Travelling Day 68. To Iceland!

So I'm not really sure where to start todays post from, but I'm going to go from spending an hour going through security again in Reykjavik. On the plus side since I have an EU passport they barely glanced at me and just ushered me through

I had a bit of a nasty shock when my suitcase came out though. Complete. State.

I'm actually a little (more than just a little) mortified to be pushing/dragging it around.

So to recap: It's missing a wheel. As in the wheel just isn't there anymore. Another wheel doesn't do what it's told and makes terrible squeaky noises. The front is massive frayed from NZ. The edges are coming away from the frame after LA. The are several little tears from San Francisco.

And now, there is a massive rip in the back from Iceland!

I'm so glad it only has to survive one more trip because honestly I don't think it can make any more.

Aside from that… I found the bus booth and booked my return bus ticket and then I hopped on the bus to my hostel. I arrived at about 9am (having landed at 6am) so I couldn't check in yet but that was fine, and expected, so after rummaging round in my suitcase and getting a change of clothes I headed into Reykjavik centre to explore the city a little bit.

Canada Day 12. On the Road Again

I woke up bright and early (ish) in my room all to myself (which is seriously a novel luxury right now) and after getting my free breakfast (which led me to the conclusion that all things artificially sweetened before midday makes me nauseous) I checked out and stored my luggage in the storage room so I could head out and enjoy my last few hours in Canada!

The view from my window this morning!

I had a few 'errands' I wanted to run before leaving North America but they were all done and dusted within half an hour. But the Busker's fair was still on so I ended up spending a few hours wandering up and down the stalls and watching the crazy performers!

I did originally plan to head down to the lakefront but I was enjoying the fair too much I decided to stay and make the most of it instead!

There were ton of acts you could watch, from dancers to magicians to singers as well as a few acrobatic performances - most of them were really good too!

I also had my eye on one of these onion things! Think Onion rings but better - much better!

 I couldn't resist popping into Tim Horton's for the last time since it's such a Canadian thing to do!

So, at about 4 I went back to the hostel, picked up my suitcase and caught a taxi to the airport. Now the driver told me my airline was at Terminal 1 so that's where he left me. Quick look at the board showed no mention of my flight, a phone call at the information desk later, and I realised I was at the wrong Terminal. Cue an hours walk, a train ride, 3 escalators and 2 lifts, I was at the right Terminal!

I was at the front of the queue (eager beaver) but they weren't checking anyone in until after the 3hr recommended time slot (talking to the other people int he queue who had flown with them before, we think this is down to the orange alert for the Volcano). Once I checked in I bought a ridiculously expensive sandwich (don't even ask how much) and pottered around the pitiful duty free selection

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Now it's standard airplane etiquette that if you're sat in the aisle seat and your partner the middle, and the person allocated the window seat comes down with a big bag, you stand up and set out of the way so they can sit down… Apparently the two people on my row didn't get the memo.

And even after asking them if they could let me through, all I got was the man moving his book and jacket off my seat…

And after asked a third time, explicitly, for them to get up so I could get in, I got nothing more than a shuffling of knees… Now we were in the exit row. Which generally means more leg room so that wouldn't be a problem. But we were on a tiny flight so the leg room was perhaps an inch more than everyone else. And I knew they could stand up, and i knew they could understand because you have to be capable of them to sit in an exit row… not the best start.

And to keep this short, I proceeded to get elbowed and kicked most of the flight because the guy decided he not only wanted the entire armrest to himself but he wanted a good couple of inches on my seat too. Oh and the leg room clearly wasn't enough for him (despite him being shorter than me) so he constantly stretched out his legs into my leg space.

Needless to say what was meant to be a relaxing 6hours flight where I could sleep turned into an awful flight with absolutely no sleep.

Canada Day 11. CN Tower

So, I managed to get to the bus stop in time (although I gave up attempting to drag my suitcase and caught a taxi which isn't ideal..) and started my 6hr drive back to Toronto!

 Luckily the bus actually drove down the road with my hostel so I realised it was actually a bit too far to drag my suitcase (which was the plan) especially as there was a street market/fair going on! So I had to catch a taxi again, which my arms were glad about since they didn't have to lug my stuff but my wallet would have preferred the walk :p

 When I got to the hostel itself (which is student accommodation that's rented out during the summer) they'd made a mistake and put me down for staying the night before - so I'd been charged despite not spending the night there! And all the female dorms were fully booked.

