Niagara Falls

Early wake up and made by way by air to Toronto and then bus to Niagara Falls. The once little town is now a bustle with tourist and casino goers. a real mini-vegas!

Took in lots of the sites,went of Maid of the Mist (a boat tour to the base of the falls) and when it all became too much, I popped into a quaint little establishment known as "Hooters" for a beer. Danielle and girls eased the mind for a while and yes Al Barron, I got a pick for you!

After lunch went for a few more walks on the surrounding trails the old part of town here is really deserted, almost like a ghosttown.

In the evening had a few beers with some of the Hostellers and saw the Falls again at night.

The next day I flew to Vancouver and spent the night. About to head out on my Contiki for the next 11 days.

Will try and keep you updated!

Cycle madness in Montreal!

So I got up early and decided to hire a push bike (pedal bike for you Newfie's) and ride around Montreal. Loads of fun as the city is really set up with plenty of cycle ways. I covered a far bit of ground in 4 hours and by that stage I just had to return the bike, my arse couldn't handle the seating arrangement...

Will post some pics when I get to a suitable computer.

Under advice from Jay for uni days, I had to get a Schwartz's Smoked Meat Sandwich. Found the place and it was great is a huge meaty kind of way.

Sunburnt and tired I headed back to the hostel to prepare for my early start the next morning.

All things french!

Sorry guys, computers are few and far between and the ones that do work are very expensive (i know - terry tightarse...).

But here I am! The last few days has seen my travel from Halifax to Quebec City and then onto Montreal, which is where i'm reporting from now.
Quebec City - I stayed right in the heart of the old city walls at the Hostel. This place was picture perfect, as was the weather. Only a couple of Aussies around thank god, but had a few beers with them and ended up at some bizarro nightclub listening to a band place Kylie and Jamiroquai covers. The next day ventured out and walked the perimeter of the fortified section of town and did a tour of the Citadel.

French is the predominant language here and english isn't spoken in great amounts, but somehow i managed. Another walking tour in the arvo allowed me to see some glass blowing and other handicrafts in the lower section of town towards the river. Met a few Englishmen in the hostel bar, and also discovered that a pubcrawl was on. Quite a funny night as we progressively had nicknames for all the crawlers from different countries.

Onto Montreal the next day by bus and as it turned out, just about everyone who was on the crawl, ended up on the bus. a few of which were staying at my hostel. A quick look around the local area of the hostel and then met with Keith and Paul (the englishmen from the night before) for a few quiet ones, followed by a few louder ones including Rye and Dry's (Canadian Club's with ginger ale apparently). Somehow they tracked down an 80's night a a french nightclub here, so off we went. Language was no barrier as the music kicked in! A-Ha, Plastic Bertrand all sounded the same, infact we knew the lyrics to most of the songs better than the locals.

Yesterday i took in the sights of old Montreal around the harbour, and treated myself to the new Cirque de Soleil show. Absolutely fab!

Today I got up early and walked up Mont Royal to get a view of the city then walked over to Little Italy, follwed by the Metro back to the inner city.

Domestic Dan tonight, with some laundry and organising to do for the next few days. One more day here, then off to Niagara Falls.

Screech and finally sunshine

So I got "Screeched In" at one of the Pubs in St John's, it involved saying some phrases in Newfie speak, a shot a Screech (dark rum from the bottom of the barrel basically) and then kissing a frozen cod. A bit of a tradition.

Hung out again with a few local girls (Jen, Alison, Ginny, Reneta) we met the day before and ended up having a late one.

Down in Halifax in Nova Scotia now and finally got a few hours of sunshine today. Had a look around town and went through the old citadel that adorns the top of a hill in the centre of this harbour city.

Quiet night tonight....at this stage! And it was! Smoked Meat and Sauerkraut sandwich known as a Reuben from Bearly's ( a Blues Pub next door).

Next day headed out around town again and got on the Harbour Hopper - an amphibius vehicle that is a great way to see around town and the port areas.

Later that night - Kareoke!

