caravanman
Engineer
Hi folks, making a start on my Canadian trip report, a work in progress..
Today is Monday 16th May 2011, and we have been here in North America for just about 12 days.
I flew from Heathrow, with my son, Aidan, age 17, to Toronto on Thursday afternoon, 5th May, having travelled down from Nottingham earlier that day by train. That was the same week that Pakistan was in the news, and Aidan and I both felt slightly on edge until we arrived at Heathrow… rather odd to feel relief to enter the security of “airside”, mostly it is the other way around!
British Airways flight from the new terminal 5, I am amazed that so far I have had to catch a bus from the terminal to the aircraft every time I use terminal 5. Seems a stupid arrangement for a brand new terminal…
Aidan forgot to remove some spray from his luggage, which was detected, and his bag was rummaged through by security.
Flight itself was good, we had two seats at the rear of the plane. Aidan was reading a book entitled “Hoods” about real life criminals from Nottingham. He is not an avid reader, so it was nice that he was able to engage with the book by dint of the local landmarks that were known to him.
We stayed at a hotel out at the airport the first night, as it had been a long day. Aidan went out and found a “Subway” sandwich place to eat, while I took in a couple of beers to “re-hydrate”… and so to bed, which was comfy indeed.
Next morning we re- packed and took the hotel bus back to the airport, then boarded a local bus which took us to the Toronto Metro. Being a bit sleepy I managed to pay for three persons, not just us two, so that was $3 CAD down the Swannie straight off!
We managed to follow the shuttle bus drivers instructions and arrived at King Street metro in due course, and a short walk later we had arrived at the Youth Hostel. I was booked in there just for the Friday night, as I was leaving on the train to Vancouver the next evening. Somehow the hostel had goofed, but eventually found my booking. Aidan’s was fine, he was booked in for 8 nights. We put our bags in the lockers, and went out to explore a little. Weather was warm and sunny, we just wandered around getting a feel of things, Toronto style.
We had a meal at the hostel that evening, they offer a cooked breakfast and dinner option, or one can use their kitchen to cook bought food.
After a visit to a nearby supermarket for milk, etc, we bought a few beers from the Canadian Government… One cannot buy alcohol in supermarkets in Ontario, only from official “Grog shops” (my name for them!) which close at 9 pm, although pubs stay open and serve till late. Probably a good thing if it cuts down binge drinking. I noticed that cigarettes were not on display anywhere in the shops either.
We sat on a bench outside a church, and consumed a can each… Bad Daddy! I had assumed the hostel would frown on alcohol being brought onto the premises, but next day I found it was not an issue, if drunk responsibly. (…and yes, I can see that might be a contradiction in terms!)
I retired to bed early, and left Aidan to his own devices.
Saturday 7th May 2011
Full English fried breakfast next morning… so glad of the commonwealth influence…!
Similar day to Friday, a little shopping, went down to the station in advance to scout out the arrangements, obtained my tickets, and then back to the hostel to pack and get ready. Aidan re-negotiated his allowance during the day, so he was feeling quite chuffed to have some more dollars in his pocket, and I also bought him some vouchers for two cooked meals a day at the hostel while I was away. The thinking being that if he spent all his money, at least he had a roof over his head, a bed, and two decent meals a day… Good Daddy !
I was feeling optimistic that Aidan would be ok on his own, although I could see there was certainly potential for a downside. Anyway, I bit the bullet, and after he helped me take my bag to the train station, we shook hands, hugged, and amid my last minute reminders to him to “be sensible”, we went our own ways, he off into the cold dark night, me into the warm embrace of Canadian Railways sleeping car lounge.
(Ok, so it wasn’t dark, nor cold, it was only 7.30pm, but that sounds less of an adventure for Aidan.)
