The Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia has a lot of interesting towns and sights. One of these is the Grand Pre National Historic Site near Wolfville. It's about an hour drive from Halifax and there are several other things in the immediate area that will…Read More

The Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia has a lot of interesting towns and sights. One of these is the Grand Pre National Historic Site near Wolfville. It's about an hour drive from Halifax and there are several other things in the immediate area that will make a full day outing from the city. There's a garden/gift shop, a coffee museum and cafe, a winery, a beach and a motel with a great restaurant.

To get here, take Highway 101 from Halifax. Take exit 10 to the older Highway 1 and head left towards Wolfville. You will pass a Just Us cafe and coffee museum not far from the highway exit. Here you can buy Fair Trade coffee and hot chocolate, view the interesting museum on Fair Trade coffee farming, watch the beans being roasted in the factory (on a weekday) and sample a brew or two.

The Tangled Garden will be on your right shortly after that. This is a lovely gift and garden shop with a very tangled garden in back that you can walk through.

Another short hop takes you to the intersection where you turn right to head to Grand Pre Historic Site and Evangeline Beach. This is the intersection where the Evangeline Inn and motel is located. For a snack or lunch, visit the restaurant. Their homemade pies are to die for and they make an awesome fish chowder! Across the road, There's also an old gas and service station, the building dating back to 1926, one of the original Irving Oil stations. An additional service bay was added in 1995 and built to match the original style.

A little further, around a bend is the Grand Pre Winery. They do tours and samplings and you can browse their little museum and gift shop. The restaurant on the site is very nice, as well, though a cut above the Motel. I don't think they have homemade pie, either! I have had lunch there, however, and the food is very good, as is the wine, naturally!

The main attraction is Grand Pre.

A bit of history to start you off: Nova Scotia was first settled in the Annapolis Royal area by the French and was a French possession, called Acadie. Thus, the residents were called Acadians. The area was handed back and forth between the French and British during various wars and conflicts and was finally given to the British. Halifax was founded in 1749 and became the capital, replacing Annapolis Royal. Grand Pre was settled in 1680 and is on the Minas Basin of the Bay of Fundy, home of the world's highest tides. The area is marshy but good farmland once dikes were built to hold back the water. In 1755, the British, now at war with France again, and since the Acadians were French and occupied rich farmland and vastly outnumbered the British, the decision was made to oust the Acadians from the colony to encourage more British settlement. The people were rounded up in the local church and sent to ships and dispersed to colonies in America.Over the next 6 years over 6000 people were deported from various locations in the colony. Many went to the nearest French colony, Louisiana and their descendents became what we know as Cajuns.

In 1847, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem, Evangeline, telling the tale of the deportation and the star crossed lovers that were separated, never to be together. Grand Pre became a tourist destination and the Nova Scotia government created trustees for the site. A private owner bought the land where the church was thought to be. A statue of Evangeline was erected in 1920 and if you look closely from one side of her to the other, you can see her grow older. The church was reconstructed in the 1930s and an old blacksmith shop was recreated on the grounds as well. There is now a visitor and interpretive center where you can see a film about the history. There's a gift shop on site and lots of parking. The grounds are lovely to walk around and the interior of the church is cool and peaceful. You may even see the cat that lives in the church, named, of course, Evangeline.

The site is open from mid may to mid October, 9 to 6 though the grounds are open all year round. cost is about 8 dollars for an adult with senior and youth discounts and family rates. You can also purchase seasonal passes.

Another 10 minute drive down the road brings you to Evangeline beach where you can paddle in the red mudded water of the basin if the tide is in, dig for clams if the tide is out, or just have a picnic.

