Montreal

So much to say about this city but let's keep it brief.  Here are a few words to describe Montreal:  historic, beautiful, well-preserved, bustling and friendly! Historique, beau, bien conservé, animé et amical!

It's original name was Ville-Marie after the Virgin Mary.

Yesterday we toured the Old Port and Old  Montreal on foot and cycling .  We couldn't stop taking photos. Here are a few:

Marche Bonsecours

 

Hotel de Ville

 

Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal

 

Inside the Basilica

 

 

Rue Saint-Paul

 

 

 

Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel(the Sailors Church)

 

Clock Tower at the port

 

Canal Lachine

 

 Today we parked at the east entrance to Mount Royal and walked up to the viewpoints

We were inspired by the many joggers running by us.

Gorgeous views of the city from the top.

 

 

 

You can see the Olympic Stadium

 

Up close

 

 Nature trail ride this morning

Now we are East bound to Trois-Rivieres.
 

 

 

Upper Canada Village

Spent the afternoon touring this very authentic

1840's rural village.  Super interesting to see how the wool, wheat and lumber were milled.

They were all there: baker, cheese maker, broommaker, dressmaker, shoemaker and tinsmith! All using original equipment and powered by turbines. The products are all sold in the gift shop.

Learned a lot and gained even more respect for our forefathers and country pioneers.

 

 

 

 

 

Ontario has been incredible- on to Quebec!

Kingston, Ontario

We really enjoyed our walk about and drive through Kingston yesterday. Blessed with a warm day the city was a buzz with tourists young and old.  Being the home of Queens University gives the town a young vibe.

Queens:

 

Kingston was Canada's first capital city 1841-1844 then the honour bounced around between Toronto , Montreal and Quebec until 1866 when Ottawa was named.

As a result Kingston city hall is very grandiose and right on the waterfront which is the junction of the St Lawrence  River, The Rideau Canal and Lake Ontario.

City Hall:

  

Kingston was also a huge military stronghold for fear of attack from our southern neighbours. There are 3 shoals still standing along the waterfront .

 

It is also the home of the Royal Military College.

 

St Mary's Cathedral built 1843

 

 

As you can tell -we were fascinated by this city so rich in history!!

We found a campsite outside of town right on a section of the Rideau Canal (Colonel By Lake) . Enjoyed the view and got to eat dinner outside 👍

 

 

 

Family time in Whitby, Ontario

After exploring beautiful Niagara on the Lake in the rain we headed north towards Toronto and camped at Bronte Creek Provincial Park.

Next stop was Whitby for a long awaited visit with Jane and John. We had a really enjoyable dinner and overnight and we were treated like royalty by our excellent hosts!

 

Lake Ontario en route to Whitby -  brrrrr!

 

 

 Sister time 💕

 

Selfie silliness
  

Good bye-We will miss you both Jane and John!

 

Eastward bound!

Niagara Falls

We spent the last 2 nights in Niagara Falls and had a lovely warm day for touring the area.

The Falls were spectacular !! There is a terrific Parkway - paved for walking or cycling that extends a total of 56 km- we rode it in both directions for about 3 hours- didn't cover the whole path but it was very enjoyable.

Stopped at a pub for lunch and were able to sit outside.

Our first evening we attended a delightful musical revue  "Oh Canada Eh??"

We felt so much country pride as the performers sang hits from Canada's many top musicians( ie:Celine,Shania,Rush,BTO, Michael Buble, Paul Anka)as well as a few old  Canadian folk songs. The finale was Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"- beautiful!!

 

 

The Falls -Canada

 

The Falls- USA

 

 

The Parkway

 

 

The Hotels

 

Today is rainy -going to Niagara on the Lake 

Duck in and out of shops to stay dry 👍
 

Elliot Lake, Sudbury and beyond

We followed Hwy 17 east to Sudbury then onto Hwy 69 south.

Made a small detour to Elliot Lake area where the McDougall clan lived for 4 years- most of it in the Denison townsite- which unfortunately is now off limits to the public.  We did spend some time in the Mining Miseum there and found a few entires in the town Newsletter that mentioned Angus and Pat. It is a beautiful area that is now mainly a retirement town.

 

 

We carried on to Sudbury and had a photo op with the World's largest nickel

 

 

 A little further drive we found Rivers Haven Campground which wasn't too heavenly in the rain but we woke up to this:

 

Carrying on now towards Barrie , Ontario 

The scenery is easy on the eyes!