“You must be Eddie…”
The lounge for sleeping car passengers is nice, at the far end of the station from the ticket windows. All relaxed and pleasant, not the bellowing of orders one hears from Amtrak’s finest… Juice, coffee, cold soda all available, and after a polite introduction from the staff, we were request to visit the desk and choose our lunch and dinner sittings for the following day.
I got into conversation with a couple from Australia, when I was hailed by another gent, with the words “You must be Eddie”? It turned out to be a guy from Pennsylvania, J, who is a great fan of Via Rail, and has travelled extensively on Amtrak. He is not an AU member, but is a frequent visitor to the AU website, so that was how he found out about my trip…
Very interesting guy, gave me lots of hints and tips on places to visit, how to find cheap places to stay, and indeed the train itself, as he had taken this route several times. J was also booked to Vancouver, like myself. We met up on the train several times over the next few days, and I was sorry to miss him at Vancouver, as I did not get to say goodbye. (Yeah, I guess he was probably in hiding till he saw me leave…)
Anyway, J, if you do read this, thanks a lot for your company, it was great to meet you.
What a great train The Canadian is, nice old fashioned cars, good staff, and did I mention the Champaign…?
So the announcement was made that we could board the train shortly after 9.30pm for the 10pm departure. I have made many trips on Amtrak, but this was a different atmosphere altogether.
The first difference was the gentle, polite staff… no bellowing at passengers as if we were cattle, we were treated as intelligent travellers, and allowed to walk to the train without the need to stand in line for ages, no silly hoops to jump through.
Roomette for one in a Chateau car, similar in size to an Amtrak roomette. Lets explore the rest of the train!
Introduced to Andrew, the activity coordinator, and was told a little about the train… very impressed by the 1950’s style and ambience. My car right next to one of the viewing dome cars, so headed up there to grab a seat as Andrew began to offer glasses of Champaign. That soon promoted a party atmosphere, at least that was how it seemed to me, after my 4th glass…
To Be Continued….
My Photos so far...
YOU CAN FIND PART TWO HERE: MY CANADIAN TRIP PART 2
Today is Monday 16th May 2011, and we have been here in North America for just about 12 days.
I flew from Heathrow, with my son, Aidan, age 17, to Toronto on Thursday afternoon, 5th May, having travelled down from Nottingham earlier that day by train. That was the same week that Pakistan was in the news, and Aidan and I both felt slightly on edge until we arrived at Heathrow… rather odd to feel relief to enter the security of “airside”, mostly it is the other way around!
British Airways flight from the new terminal 5, I am amazed that so far I have had to catch a bus from the terminal to the aircraft every time I use terminal 5. Seems a stupid arrangement for a brand new terminal…
Aidan forgot to remove some spray from his luggage, which was detected, and his bag was rummaged through by security.
Flight itself was good, we had two seats at the rear of the plane. Aidan was reading a book entitled “Hoods” about real life criminals from Nottingham. He is not an avid reader, so it was nice that he was able to engage with the book by dint of the local landmarks that were known to him.
We stayed at a hotel out at the airport the first night, as it had been a long day. Aidan went out and found a “Subway” sandwich place to eat, while I took in a couple of beers to “re-hydrate”… and so to bed, which was comfy indeed.
Next morning we re- packed and took the hotel bus back to the airport, then boarded a local bus which took us to the Toronto Metro. Being a bit sleepy I managed to pay for three persons, not just us two, so that was $3 CAD down the Swannie straight off!
We managed to follow the shuttle bus drivers instructions and arrived at King Street metro in due course, and a short walk later we had arrived at the Youth Hostel. I was booked in there just for the Friday night, as I was leaving on the train to Vancouver the next evening. Somehow the hostel had goofed, but eventually found my booking. Aidan’s was fine, he was booked in for 8 nights. We put our bags in the lockers, and went out to explore a little. Weather was warm and sunny, we just wandered around getting a feel of things, Toronto style.
We had a meal at the hostel that evening, they offer a cooked breakfast and dinner option, or one can use their kitchen to cook bought food.
