Thousand Islands

On a beautiful sunny day of summer 2019 we started for our journey to the Thousand Islands. For those who may not be familiar, the 1000 islands area a cluster of more than 1800 islands in the St. Lawrence river straddling the Canada-US border. Besides the scenic boat journey, you could see an underwater shipwreck, the Boldt Castle at the US territory, and of course the 1000 islands.

We started early in the morning as it took us about 3 and ½ hour to reach the boat starting point. There are many lines for the 1000 island tour. But we took the Gananoque Boat line and our starting point was Ivy Lea camp ground. The Gananoque boat line has different sightseeing cruises. We picked up the Landmarks of the 1000 island cruise as it maximized the whole tour and even surrounded the Boldt Castle. Our ticket fare was 26.35/Adult and child under 5 is free. The link of the Gananoque boatline is https://ganboatline.com/cruises-schedules/sightseeing-cruises/landmarks-of-the-1000-islands-cruise/.

After reaching our destination we waited for our boat to depart. Meanwhile we took some great photos of the surrounding. At 12 noon we started off through the blue St. Lawrence river. The cruise went past the Zavikon Islands containing the smallest bridge of the in the World, then we also past across the statue of St. Lawrence who is watching peacefully over the moving vessels.

The expensive houses at the islands were something to look for. I heard the US presidents and many Hollywood actors have their house in here. Then lastly we reached the huge Boldt castle. If you have an American visa then you can land on the castle Island and explore it for about an hour. The whole Island consists of the castle which was very majestic even from the boat. I plan to go there again just to land on the castle after I have my visa.

All the cruise have a roof deck and an inner deck with some food and beverage options on cost. The outer deck is very windy even in a sunny day but best if you do not want to miss out anything. The usual general cruise will take 1 hour. But there are some cruise with dining options also which will take more than 1 hour. So plan ahead before coming according to your interest and budget to have the most of your experience. Till next time, happy travelling everyone.

Kingston Day Tour

Kingston is a city of culture, history, museum, theatre and creativity. It is the blend of both Toronto and Quebec having a dash of England architecture. I had the pleasure of visiting Kingston to go away from my busy life and refresh my mind in a beautiful scenic place with lots of greenery. Kingston has many historic sites to see including 2 UNESCO designated places- Rideau Canal and Fort Henry. I planned on visiting these 2 places to have a taste of both history and nature.

Fort Henry is a living history museum where visitors come to have an experience the military life in the 19^th century. The entry to the Fort itself is free but you need ticket to see the exhibitions and rifling ceremonies. There is particular time for the ceremonies to begin so you need to plan in advance to catch the exhibition in time otherwise have to miss it or wait for a long time like us. Yes, we didn’t thing in advance about the exhibition and had missed one and due to short of time could not wait for the next to begin.

However we saw the museum which has many collections of both British and Canadian military artifects. The big cannons hanging in the open space made the place very historic. The large open centre place in the fort makes you feel so little.

There are some dining and shopping option in the Fort too. There is a breathtaking outdoor patio overlooking the St. Lawrence river and downtown Kingston called the Battery Bistro. You can also have the Canadian famous Beaver tails at this historic place. And for some savory snacks, check out the Soldier’s Canteen or Bonnycastle Bakery.

After enjoying the view and having some light snacks by the St. Lawrence river we went to the downtown Kingston to have lunch. We sat at a Mediterranean restaurant to have a heartfelt lunch.

After the satisfying food we headed towards Rideau canal.  The Rideau Canal runs from Kingston at the western end to Ottawa, at the eastern end. The locks on the Rideau have docks on either end. The Rideau locks are operated by Parks Canada. As each lock has a park on its side which adds so much scenic beauty to the place.

I witnessed the locking and docking of a boat which wanted to traverse through the canal. Watch my youtube video to see this interesting event of locking. There is the Jones falls at the canal which has a museum and blacksmith shop.

