Niagara falls

(Niagara Falls at Wikipedia)

General

Niagara Falls lies on the border between USA and Canada, in the state of Ontario. It is located around 130 km from the city of Toronto. The falls is visited by a numerous of tourist each year (around 20 million). We do understand why. The falls are really something.

Now to start with the surroundings. Depending on which road you are entering the falls - you might be disappointed if you are entering the falls via Clifton Hill. This is a disaster. They have virtually made this areal in to an amusement park. What a shame. Now if you bring your kids it might be a good compromise. They will find something to kill the time if they get bored. But, hey, would it not be possible to place this ugly park somewhere else? Anyway, just close your eyes when passing thru. 

What to do

We arrived around 5 pm on a sunday. We chose to take a day trip from Toronto. The tour takes about between one and two hours depending on the traffic. There are plenty of hotels at the falls, and it might be a better choice to stay a night there. During the season (summer), on Saturday  and sunday you can see firework at 10 pm. Also you will experience the falls in manny different color as they you heavy spotlights to light it up after the sun has set. Now I don't know was is the best, during sunshine or lights and fireworks. You should experience both. Then, on a sunny day, be there at 4 or 5 pm and stay at least until 11 pm. 

On or day, the sun was still shining when arriving. What an amazing site this is. During summertime the falls is created by a 2.800 m3 of water - each second. Imagine that. There are two falls, the american falls and the canadian horseshoe falls. The latter is the biggest and most impressive. The water comes from Lake Eire and ends up in Ontario lake.

We had a pleasant dinner at a restaurant facing the falls. This was very nice - both good food and reasonably prices. We sat on a terrace overviewing the falls.  

Where to stay

If you book online, don't expect to get a view of the falls from your room. Every hotel seem to state on their signs that they have views of the falls. Don't believe that. If you are in to that business, arrive early and ask for a room with a view. Ask to borrow the key before deciding to stay. Now I think a better option is to pay less and worry about getting parking with your stay. The distances are quite small at Niagara Falls so just leave the car and walk around. 

Toronto

(Toronto at wikipedia)

General

Toronto means that we are almost at the end of our journey, but it's still four days to go. Now we also plan to visit Niagara Falls on sunday. This will only be as a day trip. I have been in the falls before and was quite disiponted about the surrondings. It look almost as a giant casino. But even so, the falls was magnificent, a must if you visit the region. It is a 130 km drive from Toronto. You may go on a guided tour at a cost of CAD 60-70 person, or as we do by car. We enjoy the flexibility of using the car.

Now, back to Toronto. At time it is a city which is partly under construction. There are projects going on everywhere, building offices or residents. I guess that at about 2015 there will be end of this caos. Still, it is a charming city.

Toronto, on the north shore of Lake Ontario, is the largest of Canada's vibrant urban centres. It is the hub of the nation's commercial, financial, industrial, and cultural life, and is the capital of the Province of Ontario. People have lived here since shortly after the last ice age, although the urban community only dates to 1793 when British colonial officials founded the 'Town of York' on what then was the Upper Canadian frontier. That backwoods village grew to become the 'City of Toronto' in 1834, and through its subsequent evolution and expansion Toronto has emerged as one of the most liveable and multicultural urban places in the world today. More history.

Where to stay

We chose to stay at Raddison at the harbor. If I should pick hotel once again, I would pick one further up in the city. Look for a hotel in: Front street, King street or Queen street. Check your hotel location on www.map24.com to see. There is a Holliday Inn located at a good area. Now, even to stay at harbor area has some advanteges - it's more sillent. We have a lakeview from our room, which is not so bad, and there is a an outdoor swimmingpool at floor 6 with a lovely view.

What to do

Toronto has many things to offer. Among the most popular sites for tourist are:

• CN Tower (Among worlds tallest building)
• Casa Loma (Lovely castle)
• The Toronto Theater area  
• Toronto Zoo
• Hall of Fame (Hockey)
• Harbor Cruise
• A lot of museums e.g. covering art, shoe museum, history

Toronto is a city both for dinning and party. During the weekend there are many places for people to meet the locals. Many people live downtown in Toronto (about 2,5 million) which makes is a city filled with life. You se people everywhere, anytime. Now the best dinning we located at Queens street (crossroad University Avenue). Also in Front Street you will find many good restaurants. There are many theaters in Toronto. We was told that there is a kiosk where you may buy affordable tickets for same day show. At the time we was in the city, a couple of musicals where running.

