Our Canada Tour 2017
In 2017 Bryan and I decided to visit Canada and take a tour from coast to coast, starting in Toronto and finishing in Vancouver Island. Sadly we never got to the Island, but finished our holiday in Vancouver City. I was inspired by memories of the trip, some parts of which were very challenging, to create a travel log. Working in ink and watercolour, these are some of the images that will go into the book.
Toronto Food Fair
We arrived in Toronto in May and there was a very colourful and vibrant food fair in an exhibition space We didn’t see much of Toronto, as we flew in, someone scammed my credit card on the first night, in a pizza restaurant. Luckily Bryan had ignored my instruction not to take his, so we survived. We travelled back to Toronto to fly straight to Calgary.
Niagara Falls
We visited Niagara falls taking the Megabus from Toronto to Niagara. The Horseshoe fall here is the most magnificent of the falls and is on the Canada side. The little boat at the bottom is the tourist boat. It gets a bit wet hence the pink ponchos.
Niagara Funicular Railway
I love this form of transport, not a big one but a great way to travel down to the side of the falls. Our hotel was not at the top of this hill but a little way over.
Niagara Boat Trip
Pink Ponchos are not a very flattering garment, but are necessary when sailing into the spray of the falls. The Canada boats are pink and the US boats are blue, to distinguish in case you need to be rescued maybe.
Calgary
What an amazing city, a mixture of wild west influences yet very smart. Cheap or free public transport, the most amazing traffic free shopping and restaurant areas, with some super street art such as this statue. This statue of two men debating, arguing, discussing? - is called “The conversation” and is in Calgary Avenue which is a super pedestrianised area.
Calgary Tower
This is typical of a lot of the towers in USA and Canada. My lasting memory is of a mother trying to drag her screaming child onto the glass floor. I had sympathy and wouldn’t venture onto it myself, although Bryan jumped up and down (not that hard).
Lake Louise
We stopped at Lake Louise which when we arrived was iced over and was just starting to thaw. By the following day, as you can see from the picture the ice had retreated back into the mountains. There were two Japanese tourists sitting looking at the lake which provided a lovely picture
Columbian Icefield
The Columbian Icefield, this is one of the most accessible icefields and has a fleet of vehicles which travel on the glacier. The tour guide told us “there are 25 of these vehicles in total and only 1 belongs to NASA, the rest are here.” Not sure about this but it was a very interesting experience, the ice was melting as we walked on it and you wonder whether it will be there in 100 years time, despite its alleged depth.
Rocky Mountaineer
This is something of a cheat picture as you can see the actual train is a collage picture. This train took us from Jasper to Vancouver over two days. There isn’t much to see except trees, mountains and rivers, hence the image. Stunning scenery though. We had the gold service and therefore had a viewing deck at the top of a two decker carriage, and ate in the restaurant below where we were given breakfast and lunch.
Granville Island
This is the Aquabus ferry service which goes from Hornby to Granville Island, which isn’t an island at all. It is a trendy, hippyish, arty area with galleries, shops and with a general feeling of being very laid back. You can get there by road but the ferry is more interesting.
The Gastown Steam Clock
I always want to call it a Gas clock in Steamtown. Gastown is the oldest part of Vancouver but the clock was not victorian but was built in 1977 somewhat disappointingly. It is not powered by steam but by weights and pendulums, The whistle which sounds on the hour and half hour (inaccurately apparently) is powered by the steam from underground pipes from buildings and the clock stops this from being a free heating system for homeless people.
Chinese laughing statues English Bay
A-maze-ing Laughter was designed by Yue Minjun and installed in Morton Park along the English Bay in West End, Vancouver in 2009. There are 14 bronze sculpture, each about three meters tall. They are very striking but somewhat disconcerting if you stumble across them in the dark. The West End is where we stayed on the final leg of our Canada trip, near Stanley Park.
Souvenirs
Bringing back memories for me is linked to physical items and I love to bring something back from a trip. Here are some of the items that remind me of the time in Canada.