Day 63 – Tuesday, May 21st Chicago IL to Toronto ON
A noon flight to Toronto, ideal timing, a mere ninety minutes plus the loss of an hour would see us arrive mid afternoon. Our 08.00 metro journey to Chicago’s O’hare was once again in the company of – The Vagrant. We learned after boarding why our carriage was so empty. Stretched out, at the ends of the carriages, they caused no problem, sound asleep.
Check-in for our final flight with American Airlines was straight forward. That we were entitled to enter Canada, a formality.
I had previously seen the Great Lakes from afar when flying from Las Vegas NV to Newark NJ, that they stood out was remarkable, altitude. Our short hop today did not give the same perspective.
On the descent to Toronto, once again – urban modelling – came to mind. With Lake Ontario on the horizon, the series of concentric and radial roads was apparent. More significant, at their intersections, the high rise blocks associated with the – Peak Land Value Intersection. Welcome to Canada.
YYZ, every fan of – Rush – knows the airport code for Toronto Pearson International Airport. A crashing instrumental on – Moving Pictures. Clearing immigration was a breeze, unlike the EU, our British passports appeared to give us a sense of priority, but only after we had secured a piece of paper, to be given up to the first person who would relieve of us this necessary item.
There was a friendly face waiting for us at arrivals: from the same college class as Marg and Alison in Auckland, another long time friend, Helen. Helen and Joe are our hosts for the next five nights.
The walk to the car was through a lot of work in progress, is there any airport which is actually – complete? Luggage in the boot, Helen gestured that I should take the front-left seat. Am I driving? I think not. Maybe Joe does most of the driving. I looked at Helen, the penny dropped.
This will goo no further – I assured her.
Etobicoke is a leafy Toronto suburb, it lies between YYZ and Downtown. The drive home was a mere twenty minutes. Marg had stayed with Helen and Joe on a weekend trip to Toronto a few years back, another story. Marg therefore knew the house. We were given what was, in effect, a self-contained flat in the basement, facilities replicated. There was Bier in the fridge. The washing machine was put to immediate use, not since Seattle WA had we washed all our clothes. Fear not, the number of t-shirts brought had been worked out. The new ones should not be worn before we return to Glasgow.
The slippers were on, time to relax, get to know our hosts. Home cooking, a treat after this many days on the road. No tipping rquired.
After dinner, a walk around the neighbourhood. Curry had been mentioned, Hector had already picked out the optimum source, a distance away in Oakville. Two local houses were passed.
As Noddy did all those weeks ago in Dunedin (New Zealand), I was taken to a Bier outlet. There is a cluster of breweries around Etobicoke, I chose by style rather than precise location of origin. These shall be enjoyed, as and when.
Hector had no Bier today, it’s not mandatory.
Day 64 – Wednesday, May 22nd
It’s wonderful waking up in a house/home rather than a hotel. People even offer breakfast, not that Hector is oft led in that direction, too early for the digestive system. Helen’s orange juice was a stand out. Marg indulged, maybe she was hungry.
Today we were let loose, Marg the guide. OK, Joe gave me precise instructions on how to get Downtown and supplied us with suitably loaded metro cards. Royal York on Green Line (2) to St. George, then change to Orange Line (1) which loops through the city centre.
We alighted at Union Station, a proper train station, in a proper city.
Toronto is not just suburbs a la too many USA cities.
Marg wasn’t so hungry (?), Hector was. In the basement of the aptly named business centre – Simcoe Place – lies an eatery. Hector was on a mission. Simcoe, I presume, is not named after the Yakima hop, but the lesser known Lake Simcoe which lies between Lake Huron and Lake Ontario.
Olives, the body needs olives, have they been avoiding me on this trip? Sultan’s Mediterranean – didn’t have them, so what does this tell me? The adjacent Mr. Souvlaki did, and so it was to be.
In Hellas, Hector avoids – souvla – today, the opperchancity to eat – Greek – was grabbed. Black olives would do.
Not for the first time, Marg found a Salad.
CN Tower, it had to be done, yet another high place. What time does the boat leave?
A Wednesday afternoon in May proved to be a good time to visit, no queue whatsoever.