So they asked if I minded staying in a mixed dorm and they'd refund me the extra (which was like $3). But I'd actually just overheard another lady saying they still had a few single rooms full.. So I said I didn't really want a mixed room if possible (I was very polite about it) and they said that was no trouble and upgraded me to a single room all to myself! 

Its weird how having a room all to yourself becomes such a novelty! I unpacked everything and got dressed in the room and just pottered about without worrying about bothering anyone else!

 After embracing the solitude of my own room I set out hunting down the nights activities! And I ended up walking through the street fair which was really nice but completely packed!

 So packed intact that it was kinda annoying - people just didn't move!

 But I eventually got the target in sight!

 I've heard this a few times but there's a phrase that Canada only has two seasons, winter and construction! And that certainly seems to be true the more I see of Canada! 

 After many a detour I eventually found my way to the CN Tower! I'd saved it for my last night in Canada and I was planning to time it with the sunset so I could see the city during the day and evening

 From queuing up to get the ticket to actually getting up the the platform it took an hour… which isn't as bad as it could have been but still - an hour! I also got pulled aside for drug and explosive testing, I don't know why I'm surprised I always, always, get pulled aside! I obviously look suspicious!

Anyway, I think I timed it pretty well! 

 The view was lovely as since the tower is by far the tallest building in Toronto the view over the rooftops is unparalleled. 

 the fact Toronto itself and the surrounding area is so flat also helps to give the impression your looking right to the horizon!

 After spending a little time on the upper observation deck (which is all enclosed with glass windows) I headed down to the glass floor

 because it's just one of those things you have to do before you leave the tower!

 From here i ventured outside to the 'open' section where it very windy!

 I managed to get a photo where it wasn't 'too' windy!

 looking down at the great view (also they let you sit down if you were waiting for the sunset which they don't let you do at the empire state building)

 This was by far the windiest direction but the view was amazing as the sun set and the lights appeared

 I just love how cities look at night!

 And after pottering about at the top for a while I headed back to my room. I cut through the festival and because it was a little quieter (still pretty busy though) I bought myself a 'funnel cake' since I've wanted to try one for a while. It wasn't what I was expecting, and it was massive, and it was also covered in a layer of icing sugar which meant I ended up with dusted with icing sugar all along my front.. definitely a classy look!

I can't believe I'm leaving canada tomorrow! Luckily I still have a little more time since I get most of tomorrow here in Toronto but my time here truly has flown by!

Canada Day 5. Into Montreal

I vastly underestimated just how ‘french’ Montreal would be! I knew French was the first language of most people but now I’m here it’s really hit – all the signs are in French, and all the menus so going out to get something for lunch was fun!

Today has been pretty mixed so far. I woke up ridiculously early, but checking out went fine. And despite having to lug my suitcase half an hour to the bus stop, where my internal dialogue would have certainly made a grown man blush at the number of profanities… I managed to get a window seat, and the 6hr journey went fairly quickly. 

However, when the driver took my suitcase off the bus he slammed it down on a loose slab and one of the wheels ‘popped’ off. I’d already been thinking it would be wise to catch a taxi as it was a 45minute walk uphill to the hostel, but the lack of a wheel cemented getting a cab.

Sometimes you just need to rant and moan, and that’s pretty much all I did when I skyped mum earlier today but it was exactly what the doctor ordered and I just felt ‘better’ after moaning for half an hour about my suitcase (which I’ve no idea how to fix) and my camera (which I’ve also got no idea how to fix) and general lack of sleep (which is really hard to fix in a hostel).

I basically just spent the day pottering about the hostel, looking over my photos (which I haven’t had time to do for over a week) talking to friends online and just generally doing very little other than enjoying the sun and relaxing!

I'm sure i'll have more exciting things to ramble on about soon!

Canada Day 4. A Hazy Shopping Day

I’ll be honest with you here, today was quite simply spent being hungover.

