Our hotel in Toronto was the Royal York, a vision of 1927 design. It was undergoing a facelift and the street between it and the train station was in utter construction chaos, but the service was impeccable, as it was at all our hotels on the trip.
Leaving no tourist thing undone, we climbed aboard the tour bus the next day and headed for Niagara Falls.
We had last seen the Falls from the American side on our 15th anniversary. I don’t remember much but parking the RV in a lot and craning our necks to see the water from the observation deck. If it was commercialized, I missed it. This time, there was no missing commercialization on the Canadian side, however.
We likened it to Las Vegas meets Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Hotels, casinos, tourist shops, an amusement park, beautiful old homes converted into B&Bs, did I mention the tourist shops? And, of course, the jewel in the crown, the Maid of the Mist.
Whenever you see a photo of the Falls, you see a little boat with everyone decked out in a blue slicker, photo-snapping away and trying their best not to get drenched. Our tickets were included in the tour and we fell in line, amusement park days recalled, and snaked our way for thirty minutes to the loading dock. There, we were handed our “slicker”, a lightweight plastic affair which everyone had troubling getting into because the wind was blowing and it was so lightweight. That said, it kept you dry and I managed to bring mine home. There’s just nothing like a souvenir that won’t squash down but that can be used to hold breakables in your suitcase.
There were other stops on the tour, a winery which gave us new appreciation for the wine industry of the Niagara District, and a quick stop in Niagara-on-the-Lake. We had never heard of Niagara-on-the-Lake but it is a charming community which has since kept cropping up in our news reading.
Montreal is not the only Canadian city with a vibrant underground life as we found out when we ventured below in Toronto. I believe you could live in either one and never emerge, all your needs met below street level. Close your eyes in Toronto and you could be in any shopping district, albeit upscale, in America.
We know this because we walked the length of the one in Toronto. The afternoon promised—and delivered—rain, the last of the bad weather we saw, so we went underground, map in hand. Everyone else seemed to know where they were headed. We were going to the opposite end from the hotel and it wasn’t a straight shot. Once we got there, we ventured topside, and as the rain was down to a mere sprinkle, we decided to chance a walk to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
If you had asked me would I ever visit the Hockey Hall of Fame, I’m sure I would have said a polite no. However, it was very interesting and the amount of information presented staggering. From trophies to uniforms and 802 pucks “spelling out” Wayne Gretzky’s record-breaking goal, it really was a worthwhile visit.
We had piddled the day away because our train didn’t leave until 11 PM. We made our way to the train station after dinner, joined our newest 200 best friends who were venturing across the prairies with us, checked our large suitcases, confirmed our dining car reservations, and settled in to await our call to board.
This VIA Rail train was an older model than the one we’d had in Halifax. Here, the compartments had chairs which folded to accommodate the upper and lower berths which came out of the walls. There was sink and toilet, but no private shower. Instead, each car, composed of four to six cabins and several sleeping berths, had its own shower. Actually, I preferred this “down the hall” arrangement as the shower was much larger. Each day we had fresh towels and washcloths and our sheets were crisp.
Life aboard a train takes on a particular rhythm. Breakfast was served from 6 to 9:30, first come, first seated. You might never share your table with the same people unless you showed up together. Lunch and dinner were assigned seating, with 90 minutes allowed before you were politely asked to leave so the table could be reset with another white tablecloth and sturdy china and silverware. Wine pairings were suggested on the menu and Canadian wines were always featured. If you had the luxury of the coveted second seating for meals the first day, you found yourself in the third the next.
It’s a long way from Toronto to Jasper, where we would join the Rocky Mountaineer portion of our tour. Between meals (major activity besides trying to sleep) you entertain yourself by reading or visiting your fellow passengers, perhaps playing bingo in the lounge car. Fresh newspapers are picked up at the stops and a stack of them would quickly disappear, only to show up reshuffled on a lounge table. I particularly enjoyed the Globe and Mail LINK, Canada’s national newspaper. (Think USAToday) The articles were interesting and the paper featured obituaries from across Canada of ordinary people who had led, in many respects, extraordinary lives, in a column called “Lives Lived.” Internet was not available and phone service was sketchy at best.
Although we were crossing “the prairies”, our scenery around the northern edges of the Great Lakes was forested, occasionally broken up by lake vistas. We could view from our cabin, the lounge cars, or the dome car. Coffee and tea were always available. The hosts had stories to tell along the way and one of our favorite games (we made it up) was “ask a Canadian.” They didn’t always know the answer right off, but would get back to us with one.
We stopped in Winnipeg for three hours for a crew change. We were encouraged to get off. (“Go on! Walk somewhere! Exercise!”) Conveniently, there was a shopping area and market next door to the train station and we added to their coffers. Free Wi-Fi in the train station (as it was in all the stations) had us checking email and looking up the rules to Canasta, a game we were seriously involved in with Pam and Ray, but about which none of us could remember the finer points.
Jasper and the Canadian Rockies were getting closer and when we finally arrived, we weren’t disappointed.
LINKS:
Maid of the Mist:
http://www.maidofthemist.com/
Hockey Hall of Fame:
http://www.hhof.com
Royal York Toronto history:
http://www.fairmont.com/royal-york-toronto/hotelhistory/