The view of the city was commanding. At Sky City in Auckland, it was dusk going on dark, we saw that city illuminated. The Space Needle in Seattle WA ain’t that high, but we could see across to Freemont and Ballard, the breweries. 
Apart from the skyscrapers beneath us, there’s a conundrum, the CN Tower affords a view across to YTZ, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on Toronto Islands. We leave from there on Sunday morning, are we taking the ferry?
The height was of course bothering me, I found my spot as close to the axis as possible, only daring to venture anywhere near a window when other groups had moved away.
CN Tower rotates every seventy two minutes, it felt faster and wobbly to me. The rotation, vibration and lateral movement made me feel seasick. Add to that – acrophobia.
The sooner we were off this the better. Tick.
On Marg’s brief visit to Toronto, she went to a microbrewery, because she found one, it was automatic. It’s what you do. My mental picture of her day was a suburban setting, not the yard for Canadian Pacific Railway in the heart of the city.
Having secured photos of the rolling stock, for those who like that sort of thing, in we went.
Steam Whistle Brewing is located in the Roundhouse, once the locomotive repair shop. The waitress gave us a time limit for our table. On studying the Bier list, the only NEIPA was from Beau’s Brewery. Beau’s Brewery is at Vankleek Hill between Ottawa and Montreal, not here then. The waitress couldn’t tell us what was actually brewed here. So, the Hector is at a brewery drinking someone else’s Bier? There must be a company connection, The websites of the respective breweries give nothing away, who owns who? Research revealed that in 2021, Steam Whistle took over Beau’s.
I can sleep tonight.
Juiced AF (Beau’s Brewery, Vankleek Hill ON) at 6.5% had the full haze of a Hazy IPA / NEIPA. The tasting notes stated – resin – I could taste a bit of what I call – the Polish Taste. So it’s – resin – then. I can cope. Simcoe, Mosaic and Idaho 7 were the hops. Fitting that – Simcoe – featured.
It was only having left that Marg realised she had taken me to – the kitchen – and not – the taproom. Maybe there, the timing would have been less strict.
Modern buildings one sees everywhere, we headed inland to find something older. There wasn’t too much in our loop as time was running out. We had to be home for dinner! Yay!
Joe was manning the BBQ, it is a man’s job. No prizes for guessing what was for dinner. A cloudy day, mostly, yet we are still in shorts. No midges. There was a single Bier to accompany the meal.
Junction Craft Hazy IPA (Junction Craft Beverage, Toronto, ON) at 6.2% had the full milkshake haze. This was helped by having been poured correctly. Mellow, juicy, the hop hit could have been more. Maybe if I had had more? El Dorado, Mosaic and Citra were the hops. Not too shabby.
The brewery is a thirteen minute drive from my current locus. From Junction Craft, Rainard Brewing Company, Shanklands Brewing and High Park Brewery are metres away. If the Hector is let loose again … I wonder if I should drop a hint?
After dinner there was another suburban walk, the mission this time: to secure quality ice-cream. I was promised this was the real deal, as good as Scottish-Italian soft ice-cream, it was close. Being magnanimous, I offered to pay, alas, cash only.
For the sake of five days only in Canada, we hadn’t bothered taking out any CA$, why would we need them?
Brewery, eatery and cafe visited today:
Steam Whistle Brewing – 255 Bremner Blvd, Toronto, ON M5V 3M9
Mr. Souvlaki – Simcoe Place, 200 Front St W, Toronto, ON M5V 3K2,
Tom’s Dairy Freeze – 630 The Queensway, Etobicoke, ON M8Y 1K5
Day 65 – Thursday, May 23rd
Today, we did not go to the zoo. Apparently, Ontario has a bigger attraction. How many times have Helen and Joe been to Niagara Falls, I did not ask. A ninety minute drive from Toronto, we made a day of it.
Until today, I thought Niagara Falls was just a famous waterfall, it is so much more. Having said that, at 99m, not as high as the waterfalls Marg and Hector saw on our swansong school trip to Iceland. Niagara Falls is the city which lies on the banks of the Niagara River, the east in USA, the west in Canada. The Falls are the outlet of Lake Erie as it flows northwards past Buffalo NY, where the chicken wings are named after, into Lake Ontario. This water has flown from Lake Michigan and Lake Superior through Lake Huron to reach Lake Erie.