A perfect summer day trip from the city and if you have time, continue into Wolfville with it's lovely Victorian homes and the campus of Acadia University. There's also a summer theatre here and some nice little shops.    Close

It’s difficult to imagine a more picturesque Maritime village than Alma, New Brunswick. Nestled into a tiny delta where the Upper Salmon River runs into the Bay of Fundy, Alma is also located at a point along the coast where the giant tides of…Read More

It’s difficult to imagine a more picturesque Maritime village than Alma, New Brunswick. Nestled into a tiny delta where the Upper Salmon River runs into the Bay of Fundy, Alma is also located at a point along the coast where the giant tides of Fundy reveal a kilometer-wide expanse of seabed at low tide. The village itself is perfect enough to look like a movie set. Small businesses—lodgings of various sorts, restaurants, general stores, shops with a range of local art and gift items—occupy prim seaside Victorian and weathered saltbox structures. Like so much of the Fundy coast, trees and grass tend to grow right down to the tide line. It’s a green place tinged with sea air. It is a place of serenity in the northern climes--what’s not to like?
Himself, Yours Truly, and Mother stayed in Alma for a week in September 2005, using a self-catering cottage located above Owl’s Head as our base of operations. We enjoyed our daily visits down to the village, learning a bit about its past, and sampling its wonderful selection of seafood. Alma started its existence in the middle of the nineteenth century, tapping the wealth of timber in what is now Fundy National Park and using it to build ships. Now it takes its wealth from the sea, and from the tourists who pass through visiting the park and gawking the phenomenal tides of Fundy.
We gawked with the best of them. We made the obligatory stroll across the exposed seabed at low tide, scanning the horizon for familiar landmarks. We took to heart the warnings about straying too far for too long and took our stroll while the tide was still in retreat. The seabed is largely barren, with ripples of sand marking the water’s retreat. Shells are scarce, though tide-tumbled pebbles of all sorts are common enough. The debris of civilization is also easily found—tale-tell bits of styrofoam and metal partially buried in the sand testify that too much trash is dumped in the sea by too many people.
Using Alma’s fishing fleet to measure the giant tide is another obligatory pastime for tourists in Alma. At high tide, the boats float comfortably above several feet of water, bobbing at their docks as one expects to see such vessels. But at low tide, the wharf is virtually empty and the boats rest on cradles to keep them above the mud. We met some very agreeable fellow tourists are the wharf. An older couple from Germany expressed warmth for Canadians, the husband recalling the kindnesses he received from Canadian soldiers at the end of World War II. They were in Canada on a pilgrimage to say thank you to a generous country. A young couple from the Czech Republic simply wanted to experience the richness of travel, and here they were, adding the tides to their life list.
Our favorite place to sample the local seafood was the Tides Restaurant in the Parkland Village Inn. We typically took a table by a window, easy enough to do in the off season and allowing us to look out toward the bay and the changing face of the tidal plain. My favorite meals generally both included lobster rolls or seafood chowder, so fresh that their ingredients were still practically swimming. The more casual setting of Harbour View Market also has great lobster rolls. Here we shared an early evening meal with a couple from Maine. She and Mother instantly hit it off with a vigorous exchange on the trials of being the baby sister. As an elder child, I found the conversation both fascinating and self-indulgent—typical elder-sister response, no doubt.
Our days in Alma were pleasant and restorative, filled with all the ingredients of a relaxing holiday—good food, fresh air, pleasant surroundings, new experiences, and the opportunity to meet people we would not otherwise meet. Even the memory of this place is restorative. Would we return? Yes, we’ll try. The allure of lobster rolls made fresh from the day’s catch still is still compelling.

- BawBaw   Close

Rent a Wreck is a budget car rental company that operates on a franchise basis in the US, Canada, Scandinavia and Iceland. In addition to renting cars they also offer second hand vehicle sales. The company motto is "Don't Let the Name Fool You".We were…Read More

Rent a Wreck is a budget car rental company that operates on a franchise basis in the US, Canada, Scandinavia and Iceland. In addition to renting cars they also offer second hand vehicle sales. The company motto is "Don't Let the Name Fool You".

We were recommended Rent-a-Wreck by a fellow Brit we met on Vancouver Island and when we decided to hire a car for a week towards the end of our stay, and found out that as it was a "Long Weekend" (something equivalent to our Bank Holiday Monday) and thus many high-street rental companies locally were closed. I did a little price research on the Internet and found out that not only they were open, but they also seemed to have significantly cheaper rates than other companies.