After a visit to a nearby supermarket for milk, etc, we bought a few beers from the Canadian Government… One cannot buy alcohol in supermarkets in Ontario, only from official “Grog shops” (my name for them!) which close at 9 pm, although pubs stay open and serve till late. Probably a good thing if it cuts down binge drinking. I noticed that cigarettes were not on display anywhere in the shops either.
We sat on a bench outside a church, and consumed a can each… Bad Daddy! I had assumed the hostel would frown on alcohol being brought onto the premises, but next day I found it was not an issue, if drunk responsibly. (…and yes, I can see that might be a contradiction in terms!)
I retired to bed early, and left Aidan to his own devices.
Saturday 7th May 2011
Full English fried breakfast next morning… so glad of the commonwealth influence…!
Similar day to Friday, a little shopping, went down to the station in advance to scout out the arrangements, obtained my tickets, and then back to the hostel to pack and get ready. Aidan re-negotiated his allowance during the day, so he was feeling quite chuffed to have some more dollars in his pocket, and I also bought him some vouchers for two cooked meals a day at the hostel while I was away. The thinking being that if he spent all his money, at least he had a roof over his head, a bed, and two decent meals a day… Good Daddy !
I was feeling optimistic that Aidan would be ok on his own, although I could see there was certainly potential for a downside. Anyway, I bit the bullet, and after he helped me take my bag to the train station, we shook hands, hugged, and amid my last minute reminders to him to “be sensible”, we went our own ways, he off into the cold dark night, me into the warm embrace of Canadian Railways sleeping car lounge.
(Ok, so it wasn’t dark, nor cold, it was only 7.30pm, but that sounds less of an adventure for Aidan.)
“You must be Eddie…”
The lounge for sleeping car passengers is nice, at the far end of the station from the ticket windows. All relaxed and pleasant, not the bellowing of orders one hears from Amtrak’s finest… Juice, coffee, cold soda all available, and after a polite introduction from the staff, we were request to visit the desk and choose our lunch and dinner sittings for the following day.
I got into conversation with a couple from Australia, when I was hailed by another gent, with the words “You must be Eddie”? It turned out to be a guy from Pennsylvania, J, who is a great fan of Via Rail, and has travelled extensively on Amtrak. He is not an AU member, but is a frequent visitor to the AU website, so that was how he found out about my trip…
Very interesting guy, gave me lots of hints and tips on places to visit, how to find cheap places to stay, and indeed the train itself, as he had taken this route several times. J was also booked to Vancouver, like myself. We met up on the train several times over the next few days, and I was sorry to miss him at Vancouver, as I did not get to say goodbye. (Yeah, I guess he was probably in hiding till he saw me leave…)
Anyway, J, if you do read this, thanks a lot for your company, it was great to meet you.
What a great train The Canadian is, nice old fashioned cars, good staff, and did I mention the Champaign…?
So the announcement was made that we could board the train shortly after 9.30pm for the 10pm departure. I have made many trips on Amtrak, but this was a different atmosphere altogether.
The first difference was the gentle, polite staff… no bellowing at passengers as if we were cattle, we were treated as intelligent travellers, and allowed to walk to the train without the need to stand in line for ages, no silly hoops to jump through.
Roomette for one in a Chateau car, similar in size to an Amtrak roomette. Lets explore the rest of the train!
Introduced to Andrew, the activity coordinator, and was told a little about the train… very impressed by the 1950’s style and ambience. My car right next to one of the viewing dome cars, so headed up there to grab a seat as Andrew began to offer glasses of Champaign. That soon promoted a party atmosphere, at least that was how it seemed to me, after my 4th glass…
To Be Continued….
My Photos so far...
YOU CAN FIND PART TWO HERE: MY CANADIAN TRIP PART 2
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Looking forward to your Journey and Reports Eddie, this truely is a Bucket List Trip! :wub:
