Day 30 - Ottawa - Montreal, Canada

Day 30 – 8th July 2005 -5:00 GMT Total Miles 8472

Had a lie in as we did not need to check out until 12pm. Set of on the 2 hour journey to Montreal and arrived at 3pm after a brief stop for lunch. On route we crossed over the Province line into Quebec, now everything is in French, and everyone speaks French. Eventually got checked into our hotel room at the holiday Inn after a room change due to the room lock not working. Then we set out to explore Montreal. The centre is quite grubby but when you get to the old town it feels like your in Paris. We had dinner on a outside table at the roadside. Then walked along the river and came across a jazz band playing so stayed and watched, then walked back through the old town and decided to visit the Montreal International Jazz Festival, we stayed and watched a band on the main stage for a hour or so and then saw a funk band on a smaller stage.

Montreal Fountains 

Old Town Market 

Entrance to Jazz Festival 

GM Jazz Band 

Montreal Old Town Fountains 

Montreal International Jazz Festival 

Day 29 - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Day 29 – 7th July 2005 -5:00 GMT

Got woken up at 8am with a banging on the door, being told check the news London has been bombed. Spent the next 2 hours in front of the TV and on the BBC website trying to make sense of what had happened with various reports coming in on US television. E-mailed friends and family to make sure everyone we knew was OK, and luckily everyone was. We spent the rest of the morning looking around the parliament buildings and downtown Ottawa which is a beautiful place, We also visited The Byward Market and then had a guided tour of the Canadian Mint which was fascinating. Early Evening I went across the river into the province of Quebec and visited the local casino, unfortunately I lost for once. We all then went out to an Indian restaurant for wine and a buffet.

Fairmount Chateux 

My New Car (Dodge Viper GTS)  

Ottawa 

Ottawa 

Patliment Buildings 

Parliment Buildings 

Day 28 - Niagara Falls - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Day 28 – 6th July 2005 -5:00 GMT Total Miles 8372

Set off at 10am after breakfast and drove the 435Km to Ottawa stopping on the way for lunch. We checked into the Aristocrate hotel where we had a suite. Spent the evening catching up on e-mail and surfing the web.

Day 27 - Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Day 27 – 5th July 2005 -5:00 GMT

Got up at 9am and had the free breakfast supplied by the hostel, Then wandered down to the falls and paid the 13 bucks to go on the maid in the mist boat ride into the centre of the horseshoe falls.The ride lasted 15 minutes and it felt like you were paying to get rained on, At least you were given a cool blue mac. It was a great experience and worth the money for the close up view. Then went up the hill ad looked at the shops in the Niagara Falls View Casino mall. I spent the afternoon in the Casino Niagara playing $1/$2 no limit poker, I then also played a bit of blackjack. In the evening we went to the wild mushroom bar and grill and ate, drank beer and played some pool.

Jill and I with our Cool Blue Macs  

Maid in the Mist boat in the centre of The Horseshoe Falls 

Niagara Skylon Tower 

Myself outside Casino Niagra 

Day 26 - Toronto - Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Day 26 – 4th July 2005 -5:00 GMT Total Miles 8075

Checked out of Dundas Square hotel just before 11am and set off for Niagara Falls, stopped on route at Tim Horton’s for a sandwich and doughnut, arrived in Niagara Falls at around 1.30pm. We checked into our hostel which is run by a very friendly English couple from Wigan. We decided we would do our washing while it was so hot outside, this was free at the hostel. We then had a 10 minute walk to the falls and we had dinner at the garden club restaurant overlooking the falls, After dinner we walked along the waterfront up to the horseshoe falls. Then headed to the Niagara Falls View Casino, where as we entered a tight rope walking was walking across between two hotels over 200ft up. I won like usual at the casino while Jill and Reece propped up the bar, then just before 10pm we went back down to the falls as the independence day fireworks display started at 10pm over the falls, the fireworks were fantastic, afterwards we walked back through the town to out hostel grabbing a Chinese takeout on route. Ate and went to sleep.

Niagara Falls 

Niagara Falls 

Niagara Horseshoe Falls 

Niagara Horseshoe Falls 

Myself outside Niagara Falls View Casino 

Tight Rope Walker 

Day 25 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Day 25 – 3rd July 2005 -5:00 GMT

Wandered to the northern part of the city and walked around the University district, then headed down to Queen Street West for a bit more window shopping, we then decided we would go to the waterfront and laze around on the grass and in the shade for a while. Headed back to Queen Street West for dinner and I had a mixture of Indian and Tibetan food, which was fantastic, then we went to a pub for a few beers and some games of pool.

Downtown Toronto 

Downtown Toronto 

Downtown Toronto