The cars offered by Rent-a-Wreck are by no means wrecks or old bangers. They are older vehicles than what you'd get in a standard big national car hire chain, being often between 3 to 10 years old rather than newer than 3 years old as it's the case with the likes of Enterprise, National or Budget. But they still seem to be well maintained and in perfectly reasonable condition: comparable to renting a car from a local car hire company in the UK rather than a big chain.

Now, the whole area of car hire in Canada is a bit of an initial minefield for anybody used to British ways. The deals offered often have a daily maximum mileage, with extra miles (or rather kilometres) payable on top. Insurance is EXTERMELY expensive, and what is included as a standard in the hire charge is only the basic, compulsory third party cover: if you don't buy extra waivers, there is no coverage for damage whatsoever. All rental companies offer such waivers though, and they often seem to cost as much or in fact more than the actual hire.

Rent-a-wreck had a deal that gave us a car for 200 CAD per week, with 200km mileage per day and three insurance options, from 15 to 30 CAD per day, depending on whether it had an excess (called "deductible" here) and what was included.

What we found out, however, when we arrived in the Rent-a-Wreck location in Nanaimo was that they had no vehicles! I had not booked one as the website had no description of the different waivers) and we simply turned up in hope. The hope was not completely unfounded as they had a car coming back two hours later and we decided to do a bit of research locally (there was a Budget branch next door) and wait for the phone call from the agent. We were offered their "gold" waiver for the price of the "silver" one, which cost us an extra 170 CAD - at least it was less than the actual hire! Thus, the total cost was 370 CAD.

The Budget deal was substantially more, in the region of about 440 CAD for a smaller car, so we decided to stick to Rent-a-wreck which was a good decision. The car we were offered was a Kim Sephia, tough I am not sure if car model names are to be trusted, the Ford Focuses (Foci?) I saw in Canada were nothing like the UK ones for example. It was of course an automatic and petrol-powered (diesels seem rare in Canada and many garages don't even sell diesel fuel) and probably around 10 years old, but it was in good nick (noticeably better then our own 10 year old vehicles), pretty economical to drive and caused us no trouble getting around the island. It had air conditioning but nether electric windows (not a big deal) nor central lock (a bit of a pain with four people including two children).


I liked the price and I liked the service we received. Obviously, it was opened on the day many other car rental companies were closed, and it seemed much more individual and customer focused than the Budget had and I don't mean that in a sleekly professional way (the office was smallish and the staff more of a corner-shop-friendly variety) but in the way that matters: when we hesitated we were offered a better insurance waiver for a lower price, the car was ready for as soon as it was returned by the previous client, we were given advice about driving on Vancouver Island and when we returned the vehicle, we were given a lift to the departure terminal for the ferry to the mainland.

Don't use Rent-a-wreck if you are looking for a high-end vehicle with all modern bells and whistles, but if you need a more affordable hire for local touring, and a choice of insurance options, do give them a try.    Close

One can argue that Canada, as a single national entity, was created as much by the construction of the railways as by any Acts of the British parliament. These railways originally carried people as much as cargo and provided cultural as well as economic…Read More

One can argue that Canada, as a single national entity, was created as much by the construction of the railways as by any Acts of the British parliament. These railways originally carried people as much as cargo and provided cultural as well as economic links between various parts of this vast country.

Alas, no more - or, nearly no more.

Nowadays, Via Rail deals with what's left of passenger services on the vast Canadian National rail network, used mostly for (and ruthlessly prioritising) freight trains.

Canadian Pacific, which originally opened the Rockies to the visitors, and arguably created tourism in Canada, has no passenger service left at all, with the Rocky Mountaineer tour company running an excursion operation between Vancouver, Banff, Calgary, Jasper and Whistler. This is sold in the form of packages, with hotel accommodation, meals and other add-ons justifying (Or not, as it might be) the huge price (three -four times as expensive as equivalent Via Rail service).

There is also The Northlander, between Toronto and Moosoonee, and a few heritage type excursion operators.

Via Rail is, however, main Canadian rail passenger company and most of this article will deal with their services.

In some areas of the country, notably the so called Toronto-Quebec corridor, which also covers Ottawa and Montreal, the Via Rail service resembles what most Europeans are used to, namely several trains per day, running at least at the speed comparable to driving.