A nice drink in a lounge with Johnny turned into several drinks in several lounges and pubs. So I wasn’t feeling up to tackling anything other than simple tasks today, namely laundry, packing and booking my bus and somewhere to stay in Montreal. I did pop to The Eaton Shopping Centre in the afternoon as I wanted to look around the ‘Canada famous’ mall and I figured I could do that much without falling over.

A lot of the day was also spent nursing my camera as it’s not handling the amount of water exposure it received at Niagara very well – much like how my head wasn’t handling the bottle of champagne we finished the evening on.

So aside from being utterly sleep deprived (I climbed into my bunk bed, without falling I might add, at 5am and I’m having to wake up at 5am tomorrow morning to catch my bus to Montreal) Canada is treating me quite well!

Fingers crossed my camera magically starts working though!

Canada Day 3. NIAGARA FALLS

So, today I was fortunate enough to get to see another wonder of the world and it was pretty amazing.

I thought about going on my own but catching the bus and doing a tour were roughly the same so I figured why both worrying about catching the right bus when I can get a tour and have the day planned for me? As it is I'm incredibly glad I booked a tour!

I got picked up from my hotel around 9, and then it was a relatively short drive to the Falls! (about an hour and a half, maybe 2 hours)

The falls were not quite what I was expecting. But then I didn't know what to expect! 

You hear so much about the falls and in person they were pretty amazing!

They fall in a sudden and incredibly dramatic horseshoe ring and create an super dense mist!

The Hornblower (the boat I was to get later) heading towards the falls!

And the Maid of the Mist. It's a shame I couldn't get this iconic boat but its currently only running from the USA side of the river and its only got a month or so to go before its officially retired

After hopping back on the bus, and chatting to the guy sat next to me (Johnny) we were driven down to the base of the falls and we jumped on the Ferry! It felt a little like you were going on a roller coaster, we all got wristbands and had to queue up and go in an elevator. And we all got photos of us taken before we jumped on the boat

Oh, and we got those incredibly beautiful plastic ponchos.. 

The American Falls!

This was pretty much all my camera could manage on the boat! It was crazy! And the americans were all cheering as we road the waves and got DRENCHED!

Everyone said you just got a little wet… A LITTLE wet?!

It was pretty funny seeing everyone's reactions though

I'm incredibly glad I did the boat ride as it was really so much fun! Despite dripping after 

(I was also incredibly glad I wore waterproof mascara…)

Then we had an hour or so to walk around the town that is nestled next to the ferry landing station, and it definitely wasn't what I was expecting!

It was just like a theme park or a mini vegas… it was strange! But it was interesting to see how much tourism has obviously impacted the town!

After grabbing lunch with Johnny (and having to run back to the bus since we were late) we set off again to another sightseeing spot

The weather wasn't too happy though so the bus gave us all more ponchos!

We nicknamed ourselves the poncho tour as we all looked ridiculous

The whirlpool itself was actually surprisingly impressive. I'd heard a few people say they weren't impressed, and obviously after the magnitude and splendour of Niagara Falls they aren't all that, but they're still a nice stop off

After running out and taking some photos of the whirlpool we all ran back to the bus so we could get on to Niagara on the Lake. It's a really cute and quaint town that I'm sure would have been lovely to stroll around in warmer weather. As it was we sort of just did a lap stopping in a few shops for samples (feel margarita and ice cream samples are good no matter the weather!)

Saw a woman rolling cigars!

its funny actually as me and Johnny were talking about the lack of Starbucks and how it was a nice change since they really are everywhere in North America, and how it's nice the town is so big on preserving the local shops etc we turn around and see this! I guess Starbuck really are everywhere

we also stopped by a pub that's supposed to be haunted. They have to keep the union jack flying other wise the ghost gets grumpy apparently.. 

I had to take a photo of this shop!

 Then it was onto Niagara Teaching Winery to try some of the local 'ice wine'. It was actually really interesting to learn about how it's made, they have to wait until the grapes are completely frozen on the vine before picking and then since al the water is frozen they tend to only get a drop or two from each grape. That all means that it takes 10-20 times more grapes to make a bottle of ice wine compared to your usual table wine.

The result is an incredibly sweet and unique wine that was simply delicious!

We got to sample three different wines and I couldn't resist buying a bottle to bring back with me so I could let you try some!