Newfie Land

Still here in St Johns NL. This little fishing village is such a wonderful little town. It is so peaceful and relaxed. They run on Newfie Land time (the same as Fiji or Island time), so that can take a bit of getting used to. Newfie's are a different type of people all together. Their accents are more Irish than Canadian and they have little phrases that can take a bit of working out! Yesterday was generally fine weather and today seems to be foggy so far, but hopefully it will lift soon and I'll go for a hike up Signal Hill (highest point in town over the harbour). It is around this time of year you might be able to see icebergs floating towards the harbour entrance.

Didn't end up getting Screeched in the other night so maybe tonight!

Did a recalc of time leading up to 11 May which is when I have to be over in Vancouver to start my rockies tour. So I had to modify my schedule a bit. Unfortunately I have to drop St Pierre off my list. The schedules to get over to the island are still infrequent this time of the year and it would absorb too much of my travel time to get there. This gives me more time in Halifax, Quebec City and Montreal.

So the weather did lift a bit and Ian (a guy from Vancouver) and I decided to trek around and up Signal Hill. Closed signs on the walking track didn't stop us, whats a few missing sets of stairs eh? Got most of the way before the drizzle set in. On the way back to the hostel, we found a small goods shop that sold Seal Flipper Pie. Soooo, had to try it. Seals up this part of the world are like Kangaroo I guess. Dark tender sort of meat. Not bad. Picked up a great Newfie T shirt too!

The journey so far... Vancouver to St John's

Hello,

Yes I'm still alive! Haven't had a chance to post a blog entry as I haven't been near a capable computer. Now I'm on one (although it's win 98 and no USB, so no pics to upload!) and thought I'd better post something.

The flights over were great. During the 18hr stop in Taipei, China Airlines put the pax up in the Miramar Golf Club Resort. No shortage of water here as every toilet uses the maximum amount of waater in a flush that was possible. Managed to line up a free morning tour courtesy of the Taiwanese Govt. So myself and another Aussie from the flight jumped into the mini tour bus and were whisked away to look at some temples and the local markets / pottery district. Made it back to the airport intime and managed to snag an exit row for the flight to Vancouver.

Not alot of sleep occurred, but next thing I knew, we had arrived. Local time 9am. Heaps of young Brisbanians onboard setting off for their 1 year working holiday in the Rockies.

Found my hostel in "Downtown" Vancouver. This place was FLASH for the $24 i paid. Keycard entry, new bathrooms, wireless internet in the common areas (my pda got a bit of a workout).

Checked out a few museums and stuff as the weather was rainy and approx 10 deg C. Back for a nanna nap then next door into the Irish pub for beers with the locals. The night couldn't get any better, then Napoleon Dynamite came on the big screen tv!

The next 2 days, weather was much the same, but I donned the wet weather gear and got out and about to Stanley Park and Granville Island (where they had a brewery the produces some very fine beer!). A Ghostly Gastown tour at night, followed by some local bands was a good end to the day.

I flew out of Vancouver last night bound for St John's (New Foundland) via Toronto and Halifax. A red eye and a half! Dept 11pm and with the time zone changes, arrived at 1300 local in St John's.

Staying in a quirky little guest house with a few others including a guy from the Gold Coast. It is snowing! Been told we have to go a few local pubs tonight and get "screeched in". Apparently a tradition in St John's. At this stage I think it involves beer, kissing a cod, talking in local lingo and more beer. I'll fill you in tomorrow!

Ok I'm Off

Well I'm excited! It's been a few busy weeks with work, sim and Red Hot Chili Peppers gigs, but I'm finally off tomorrow. Just arranging a few last minute things and will pack later today.

I will try and post on here when I can and please feel free to comment as much as you like (you don't have to sign up to comment)

Had a few beers at the Normanby last night to ease myself into holiday mode with Daz, Mr T and Christo. Thanks for coming down!

I'm flying China Airlines ex-BNE to Taipei, then after a short stopover, onto Vancouver!

Had a quick look at the weather around Canada it is has been ranging in the tops of 2 to 24 deg C. Kind of makes it hard to know what I can expect.