On other routes it's a bit of a rump service run by a rump of a national railway company.

"The Canadian", Via Rail's flagship service, the train with a number 1, which runs cross-country and cross-continent (or almost) between Toronto and Vancouver used to be a daily service with two trains, one on each of the southern (via Calgary) and northern (via Edmonton) routes. There are now three trains a week, covering the northern route only. "The Canadian" is touted as one of the great railway journeys of the world, and, ultimately, and even with all the reservations it probably is, but more despite than because of what Via Rail does.

The other long-distance train is "The Ocean", from Montreal to Halifax, which takes around 20 hours (a he drive takes 14) and has a more modern feel, with new coach carriages (somehow hopefully called Renaissance) and seemed to be a popular service, quite busy both times we took the train.

On both these long distance routes (and to some extent on the shorter Corridor services too) Via Rail operates a bit like an airline: there is boarding time which is usually 30 minutes, and often an hour before the train departs; luggage needs to be checked in (and it needs to happen an hour before the train departs, at last at the stations where there is a longer layover or where the train starts or terminates, and so on. This means that the whole process has a more relaxed feel (you don't end up running for the train 2 minutes after departure time) but it also tends to lose advantages it has over the air travel. Via Rail tends to market its services as a "more humane way to travel" and on many levels it is: the trains (at least the long distance ones, we only experienced one shorter service so I can't comment here) are comfortable, with lots (and I mean lots) of leg-room, ability to recline quite far back, plenty of space for cabin luggage and, in the stainless steel carriages that date to the 50's, footrests. Small (air plane style) pillow and a blanket are provided for those travelling in the night in the economy class.

Most carriages (at least on The Canadian) are sleepers, with two options that vary by the level of privacy but are both vastly more expensive than the economy seats. And by vastly, I mean just that: in Europe, sleepers or couchettes normally incur a supplement that is less than a price of the actual travel ticket. On Via Rail trains, the difference in price between economy seats (commonly referred to as "Coach") and both the sleeper classes is as high as a factor of three. For that, you get a pretty wide berth (and a child is allowed to share a parent's one) as well as all meals (and the restaurant on The Canadian at least is pretty reasonable) included.

All passengers get an access to the Dome car, one with an observation deck an windows that extend up and around - this is particularly good in the mountains, as it allows for viewing on both sides without jumping from one row of seats to the other.

In addition to the Ocean, Canadian and Corridor trains, Via Rail operate an infrequent service to Gaspe in Quebec, a workaday train from Montreal to Seneterre and Jonquerre (also in Quebec) and a summer service between Jasper, Prince George and Prince Rupert in the northern part f the Rockies and the British Columbia. Finally, there is also the strange train, running three times a week, that links Winnipeg and Churchill on the shores of the Hudson Bay. This is the only train line in Canada that is almost exclusively passenger and actually provides the only land access to parts of the country not accessible by road.

Via Rail sells its tickets online, over the phone and at the stations. I found the people that staff their call centres helpful, friendly and service orientated, while the ground staff at the stations where very often stand-offish, a bit gruff if not to say downright rude and not that helpful at all.

Staff on board train were all (and we met many different crews) great, from the service managers to the stewards and the restaurant staff, they were all good humoured, friendly and helpful.

The prices of Via Rail tickets can easily compete with the Greyhound prices, though to achieve that tickets need to be bought in advance (at least a week in advance for the Super Saver fares). The comfort of the ride is definitely better, but the choice of times and routes, and at least on some routes, the speed, are worse.

All in all, travelling by train in Canada is still possible and certainly quite enjoyable, but the existing service is a sad shadow of its former self. It's hard to think of a better way to cross the vast interior of the country and the continent while seeing what one is crossing in the process, although one needs to either have a lot of money to pay for the berths, or break the journey a few times if travelling in economy seats. The biggest failure is the low frequency of the trains, which means that some parts of the country are always covered by night - notably most of Quebec on the Ocean, a significant part of the Canadian Shield and the scenic ride between Kamloops and Vancouver on the Canadian.    Close

We are in the prairies now. It's flat, flat, flat, flat as far as the eye reaches, flat as far as the horizon, and as it's too early for any vegetation yet, the flatness is dusty, arid, yellow grey. There is a lot of sky…Read More

We are in the prairies now. It's flat, flat, flat, flat as far as the eye reaches, flat as far as the horizon, and as it's too early for any vegetation yet, the flatness is dusty, arid, yellow grey. There is a lot of sky above the flatness, but it's uniformly blue, feeble and pale just above the ground and deep blue higher up.

