Day 19 & 20 (Octtober 5th & 6th) Flight, Heathrow, Penzance then home.

We left Halifax sometime after 11pm and after the 5 hour flight we landed at Heathrow at nearly 10am.  The flight was smooth and the food and comfort were pretty good.  After collecting the luggage and saying goodbye to everyone we got through customs and made our way to the Heathrow Express and Paddington.  Our train was about 1pm and so we had some time to get a snack before boarding and settling down on yet another train! 

Lands End Hard runway
 



The Scilloniian was high and dry in port 



St.Martin's

We arrived in Penzance at about 7pm, settled into Heather & Alan's flat and then went out for a meal in the Longboat pub.  We had a good night's sleep and were up ready to catch the bus out to Lands End airport for the flight back to the Isles of Scilly.  It was our first experience of the new hard runway at the airport and the new resurfacing at St. Mary's. Both made the trip in the 7-seater Islander better and more comfortable. The islands were soon in view and we had a good view of St. Martin's and our home.



Lower Town with our home
 

We landed, took the bus to the quay and caught the jet boat to St. Martin's and our long journey was completed by 4pm.  It had all been very successful and enjoyable.






Day 18 (October 4th) Halifax & Airport



Tree changing colour



The park bandstand

Halifax has the second largest natural harbour in the world (Sydney, Australia is the largest) and has a rich maritime history.  It was the gateway for many immigrants to the new world and there is an immigration museum.  It was also the place where the Titanic survivors and the remains of those who perished were brought and there is a Titanic museum and special cemeteries.  As it was dry and warm we decided not to visit these but go and explore the city a bit (we could probably find out about the history online).  We walked to the public park which had a beautiful

dahlias

pond with Titanic model

 exhibition of dahlias.  We had quite a walk around the park which had some good features.

We had a snack in the park café and then had a walk around the nearby citadel which like Quebec's had never been used in anger and is now used as barracks.

The old town hall

We then walked down to the waterfront and passed the old town hall which is an attractive building.  We passed as well the restaurant where our group

The Five Fishermen restaurant 

along the waterfront

had arranged to have a final day meal together.  Walking along the waterfront was pleasant with shops, performers and demonstrations as well as old boats.

We came to a large "farmers market" which was very busy and selling all sorts of local produce. After a quick look and tour we made our way back to the hotel.

By this time we had learnt that the Scillonian was cancelled on the Monday which we had booked and so rebooked onto Skybus.  At the hotel we used their computer to book in for the flight back to Heathrow.  It was time to walk back to the Five Fishermen and we all had a very satisfactory meal together before gathering again at the hotel for the evening coach transport to Halifax airport and the plane back to blighty.


Day 17 (October 3rd) Around Halifax

This started as an overcast day and to make the most of it Great Rail had arranged a coach trip to some of the local coastal highlights with a very good local guide.  The area was similar to Cornwall and Scilly with lots of coves and bays to explore. There was plenty of granite but no beaches to match Scilly.  Our first stop was Peggy's Cove where we arrived before the coaches from the two cruise ships that had berthed in Halifax.  The cove was a character fishing village in an idyllic setting.  We took numerous pictures and visited the small shops and also managed to grab a coffee.  We had time to see the brilliant granite carving of village life and then walk round the iconic lighthouse before getting back on the coach.

Peggy's Cove lighthouse

the granite carving

warning for Scilly?

Peggy's Cove

    We were then driven past various other fishing      villages and coves all looking picturesque.  We next stopped at a town called Lunenberg which was occupied initially by German settlers who proved to be very successful fishermen.  From their industrious catches they built some rather splendid buildings in their hometown.


the original Lunenberg school

A Lunenberg church

in front of the BluenoseII

Houses of all hues!

 We had lunch in a café on the wharf front and then it was time for us to be on our way again.

 

Our next stop was a place called Mahone Bay where the annual weeklong scarecrow festival was taking place.  A good time to visit!  Everyone in the small town seemed to have taken part and we found them brilliant.

 There were some pretty famous subjects.  After this we made our way back to Halifax and had a relaxing meal in a pub to finish a pretty good day.




Day 16 (October 2nd) To Halifax, Novia Scotia

Our route from Vancouver to Halifax via Jasper

After a reasonable night's sleep and a good breakfast we found we were having a good weather day.  The train journey was smooth with very few stops and the colours of the fall were very evident outside.  We were able to spend some time in the observation car which made looking at the trees, rivers, lakes and settlements we passed very enjoyable.  We were obviously very near water all the time.

we seemed to be close to home!

a beautiful lake

crossing a river on a bridge

Another lovely river

We eventually made it to Halifax during the early evening.  The hotel was next to the station and we quickly settled in.  There was a supermarket opposite and we managed to buy hot chicken and chips for our supper which was all we needed!  