Headward erosion has created the Niagara Great Gorge on Niagara River. There is also the issue of an escarpment, uplift then, and an Ice Age or two. Who said Geography is simple? Also, Niagara-on-the-Lake is the town on the shores of Lake Ontario, where the Niagara River joins it.
A picnic lunch was planned. Making, and labelling, our own sandwiches avoided any confusion, especially when dietary issues are to the fore. Fresh bread and butter, always a treat, regardless what goes with it. But do bring on the ham and cheese. Kosher, not.
We passed Burlington ON, I had to send screenshots of the map to certain people back home, Burlington VT lies in the near future.
Across from Burlington ON lies Hamilton ON, to where Kitty Murphy’s offspring emigrated. (That’s one for Scottish Geography teachers.)
There is a shop on the outskirts of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Picard’s, a great name. Picard’s sells nuts. Marg and Hector like nuts, evidently, Helen does too.
Niagara-on-the-Lake is quaint, as if history began two hundred and fifty years ago. I felt we might have brought down the average age of the visitors this Thursday afternoon.
With tourist shops aplenty, I had to remind Marg that although our luggage allowance has been way beyond what we have required, on the next flight, it’s tight. And that is how we managed to leave without Marg doing her xmas shopping.
We could have stayed here longer, spent more than a penny even, but the picnic was calling. Smuggler’s Cove, on the west bank of the Niagara River was the chosen spot.
No midges, not even a wasp, what sort of country is this?
Joe led me down to the water’s edge. Across what was still a relatively fast flowing river, lies USA. One could get across this, in either direction by boat, quite easily. 
When I’m up close to a national frontier, I tend to consider what it stands for. My mind went back five years to Hrad Devin, a castle at a crossing point on the Donau, in the middle of what is currently the Slovakia-Austria border. A different story.
Niagara Falls, the city, the glimpses I got as we drove through made we wish there was time to spend a couple of days here.
Maybe not, having just left Las Vegas NV, the World’s biggest amusement park, Niagara Falls feels closer to Blackpool (England).
There’s even a tower; for once I wouldn’t have to go up it. Maybe not as tacky as Blackpool, but certainly attracting that mentality. And there was a brewery, so what does that say about this commentator?
Helen and Joe of course knew where were heading, to park. Not easy, and not cheap either. Actually, the parking fee was outrageous. But one doesn’t come here and turn back. There is a bus station at the Falls, maybe bus is a good idea.
Table Rock is the viewpoint on the Canadian side. One immediately realises that the Americans get an inferior deal. One can almost touch the water before it plummets to the depths. Danger, ask the 5000.
I deliberately took photos upstream to capture the view of the rapids leading to the Falls.
At certain points, an updraught brings the spray over the banks of the Gorge. People jockeyed for the best views, dry ones. The lack of awareness of a certain group, never fails to be noticed. A combination of Fife Robertson’s – I’m standing here – and Ratso Risso’s – I’m walking here – disregarding the rest of the populace. Sheldon too – That’s my spot!
With three school teachers in our party, we got our photos.
Then there are the boats. Maid of the Mist – blue raincoats, USA, Hornblower Cruises, red raincoats, Canada.
Cold and wet, not Hector’s thing. On a boat, in rapids, no way, Pedro.
Niagara Falls, tick. Eight days ago we flew over Grand Canyon. Who planned this trip?
There’s more. As a special request, I asked if we could stop off at a shopping centre. Not a random one, but Outlet Collection at Niagara. Here be – Columbia Factory Store, my favourite clothing brand, hard to source in the UK. Still conscious of weight, our purchases were – extra light.
Regardless of whether Marg was hungry or not, it was time for Curry-Heute in Oakville ON, en route home. 17.40 was early for us.
I had chosen Karahi Point as a guaranteed source of Desi Karahi. That story is told – here. This also lets me introduce daughter, Jillian, who likes a Curry. How often has she had a Takeaway brought from Oakville to Etobicoke?
There was no Bier today. Tomorrow will be different.
Restaurant visited today:
Karahi Point Oakville – 2501 Hampshire Gate Unit 8A, Oakville, ON L6H 6C8
Day 66 – Friday, May 24th
Day 67 – Saturday, May 25th
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