But it's not an absolute and uniform flatness. It's broken by grain elevators, occasional homesteads, irrigation channels and lines of trees, probably purposefully planted hedges that provide shade and prevent erosion as it's unlikely natural trees would grow in lines. In fact, there are quite many trees, and the vast wheat fields stretching uniformly all around have not yet appeared: the fields are big, but not THAT big.

As we go on, and into Saskatchewan, it the landscape chages a bit: wilder, more western perhaps. Strangely compelling prairie landscape, the mesmerising flatness.

As we drive into Alberta, the grain elevators of Saskatchewan disappear and the small oil wells start to appear. The lettering on buildings becomes more wild-west and rodeos are advertised as farms change to ranches.

***

The whole of Canada is a study in the influence of natural environment over human culture, society and industry, and simultaneously, a study of human ingenuity and industry making its mark, working with and - dare I say - conquering nature.

Manitoba stretches from the frozen tundra of the Hudson Bay to the plain bordering the US along the 49th parallel. Winnipeg experiences the typical extremes of a continental climate, with the winter temperatures dropping below 40C and the summer ones raising above 30C. We are VERY far from any ocean and the tempering influences of large bodies of water.

We are also very far from everywhere that's anywhere and I suspect this distance is another, and possibly more defining feature of Winnipeg. For time immemorial a trading post and a meeting place at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, Winnipeg boomed when the rail road came and transformed it into the first significant city of the prairies and the gateway to the West. It still remains very far from everywhere, though: a six hour drive (or 10 hours on the train) to Saskatoon and 8 hours' drive to Thunder Bay, neither of which is exactly a cosmopolitan metropolis.

Winnipeg itself is actually pretty multicultural if not quite multi-racial, with a population originally attracted by the fertile plains to the west, drawn from all over Europe. Italian, Greek, Portuguese, Ukrainian and French mix with the "standard" North American British and German heritages to create a multi-lingual, multi-cultural community now celebrates those various backgrounds under an umbrella of a noticeable and resolute prairie-Canadian identity.

Winnipeg's vast distance from anywhere makes it self-sufficient in a cultural and social sense, with four universities, excellent theatres, music and art scenes. It's surprisingly its own place though it seemed to me to look a little bit more more to the west and Vancouver than to the east.
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Halifax, the capital and the largest city of Nova Scotia (where a third of the province’s two million inhabitants live) is situated rather smashingly on the shores of a deep inlet, the second largest and the deepest natural port in the world. It’s still a…Read More

Halifax, the capital and the largest city of Nova Scotia (where a third of the province’s two million inhabitants live) is situated rather smashingly on the shores of a deep inlet, the second largest and the deepest natural port in the world. It’s still a large port and a very studenty city, with a noticeable bit of a rough edge, but what still seems like a fun place to visit or stay for a while if perhaps not live permanently (the Maritimes are the poorest provinces and have famously high unemployment).

Halifax’s attraction are also predominantly maritime and colonial in flavour, with the chief being the prettified and turistified promenade by the harbour.

It is all very maritime indeed, some of it tourist-industry-regeneration, some very genuine. People are friendly straightforward, with a soft west country like accent. It’s also astonishingly British: seems like mock-British and it’s hard to tell which is "real" (whatever real might mean) and which is for the US tourists enamoured of all things imperial and historic. This Britishness has a Caledonian flavour: a kilt shop is touted on a billboard; they hold Highland Games here and even have a Gaelic college (though not in Halifax). But ultimately, the imperial wins over the Scottish and it’s the Union Jack and not the Saltire that flies over the city, while a British Gardener advertises his (or her) services in the local free newspaper.

