacking someone came to the door with a bag of ice, a bottle of water and some chocolates. We thought that might have been because it was Jim's birthday but we weren't sure if they do that for every guest. We went for a walk and had a snack in McDonald's then looked for somewhere to buy a bottle of wine to drink in our room but we had no luck. The heavens then opened so we made a hasty retreat back to our hotel. The phone rang after we arrived back and they said they were sending up some cup cakes as it was Jim's birthday. A couple of minutes later a chap arrived with a tray of 3 mini cup cakes plus 2 bottles of water.
Wednesday 31 May
Woke really early but managed to get back to sleep for a while. Had showers then walked to McDs for our usual breakfast there. (Oatmeal for me and sausage and egg mcmuffin for Jim) Caught the hop on hop off sightseeing bus at Dundas Square.
It was a lovely sunny morning so we sat upstairs. We thoroughly enjoyed the guided tour which took about an hour and a half to get all the way round. We had to come down to the lower deck a couple of times when a shower came over. Our tour guide told us about the strict licensing laws here for selling alcohol so we now understand why we couldn't find a store that sold wine last night. We eventually found a Wine Rack store in Dundas Square so bought some there. Returned to our room to drop off the wine then went out to look for somewhere to eat. We returned to Dundas Square as there was a food court there and we both had a meal from the Caribbean Queen outlet. We then crossed over to the Eaton Centre which is a huge shopping mall on four levels from the ground floor downwards.
The lowest level is a food court - the largest food court we have ever seen and it was extremely busy.
We walked back to our hotel from there and took the elevator up to the adult pool and sky deck on the 27th floor to take photos.
Finished the night off with a couple of glasses of wine.
Thursday 1 June
Had breakfast then headed off down to the harbour for our cruise round the 14 islands out on Lake Ontario. We caught the 11am boat and although it was very sunny and quite warm it was very breezy especially out on Lake Ontario. We took lots of film and photos but we weren't allowed to get off at the islands because they were flooded due to all the rainfall that they've had recently. We marvelled at the view of the Toronto skyline as the boat returned to shore. The cruise was included in the combo tour with City sightseeing.
Once back on shore we headed to the Rogers Centre to purchase tickets for the baseball game tonight - the Toronto Blue Jays versus the New York Yankees.
We then walked over to the Ripley's Aquarium and purchased our City Passes to use over the weekend at 4 different venues. We walked over to the Railway Museum for a quick look at the old trains before walking back to our hotel.
The Yankees got off to a great start and it was really hard for the Blue Jays to catch up. It was amazing seeing all the snack vendors climbing up and down with their huge trays of popcorn etc and then the drink vendors came past with holdalls full of beer cans.
Every so often there was a break whilst they swapped over from batting to fielding which they filled with competitions where members of the crowd could win prizes. These were shown on the big screen. Sometimes some girls would come into the crowd and give away Blue Jays merchandise. At one point one of the girls came and sat on the step next to where we were sitting and started chatting to us. She told us that the cameras might be on our section of the audience and we had to make the number 6 with our hands (don't ask why because I can't remember!). We did as we were told but didn't see ourselves on the big screen. She had been sitting on a little Blue Jays towel and when she stood up to go she handed the towel to Jim and wished him Happy Birthday. He was over the moon.
We left before the end as it was getting late and we had quite a distance to walk back to our hotel.
Friday 2 June
Had breakfast then bought some lunch to take with us to the Niagara Falls. Got picked up at 9.10am from our hotel and because Jim was a senior we got to sit in the front seat with a brilliant view of the journey. We picked up loads of other passengers and eventually we were on our way. We were dropped off at a souvenir shop first where we bought postcards, took photos and paid our driver for the upcoming Hornblower boat trip.
Then we travelled on to the Falls where our driver organized our boat trip tickets and we descended down to the embarkation point. We were handed a red cagoule/poncho on the way to board and only had to wait a short time for our boat.
We set sail past the American Falls first and then on to the Horseshoe Falls (Canadian Falls) where we got well and truly soaked. We did our best to take photos and even managed a bit of video. It was an unforgettable experience!