There were many cruisers at the canal to experience the amazing Rideau. Davis Lock is a favorite of the cruising Canadian boater. But to me all looked the same. I enjoyed both the sides of the canal and plan on having a picnic out here on coming summer. As the place is very scenic by the water makes it a perfect place to have great summer picnic. But due to my time restrictions I had to stay satisfied with the views this time and had to say goodbye to the beautiful Rideau Canal for now. Till next time, happy travelling everyone.

Casa Loma

The majestic palace of Toronto, the school of X-Men is a must visit of your Toronto’s ‘To do list’. Casa Loma was my third destination from my city pass. And with the pass I had saved some money and had an amazing experience.

Casa Loma was built by Sir Henry Pellatt, a rich industrialist and financier. The palace has more than 100 rooms including a ball room, and a huge conservatory area. There is a 244 m long underground passage which is decorated occasionally in different themes to attract the visitors. During our visit it was a haunting house theme which was pretty scary.

We visited the place at the winters and it was very gothic seeing the palace in a white snowy palace just like movies. Inside, the curved decorated furniture and the huge rooms give you an idea of how the expensive their life was. My son enjoyed the place very much as he was experiencing the styles and of kings and queens and also experiencing the ghostly ambience. 

Due to financial difficulty, the palace was sold in 1923 and then in 1933 it was turned into a museum. Movies like Pacifier, X-Men, Chicago and Tuxedo were filmed here. For all these reasons and more it was amazing to be a part of history and mark your presence at this historical place.

The conservatory was a huge area exhibiting spring flowers. The place always has huge exhibitions and is great photo place. There is a huge garden outside the palace. But since we went in the winters so there weren’t any flowers at that time. But I heard that that in summer the palace garden is bloomed with flowers and attracts many more visitors then in the winters. But still the beauty of the Casa Loma becomes enhanced in the winters as it gives the gothic and historic ambience at the time.

I would say, visit the place at least once and plan to visit at the season which you want the best. Plan it with City pass to have some discount and skip the long waiting line. Till next time, happy travelling everyone.

Ripley’s Aquarium

Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada is one of Toronto’s hottest tourist attractions. It is impossible not to visit this amazing place while living in Toronto. So, I have planned on visiting the Aquarium to check off my bucket wish list.

Ripley’s Aquarium has an impressive 35,000 square feet of space, a 315 foot viewing tunnel, a moving walkway through dangerous lagoon and over 450 species of sea and fresh water creatures. We were very excited to see all these. I have purchased the City Pass in advance to visit all the Toronto’s incredible attractions. The link for the tickets to the Ripley’s Aquarium is https://www.ripleyaquariums.com/canada/tickets/. With the city pass we had the advantage of skipping the huge line to the exhibit.

Since Ripley’s Aquarium and the CN tower are at the same place so we had plan of visiting them on the same day. But I would suggest you to do it separately as both have so much activities which would easily take you the whole day. 

The aquarium has many galleries like the rainbow reef, dangerous lagoon- where you could see the Shark up close, ray bay, planet jellies and so much more. We were mesmerized at the long viewing tunnel seeing the shark swimming above your head. Large ray fish, sword fish and the turtles were some of the creatures to watch for.

Jelly fish

The Jelly fish exhibit was very captivating. I stood stand still there for sometimes so amazed by the purple color at the dark space. There is a sitting space to see the exhibition so give here sometime to fully experience the colorful jelly fish exhibition.

  At the end of the tunnel there is a children’s playing place and a pipe like area where you can touch baby sting rays, shrimps, and even sharks. I was so afraid to touch them but at the end it was so cool.

We left the place happy face fully contented at eager come back again. It would take you easily 2.5 to 3.5 hours. So, I suggest you to plan in advance and buy the tickets online of the one that best suites you. That’s all for today. Happy travelling everyone.

C N Tower

Canada is known for 2 things. One is the Niagara Falls and the other is the CN Tower. CN Tower is Canada’s most celebrated iconic structure and a must see place in anybody’s ‘To do list’. So, within 2 months of reaching Toronto we made a plan to visit the CN tower. We bought the City Pass which was $94.00+tax/Adult and $64.00+tax/child (4-12years). The pass includes CN tower, Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, Casa Loma, Royal Ontario Museum and Toronto Zoo or Ontario Science Centre. You can save 35% on the combined admission and can even skip the ticket lines. The pass is valid for 9 consecutive days once you have started using it.