The main two tourist attractions of Halifax connect to the imperial and maritime strands of city’s identity.

The Maritime Museum sits on the harbour-front promenade, flanked by historic sailing and motor ships and even a cartoon-derived tugboat with a smile and a red cap (none of these operate during our April visit, though).

The Citadel, a grim and imposing 19th century fort, sits squarely above the city. In the summer, it has all kinds of attractions, from the changing of bekilted guards to museum displays. At the time of our visit, it’s cold, windy, empty and atmospheric. It must have been a hard post, serving here on the Atlantic edge of the Empire.

The views over the harbour and the city are excellent, and as we walk down the grassy hill we get a good look at the wooden city clock, another Halifax landmark.

There is a commuter ferry for pedestrians across the inlet from Halifax to Dartmouth: nothing interesting in itself, but as it’s part of city’s public transport network, it’s a great way to have a look at the harbour, Halifax’s skyline and breath even more sea air.


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Area called Cote Nord (North Coast) is the second-biggest administrative region of Quebec. It has a population of less than 100,000 in the area the size of the UK. Canada is certainly not short of space - now wonder it's possible to buy a plot…Read More

Area called Cote Nord (North Coast) is the second-biggest administrative region of Quebec. It has a population of less than 100,000 in the area the size of the UK. Canada is certainly not short of space - now wonder it's possible to buy a plot of land with sea views (but no electricity or water) for less than 10k here. Cote Nord stretches from Tadoussac (the oldest European settlement in Quebec) all the way to the Labrador border, along St Lawrence River. We stayed in a small (bust spread out along the highway and the coast) village of Les Escoumins.

The main industries in the area are mining, logging, hydro-electricity and tourism, mostly in the summer. But there is a lot of nature here and not very many people and the essential wildness of the land. This area is part of the Canadian Shield, a glacier-polished, thin-soiled, mineral-rich great curve of land around the Hudson Bay that stretches from Quebec to Ontario to northern Manitoba to North West territories that for me defines the quintessential Canadian wilderness. Covered mostly in boreal forest, with a sprinkling of maple and birch further south (birch mostly in the north), with much exposed rocks, the Shield has an almost ethereal, ascetic beauty, one that is not so much inhospitable to but disinterested in human life, even though some humans make their life here.

The St Lawrence estuary and particularly the area near the confluence of the Saguenay fjord is in the summer abundant in krill and other whale fodder and thus becomes a feeding ground for all kinds of marine mammals, including belugas, fin whales, sperm whales and even the blue whales.

We were told that the whales were not back yet, and that they don't come back until May but on a sunny Easter Saturday, as we moved from the house of one of our kind Couch Surfing hosts to another, the sun came up, the fog (or rather the "sea smoke") cleared and in the dark blue waters of St Lawrence estuary appeared groups of belugas. We stood on the rocks (by the way, these were the iconic, grey, prehistoric-looking Canadian rocks) and there they were, bizarrely white (REALLY white!), showing their curved backs above the water, moving swiftly up the river towards the Saguenay fjord. One of them came near the shore and we could clearly see not only the back but also the tail and strangely shaped head and face: my first ever whale!

The next day was even nicer, and we spend half a day basking in the sun on the rocks surrounding Les Escoumins, looking at the sparkling blue and grey river, with the snow melting all around us and the sun rays hot and strong. We saw some seals playing in the water, and towards the afternoon we spot a huge, long, dark, sleek curve with a small fin appearing in the water not further than 20 metres away from the rocks. With breath held, we wait, and it appears again a few meters closer, and then, after about five minutes, reappears good fifty meters away. This was almost certainly a finback whale, the second biggest marine mammal out there, and our second whale!

We leave the coastal rocks in joy and even getting stuck in the deep, melting snow on the way back doesn’t dampen our spirits.

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Quebec city is simply wonderful. It's the most normal (read: European) place we have so far visited in Canada, intensely Francophone, a little bit provincial maybe; Quebec City has a human scale and feel (in addition to a very Catholic colour - it feels like…Read More

Quebec city is simply wonderful.