Beaches and swimming

From the harbor area there are boats running all day to the island located just outside the harbor. Here you may go biking or rent a canoe for a relaxed day. There are also nice beaches on the island. Now we was told that there was no point to bring the swimsuit as the water temperature seldom reach over 16 Celsius. 

Shopping 

As a pleasant to all who likes to go shopping. A mall inside the city called Eaton Center is your best choice.

Kingston

On 10th of july we entered the city of Kingston. It has a population of 110.000. First of all this city seems to be a magnet to tourists, located along the waterfront and with it's many historic building. The most popular attraction is the cities old fort, Fort Henry.

Kingston has the distinction of being the oldest community in Canada. The history of Kingston begins back in 1673 when Robert Cavelier de La Salle, on the behalf of the Governor of Nouvelle-France, chose Cataraqui for the building of a fortified trading post of the same name. Soon Fort Cataraqui would be renamed Fort Frontenac.

War erupted between the French and the Iroquois in 1687. Two years later the fort would be abandoned to the Iroquois and destroyed. It wasn’t until 1695 after peaceful relations between the two sides that the fort was reoccupied and rebuilt by the French. The fort remained under French rule for many years.

During these years it was used as a key point in attacks against Iroquois and British forces on various occasions. The fort was captured and destroyed by the British in the Battle of Fort Frontenac near the end of the Seven Years' War in 1758. A receiving centre for fleeing refugees from the American Revolution, it became the primary community of south-eastern Upper Canada.

During the War of 1812, Kingston was the base for the Lake Ontario division of the Great Lakes British naval fleet, which engaged in a vigorous arms race with the American fleet, based at Sackett's Harbor, New York for control of Lake Ontario. After the war, Britain built Fort Henry and a series of distinctive Martello towers to guard the entrance to the Rideau Canal. Fort Henry still stands and is a popular tourist destination.

Now thats enough history. The city offers a wide specter of restaurants, shops (many quite special) and a lot of people in the street during summer time. You may also take a cruise on the lake - a dinner cruise is one of the possibilities.

We stayed in the city during "Buskers Rendezvous" which last from 10th to 13th, at least in 2008. It was held for the 20th time in the city. Professional from all of american seem to join this event. There were competition among the different artist to make the best show. We really enjoyed it.

1000 Island area - on the lake

Starting the cruise at 11 am, we joined a 2 hour cruise from Rockport harbor. The main attraction on the cruise is the Bold Castle. You will also see numerous of lovely spots on the cruise. 

You may chose a cruise were you are allowed to enter the island where Boldt Castle is located, but then you are entering US territory. You should bring passport and fill out the visa form. We didn't. To much work for us, so we joined the 2 hour cruise.

Boldt Castle was constructed by George C. Boldt, who was a Prussian immigrant who made his fortune in the hotel industry, managing luxurious hotels like the New York Waldorf-Astoria. (He invented many modern hotel concepts, and his chef originated the Thousand Islands salad dressing.) He was building the castle for his wife, but when she died suddenly, he halted all work on the castle and never returned to the island. The 120-room castle was derelict from 1904 to 1977, when it was acquired by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority and opened to tourists. The castle and the area is beautiful. I think it is best for the picture to tell it's own story.  

1000 Islands area - Gananoque

What a wonderful area this is. This part of Ontario lake is located in the border area between New York State and Ontario. You follow Interstate 81 and when you cross the border of Canada your are in 1000 Island area. Even before you cross the border you see this magnificent area. We follow the interstate 81 to Watertown and then took of highway 12E to Cape Vincent to spot the lake from the US side - forget that. Just stay on 81 and get yourself to the Canadian side. 