Day 15 (October 1st) Quebec and onto a train!

 

this hotel is inside where the wall was

The next day was much warmer/brighter and after a local breakfast and packing we decided to walk the walls of the old city.  So we went to the nearest access point with a picnic and drinks and began the anti-clockwise walk.  Some of the views we had seen before from the coach but today we had time to stop, linger and photograph as the mood took.  The walls were almost continuous and had cannon along much of them.  They were kept in good condition and it is obvious the city was proud of them but again they have never had to be used as a defence.  

City hall from wall

alongside some cannons

At the end of the walk (about 2 hours) we had our picnic and then made our way back to the hotel before then making tracks for the docks to have a guided boat trip along the river.  It was an interesting trip and we saw more autumn colours and a waterfall higher than Niagara but not the same volume.  We stayed on the top deck and it was very warm cruising and out of any wind. We then returned to the hotel again to have a rest before picking up our bags and then boarding the night train to Halifax.  These sleeper cabins were different - they were originally made for Eurostar for them to do longer journeys but Eurostar eventually pulled out and the Canadian railways bought them.  They had less height but each cabin included a shower but we never had the courage to use it as it looked complicated.  Anyway we (at least I) slept well.                  

the falls higher than Niagara

grain silos for export

autumn colours







  

Day 14 (September 30th) Quebec

They won't get past this sentry!

This first day in Quebec was the coldest we had experienced in Canada (temperature about 10°C)  and it was definitely a day for jumpers and trousers.  We had some breakfast and were soon on a Great Rail Journey organised coach tour of the city.  Our guide was good and we had a good run round this the most historic of the Canadian cities.  We eventually arrived the Citadel (a garrisoned fort) and were guided round by an excellent young army lady guide.  We heard how Quebec was captured from the French by General Wolfe.  The Citadel was built to deter the Americans wanting to include Canada in the States but it has never received a shot in anger.  It was certainly worth visiting and we then carried to view other special places but not the old town as the streets were too narrow.

The Citadel

The smart Railway Station

We had free time in the afternoon and decided to explore the old part which turned out to be a good decision.  We realised that the railway station was a character building when we arrived in the dark last night, but today it was definitely worth capturing for posterity! 
 
 

The funicular

 The old part of the city at the bottom of a cliff was certainly full of character with small streets, old cottages and shops.  There were some strange sculptures made from plastic items along one street and someone had painted the gable end of their house in a rather novel way.
 

Interesting gable end

 
 
We also saw a giant soup can with similar sized pigeons!

 
Eventually we made our back to our hotel via the funicular.  In the evening we had a meal at a steakhouse and retired to the comfortable hotel after a grey, cold, overcast day but one which we were able to enjoy.

Day 13 (September 29th) Toronto to Quebec

Royal York Fairmont Hotel

Hotel foyer

Another good day  for weather but we were to spend
most of it on trains.  We left at mid-morning and so it gave us plenty of time to pack and then have a look at the underground malls of shop which stay open even in the severest of cold. We didn't explore too far because of the risk of getting lost!  We then all met in the foyer of the hotel before going across the road to catch the train.

The train lines were double tracked and we had no delays meaning good progress.  We had been to a local supermarket to prepare a picnic lunch.  We arrived in Montreal to change trains fairly late in the afternoon.  We had an hour at Montreal station and so we managed to get a meal on the concourse before meeting to get the Quebec train.  We had no chance to see Montreal apart from the station and that was a pity.  We were soon on our way again looking at the scenery and trying to solve the London Underground quiz!

Could be near home!

 
 




   It was dark and mid-evening before we arrived in Quebec and were pleased to see another comfortable hotel to welcome us.



Day 12 (September 28th) Niagara Falls etc

 



 

Just above the falls

The Whirlpool

Our day for our trip to Niagara dawned bright and sunny.  We were out early to catch the coach for the full day.  We visited an area called the Whirlpool just below the falls which gave a taster of what was to come. We took many photos of the falls which we thought were truly spectacular and one of the highlights of the holiday.  We had a good lunch in the Sheraton Hotel which gave special views of the falls  and where the video above was taken.  Inevitably we got wet as we took the boat trip to the foot of the falls but our Scilly waterproofs served us well.



 

We then had a tour of some local beauty spots ending up at Niagara-on-the lake which was an attractive "colonial" town which hasn't been modernised.  We saw a groundhog on a piece of waste land.  The lake was Lake Ontario.





A groundhog

Niagara on the lake