So our first destination on the city pass was the CN tower. CN tower was the tallest structure in the world until it was dethroned by UAE’s Burj Khalifa in 2007. We started off to see this iconic structure at 9  in the morning. We took the TTC to the subway and through the subway we had to take 2 lines to reach the CN tower. It was about 5 minutes walk from the subway to the tower. It took us about 1hour to reach their. We first saw the Ripley’s aquarium then went for the tower to see both the day and the night view from the tower.

We didn’t have to wait in the line and went straight for the elevator with our City Pass. The speedy elevator took us all to the top in 58 seconds going 22km/hour. Once we reached the observatory we snapped some beautiful photographs of the views from above. There were many volunteers who clicked photos of your family upon your request. So didn’t lose the chance to click some dual photos of us which was very rare as we had no one to take photos for us. There is a glass floor to walk around and see below 1100 feet. I didn’t have the heart to do that but my wife was brave enough to walk across the panels, then crawled and sat in the 21/2 inches thick glass panel and took some photos to remember for life. Even though the floor can withstand the weight of 7 elephants..gosh. I still couldn’t do it, can you??

After walking across the glass floor and taking in the incredible skypod views you can have a luxurious dinner at the 360 restaurant. It Reservations are essential for 360 so book in advance your table to avoid disappointment.

We experienced both the day and the night view from top and it was amazing. If you are brave enough and want to get an adrenaline rush then you can add the ‘Edge walk’ to your ‘to do list’. Do you think you have the guts to walk along the edge of the tower supported by a cable? As I am acrophobic, I skipped this amazing chance of thrill.

After full day of excitement we headed for our home satisfied seeing the beauty of Toronto from high above. Some say that you can even see the Niagara falls from top in a clear sunny day. Unfortunately, ours was a rainy day. So till next time, Happy travelling everyone.

Buckhorn

Buckhorn is situated at Peterborough region of Ontario. The road to buckhorn is very scenic and are in the fall season. If you want to see the autumn foliage then this place is perfect. It's a day tour from toronto where you can go for a picnic, watch the beautiful atumn color and even stay at the boatsand do camping.

Niagara Tour Part 2

Niagara Falls

Our second day at the Niagara falls started early in the next morning. We work up in our hotel room after a good night sleep. After washing our face we went to the hotel restaurant for our breakfast. The breakfast was included. The menu was not bad. It was the usual cereals, milk, blueberry & strawberry waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, bun and butter, cheese, and 3 choice of juice. We could make our own choice of waffles and eat it hot. We ate a heartfelt breakfast and finished off with a cup of coffee.

To burn off some our food we went for a swimming at the hotel’s swimming facility. It was big enough with children’s swimming area and had a small Jacuzzi. There were different sizes swimming rings too. My son enjoyed the water very much though he was a little scared. After spending there about an hour we went to our room to get ready to explore more of Niagara city.

We decided not to take our car as we had a plan to see the falls and go closer with the cruise. The time needed for doing this might take long and so the parking fee will be higher than the bus fare. The bus fare was $2.75/adult. Those we do not have cars, have an option of buying tickets for the whole day at the We Go blue and Red lines at $9.00/adult and $6.00/child. 

The bus put us off near the horse shoe falls. There we took some pictures and started off towards the cruise ride. After purchasing our ticket we stood in the line and headed for a journey of our life time. Watch my video to see the details of our journey and the beauty of the falls. We was very thrilling and exciting to see the falls so up close, I can never describe the true beauty of it by just words, It is truly a wonder of God of how massive and powerful the falls is and how little we are compared to it. It was a blessing for me to see God’s creation and talk about it. Even if it is a little expensive but still I recommend everyone to ride the Cruise to the Falls at least once in a lifetime to experience the real Niagara falls.