"The 1000 Islands Region is an international tourism destination, encompassing communities on both sides of the US and Canada border along the St. Lawrence River and the eastern shores of Lake Ontario. The region takes its name from the more than 1000 islands that dot the lake and river along this international waterway. The region extends from Kingson to Cornwall on the Canadian side, and from Oswego to Massena on the US side, reaching inland to the foothills of the Adirondack mountains to embrace the communities that are west and north of the Adirondack Park, and the four NY Counties of Oswego, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence" (Quote: http://www.1000islands.com/)

First night back in Canada, we spent in Gananoque. A small city populated with only 5200. This was manily because we wanted to go on cruise on the lake the day after. I think the best cruise line runs from Rockport, which are located about 20 km east of Gananoque. Now staying in Gananoque is not a main attraction, but it is good choice if you plan to join the cruise and to drive 1000 Island parkway. I think a drive along this highway is a must, even if you don't plan to stay in the area. If driving from Toronto on 401 eastbound,  you should note the signs of 1000 Island driveway. It is a great alternative to 401.

Boston

Boston on wikitravel

Finally, Boston - one of our major destination. This city was a pleasant experience to both of us. We really enjoy or stay in this historic city. Boston is the city where the revolution started back in the 17th century were the new nation started its hard struggle to get rid of their connection to the royal crown. Now history may be read in much better sources, such as Boston history.

Our main interest in the city was:

• The North end with its more than 100 italian restaurants
• USS Constituion - the "Old Ironside" from 1797 and USS Cassin Young (modern destroyer)
• The lovely parks of Boston - Boston public Garden
• Harbor cruise
• The Boston Harbor area
• The freedom trail (walk among the sites of revolution activities)

What we did, and would recommend to do is to by a ticket for one of the trolley tours that covers all the major attraction in the city. There are about 7 companies doing tours in the city. Our hotel recommended "Old Town Trolley Tours" - where you can jump on and of as you like among the total 17 stops. We also upgraded our to ticket to include a cruise in the harbor region of Boston - a decision we really enjoyed. The harbor cruise was really magnificent. Plenty of opportunities to take skyline pictures of the city.

Where to stay

When going to Boston we thought it was best to stay within the city. This is more expensive, but you benefit to my point of view. We stayed at a hotel called "Omni Parker Hotel", located in School street. This is supposed to be the oldest hotel in the entire country. It is to some extend and expensive hotel, and everything you do cost more dollars. Even to get at WIFI in your room cost you more money and tip is expected everywhere. But hey, thats the way it works in the big cities. What is very special about the hotel is its magnificent interior. This is really something. Both in the lobby and the restaurant are beautiful carvings in the ceiling and parts of the wall. It also has some small exhibition of the hotels history. The restaurant is the place where John F. Kennedy proposed to his Jacoline before being president of United States.

Now, of course, there are numerous of good hotels downtown. We use a lot of time choosing a nice location and this time we were lucky. A good advice is to pick a hotel that is located near to a trolley stop, then you may use this as a part of your system of getting around. Or hotel was located near Massachusetts state house (stop number 13 on Old town trolley). When staying in the city for only a few days, you don't have the time to learn the system of the tube.

What to do

In the North End you have little Italy, which offers more than 100 italian restaurants. It was really strange walking in this area, finding nothing but italian food. Now, to eat other cuisine you must visit other parts of the city. I only spot a single chinese restaurant among all the italians.

The best spot to eat other kind of food (late dinner) is along the street called Newbury street, which start from Boston Public Garden. Of course this advise is a second hand as we asked people around of alternative dinning.

Of course, Boston is a major historic city. They called it the cradle of the revolution, and taking the freedom trail (got marked walking trail) you may se why.

Don't spend time doing shopping in the city, it is to much to explore in the city.

Entering the USA

We started or day at 7:45 today. An early breakfast to have some time to visit some new part of Quebec. We walked to the castle and took the elevator down to the harbor area, where you also find many shops and restaurants. This is indeed a nice spot in the city.

We left the city at 11:15, equipped with or new GPS, heading for the USA. After some 300 km we enter the states. On the border we use over half an hour, because their system could not machine read the passport. Anyway, after entering the US we decided to drive along Interstate 91 and then Interstate 93 until we arrived at or destination for the night - a city called Tilton. This is where on of the factory outlet is located, some 50 stores. We really made some good bargains there. Now the city of Tilton is not so much of and experience, but it's a nice area to stay for a couple of days a guess. The best is that we will have a short trip to Boston tomorrow - only about 150 km. This means that we drove around 500 km today.....

We still have very nice weather here and the forecast doesn't seem so bad. 

For those who are especially interested in old trains, you may like to visit Conway Scenic Railroad.