Once back on dry land we had our lunch overlooking the American Falls - what an amazing view. As there was free wi-fi there we were able to "what's app" our son at home and showed him where we were and gave him a guided tour of the Falls. We then travelled back up to road level and walked along enjoying the view and taking more film and photos.
All to soon it was time to get back on the bus. Our next stop was Niagara on the Lake - a really quaint town with lots of shops and restaurants. It was lovely taking a stroll down the main street with all it's beautiful flowers on the sidewalks.
Next up was a wine tasting stop - 3 different wines but not enough of each one!
It was then time to return to Toronto after a long and truly memorable day. The sun shone all day long so we couldn't have asked for more. We arrived back at 8pm and picked up a Burger King meal to eat in our hotel room. Finished off the night with a couple of glasses of wine 😊
Saturday 3 June
Had breakfast then jumped on the hop on hop off bus up to Casa Loma. We entered using our City Pass which we bought the other day. We picked up the audio guide players in the gift shop and proceeded to tour the house. It was built by Sir Henry Pellatt in the early 1900s for his wife, Mary. Sir Henry was an entrepreneur of Scottish descent and brought electricity to Toronto. He was very wealthy but after about 10 years he had to sell the house and auction off all the furniture etc due to failed investments. The house is now used for weddings (5 year waiting list) as well as a tourist attraction and we saw 2 weddings there today.
It took us quite a few hours to see everything and when we left we caught the hop on hop off bus again to take us to the Royal Ontario Museum where we used our City Pass again. Our first stop was the cafe where we both tucked into fish and chips.
We then wandered round the museum until it closed at 5.30pm. Caught the hop on hop off bus outside to take us back to our hotel via all the local attractions again! Finished off the night with a glass of wine.
Sunday 4 June
Had breakfast then walked down to the CN Tower. There were no queues to get in so we were up at the top in no time using our City Pass.
Walked round taking film and photos then descended one floor to see the famous glass floor. We were very hesitant at first stepping onto it but eventually we managed to overcome our fear and got some photos.
We exited via the gift shop then found some great photo opportunities outside.
Walked next door to Ripley's Aquarium and used our City Pass for admission. Oh boy, what a lot of fish! We were just in time to see the rays being fed.
before we joined the glideway (slow moving walkway) to see the fish swimming all around us.
After we'd seen everything we managed to "what's app" our son back home and showed him some of the sharks and rays. We exited via the gift shop and joined the crowds coming out of the Blue Jays baseball game.
Walked up to the Eaton Centre and ate in the Urban Eatery food court at the New York Fries outlet. We tried a new dish called poutine which we hadn't heard of before. I chose the pulled pork option and Jim had The Works! We really enjoyed them.
Walked back to our hotel and sadly packed our case ready for our flight home tomorrow. Finished off our night with a glass of wine.
Monday 5 June
Had breakfast then walked down to the Eaton Centre as Jim wanted to buy a Blue Jays T-shirt and we knew that the official merchandise shop was in there. He found one he liked then we returned to our hotel to check out. Walked down Bay Street to Union Station and caught the UP Express train to the airport. Had a bite to eat whilst waiting for our check in desk to open up. Once through security we found that the airport was awash with iPads for you to call up flight information, order food or play games.
We decided to play some slots and discovered that you could earn rewards of snacks just by playing. I didn't do very well but Jim managed to accumulate enough for a red delicious apple which was duly delivered to our table - unbelievable! Our flight was boarded well on time with an empty seat beside us but there was a long line of planes waiting to take off so there was a bit of a delay. Despite that we arrived in Heathrow twenty minutes early to pouring rain. Cleared passport control then security and waited for our flight up to Edinburgh which was delayed by an hour. It was pouring with rain there too so we felt really lucky to have had such good weather whilst we were in Canada.
Our holiday was truly a trip of a lifetime which we will never ever forget. The Niagara Falls were the highlight undoubtedly - they were just AWESOME 😃Another highlight was our first baseball game - even though we didn't understand the rules, the atmosphere was fantastic.
Here are a few more photos that I took:-
The Village Idiot Pub
Overhead tram wires
This is called "Breaking News"
Union Station
The home of the Toronto Maple Leafs Ice Hockey Team at Air Canada building
Some photos of our hotel
These photos are half old and half new - very cleverly merged together