It's the most normal (read: European) place we have so far visited in Canada, intensely Francophone, a little bit provincial maybe; Quebec City has a human scale and feel (in addition to a very Catholic colour - it feels like a city Cardinal Richelieu could have built).

Even outside the historic, walled centre (it's the only walled city in North America and on UNESCO's World Heritage list), the buildings are not those flat, vast, low boxes placed about 5 miles from each other that you need at least a motorbike to travel between, but a somehow more approachable, walkable and altogether better than what we saw in Toronto or Montreal/Laval.

People are incredibly friendly and seem happily content without being manically positive, and the place seems civilised but not altogether boring.

Oh, and it's situated in the fantastic point over the St Lawrence river, just where the wide estuary narrows into a more manageable waterway - there is even a ferry that takes people and cars to the other side and allows for even better views of the historic Old Town (Vieux Quebec). What more can one want?

But of course it's the Old Quebec that makes Quebec such an enchanting place, and such a popular tourist destination. It’s a pleasure to just stroll around the streets and alleys of the old town, so unexpectedly attractive in the New World.

There are also elegant baroque churches, seminaries and municipal buildings, pretty squares and an almost complete set of walls, whose battlements dotted with cannons can be walked for spending views of the city, port and river.

The most famous building in Quebec, or perhaps the most recognised, is the much newer Chateau Frontenac hotel, with its mock-baronial, turreted and pinnacled architecture. Barely 120 years old (and in fact, the massive and rather monstrous central tower was added in the 20’s), this is apparently the most photographed building in Canada, and certainly in Quebec City. It’s rather over the top, but with its superb situation and striking silhouette, no wonder really.

The Chateau sits above the lower city (Basse Ville) and the river, and nearby set of stairs as well as a funicular connect the area immediately adjacent to the hotel to the attractive set of buildings, shops and restaurants immediately below, centred on restored Place Royale, and with a lively Rue du Petit-Champlain particularly good for arts, crafts, food and drink.

The lower town also has the Museum of Civilisation and the terminal for the commuter ferry to Levis, a workaday community on the other bank of St Lawrence, eminently worth a trip for the views (as well as a nice microbrewery pub the Corsair).
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We leave Les Escoumins (where we had the most enjoyable three days including wonderfully sunny Easter weekend graced with sightings of belugas and fin back whales) on a rainy Easter Monday, by a crowded bus. Our lovely host Mannu sees us off at the…Read More

We leave Les Escoumins (where we had the most enjoyable three days including wonderfully sunny Easter weekend graced with sightings of belugas and fin back whales) on a rainy Easter Monday, by a crowded bus. Our lovely host Mannu sees us off at the bust station and persuades the bus driver to let us off at the turn for the Saint Simeon ferry rather than at the normal stops a couple of kilometres up the road. The bus is packed with people going back to Quebec and Montreal after Easter at home. In Tadoussac it gets so busy that some people need to stand.

As the bus crosses he Saguenay fjord on the small car ferry, the grey skies start to clear and some blue appears in the south and over the mountains.

The driver does as she was asked to and lets us off at the traffic lights in Saint Simeon, on top of the hill from which we can see the ferry terminal and the ferry nearing the moorings. We have about half an hour to the departure and after a ten minute walk downhill we are just in time to see the ferry dock and to walk on with the other foot passengers.

The crossing takes just over and hour, across calm St Lawrence and affords for lovely views of both shores. As we near the south shore and the Riviere-du-Loup terminal, the sun breaks again at one point through the clouds over the Charelvoix mountains and the rays come streaming down, illuminating some hills and leaving the rest in an eerie, sharp shadow.

The ferry itself is a surprisingly substantial and comfortable vessel, with a large salon, small playroom for children, bar and restaurant as well as free wifi Internet.

The terminal at Riviere-du-Loup is, however, not only deserted, but also located at least couple of miles out of town's centre and, considering the annoying Canadian habit of placing bus and train stations on the periphery, probably at least three miles from the Via Rail station.