After getting off from the falls we sat at the restaurant by the falls and had some drinks and chips to enjoy the view and ease our heart after a thrilling adventure. Then we started to explore the city at day light and did some window shopping. After all the walking and the thrills we became very hungry so decided to have our lunch and head off towards our hotel. It was a little difficult to find a Halal restaurant nearby the falls so we had to walk for a while to find one. But the lunch there was very good and we enjoyed it a lot. Then again with taking the bus we headed towards our hotel

We had a plan of seeing the butterfly park and the Niagara botanical garden on our way back home. But it started raining when we left our hotel. So we only went to the butterfly park. The road to the park was very scenic and we wished we had more time to explore the beauty of the nature also if it hadn’t rained then we might have gone to the botanical garden. But nonetheless the butterfly park was very enchanting. We enjoyed every bit of it. But my son was very afraid of the butterflies and didn’t want to stay there for long. So we had to leave early but you could easily spend over an hour there seeing different varieties of butterfly and learn about their breeding places. There were some butterflies sat on my hand and body which was very mesmerizing. Watch my Youtube video to see the beautiful butterfly park. 

Butterfly Park

That was all the time we had for the day. I would say that a day at the falls is not enough to enjoy every thing of the city. And it is just not the falls at Niagara that you have to see but a lot more things are there to enjoy. But if you have a time restriction then no. 1 in your list should be the Falls and no. 2 Botanical garden, no. 3 butterfly garden, no. 4 Bird Kingdom and the list goes on.

With a contended heart we left for our home. We had an amazing time at the Niagara falls. A day is not enough to enjoy everything there is. I plan to go there often and see the the natural beauty over and over again. Until next time..see you soon and Happy travelling everyone.
Hotel:https://www.booking.com/hotel/ca/niagara-lodge-suites.en.html?aid=2009809&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2

Niagara Tour Part 1

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is one of the seven Natural wonders of the World. It is situated in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. It takes about 1and 1/2 hour to drive by car from Toronto to Niagara. And you can also go there by transit taking any of the Go station near you up to Burlington GO station via Union Go station. And from Burlington you need to take the 12 no. bus to Niagara bus terminal. The fare will depend on the location from where you are starting. You can also chose Greyhound bus from downtown Toronto and reach your destination very comfortably. For all ticket and transport information visit my website and watch my Youtube video.

We went to Niagara falls in the Fall season of 2019 just before the Cruise to the falls closes down for the season. We also stayed a night there as we wanted to see the fireworks and the night life of Niagara falls. For this trip we had to make plans ahead like buying ticket for the cruise and booking our hotel. You can get all the information and links about the hotel booking on my website and even can book your next holiday trip from there. 

We made an itinerary of what to do in a day at the Falls to make the most of our time. I am going to share that with you so that you can have an idea and make your own travel plans. We started our journey towards Niagara in late afternoon to reach Niagara by 7 o clock to have plenty of time in our hand to explore the night life and reach the falls from hotel. But it took us almost 8:30 to reach our hotel. Then after keeping all our luggage we started for the Falls taking our car. We had a difficulty of getting a parking spot at that time as it was nearing to the fireworks. Finally we got a spot with $15.00/hour rate. You can find different rates of parking spots from$5.00 to $20.00 depending on the location and the time you are entering the area. Then we roamed around the colourful and lively town and headed towards the falls with ice cream in our hand. I was like a fairytale wathiong the fireworks by the falls though the whole thing seemed very short lived.

After fireworks ended we walked and took some photos. Watch my youtube video to see the nightlife of Niagara. Tired of all the walking we then decided to go back to our hotel and have our dinner. I already brought dinner from home and the room had a microwave so enjoyed our hot homemade dinner in our hotel room.

About the hotel, I would say it was very nice compared to the price including breakfast, wifi and a swimming pool. The room was large enough with a king size bed which was more than enough for the three of us and also table, tv, fridge and microwave oven. It took us $63.00 per night for a king size bedroom including breakfast.

After our dinner we slept cozily in the huge bed and waited for our dreamy night to end so that we could start off our bright sunny day tomorrow. I will write our second day details in my Niagara falls part 2 blog.
Hotel:https://www.booking.com/hotel/ca/niagara-lodge-suites.en.html?aid=2009809&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxFF0JmGexQ&t=55s