We get thrown out of the ferry terminal building by a guy that locks it up for the day, but he also gives us the taxi number, and one arrives in five minutes to takes us to the train station, or rather to a burger joint cum patisserie (here is Quebec for you!) about five minutes walk from it. We spend the next four hours in that diner, stretching our burgers, chips, coffee and cakes as much as we can. By the time the diner closes at 10pm, there is still an hour and half to wait until the railway station opens at 11.30pm (our train leaves at six minutes past midnight). It stays open until 3am, six days a week.

There are only two trains that come through Riviere-du-Loup: the one we are taking to Halifax (three times a week it has coaches to Gaspe) and the one that goes back from Halifax to Montreal.

We walk to the station as slowly as we can, but it's still only 10.20 when we arrive. The small waiting room is lit up but locked, and there is absolutely nothing outside: not a roof, not a shelter, not a seat, not even a step to sit on. We place our rucksacks on the ground under the small roof in front of the door and with the children nodding off on the rucksacks we stand around waiting for the guy who runs the station to turn up. Two other people do come, arriving to collect people from the Ocean train we are taking, but 11.30pm passes and the guy is still not there.

He turns up at 11.20 without a word of apology and then spends another 15 minutes doubting the validity of our reservation. I show him the confirmation email on my phone, he complains about small letters impossible to read, I then suggests he phones and when he does things get sorted and our tickets get printed, our rucksacks checked in and in ten minutes the train arrives.

It's big train -proper, solid and powerful looking thing that looks made for long journeys and crossing snow-bound forests. As much as the station experience was an example of once-thriving industry being in what seemed like terminal decline, once we are on the train it all seems completely reversed.

We climb aboard a warm, spacious carriage, led by a smiling, friendly and polite steward, who points us to two sets of two seats and promptly brings pillows and blankets. The seats are huge - honestly, they are wide, have piles of leg room and recline (or rather pull out), there are clever spaces for carry-on luggage and foot rests and similar.
So, we are travelling, again.   Close

Public transport in Toronto is surprisingly good and much better than what I expected of a North American city. The system is completely integrated and easy to understand and use. Essentially, it consists of a thick network of buses supplemented with trams (street-cars) combined with…Read More

Public transport in Toronto is surprisingly good and much better than what I expected of a North American city. The system is completely integrated and easy to understand and use.

Essentially, it consists of a thick network of buses supplemented with trams (street-cars) combined with a three-line underground (subway) system. There are also some local trains (GO trains) which are mostly for commuters and a typical visitor will not find much occasion to use them.

Each single one way journey on the bus/subway system costs 3 CAD, and in some cases you need to obtain what is called "a transfer" to be able to change vehicles, in others the transfer is seamlessly automatic, without a need for the paper slip. A child ticket costs 75 cents, and all children above 2 years old pay.

In addition to single ticket there are also passes that allow for a freedom of the whole system for a day. These costs 10 CAD per day, and are thus only of use if you are genuinely likely to make more than 3 single journeys a day. However, on weekends and statutory holidays (and that, amazingly, includes school holidays), the pas is good for a whole group consisting of 2 adults and up to 4 children or an adult and 5 children! This is excellent value and during our stay in Toronto we were lucky enough to be able to use it every day as it fell during so called "March break".

Most bus stops and all subway stations have a map of the system as well as a time table, and the map is easy to read and interpret, though it's worth remembering that it's not to scale which means that what looks like a short hop might prove to be a 20 minute journey (and vice versa).

Toronto subway is great: quick, frequent, clean and efficient, the trains don't seem to get very crowded even in the rush hour. The bus often drive into the subway stations or stop directly outside so even in bad weather one stays under cover.
I am not sure ow comprehensive the system is in the far-out suburbs, but wherever we went (and that included central locations, residential areas not too far from the centre as well as attractions further out (the Science Centre and the Zoo) there seemed to be a bus, street-car or subway nearby. The bus stops are very frequent and the stops are announced via the loudspeaker on the bus as well as the subway.

The system seems safe and at night there are designated waiting areas on the subway stations (well lit and near an intercom system for communicating with staff) while women travelling alone can ask the bus driver to stop at any point and not just at designated stops.

Altogether I found the public transport in Toronto efficient, easy to use and very convenient.   Close