TORONTO SIGHTSEEING 05/09/2017

After our rather disturbed night we went down for breakfast which was OK if rather expensive for what it was. We then spent sometime reorganizing our suitcases in preparation for train journey starting later that evening. We had pre-booked a sightseeing hop on hop off open top bus tour as well as our early evening meal in the 360 Restaurant in the CN Tower. Our luggage was left in the hotel ready for collection later and we set off for the bus stop which wasn’t to far away. 

As it was still quite early the buses were full and as part of the ticket included a boat ride on Lake Ontario we decided to go for this option as the weather was pretty good but rain was forecast for later in the day. We were able to get a good seat on the upper deck and really enjoyed the trip with a good guide giving a very informative and sometimes humorous commentary. Lynda was on top form on the bird watching front spotting several herons in the shallows but unfortunately no the longed for sighting of a kingfisher which the guide said also thrived on this part of the lake. Back to the bus and continued our tour, passed through the financial district and was over whelmed with the height of the office blocks, there are still plenty of old buildings surviving among the modern ones. The guide was having problems with his microphone so we pulled in to wait for the nest bus, Roger was not willing to hang about waiting so we set off working to find China Town, on the way the sky was getting blacker but Rog took several photos of street art before the heavens opened so we dived into a Chinese supermarket for shelter, totally amazed by all the weird and wonderful Chinese products on sale including the live shellfish it was a pity we couldn’t buy anything, we weren’t the only ones sheltering from the rain which eventually stopped and we set off on foot towards the CN Tower which dominates Toronto landscape so it is easy to find. 

We had a table booked for 5pm but arrived early and after a 58 second trip in the lift up to the restaurant we were shown to our table. The meal itself wasn’t fantastic but the revolving view was spectacular. After the meal we went to open air viewing deck to walk around and also took this opportunity to take our first carrier bag pictures, Rog was keen to go on the glass floor section but Lynda wasn’t, the whole experience was pretty cool but we wouldn’t bother to do it again. The sun had come back out as we walked back to the hotel to collect our luggage for the walk over to the train station which was only 5 minutes away. Rog was pretty cool, calm and collected when there seemed to be some confusion over our booking. The young man who took charge of our luggage seemed to be the only one who wasn’t concerned and continued to put luggage tags on all of our cases. Eventually we were invited into the Prestige departure lounge to await boarding.

We were assured that our luggage was on the train and in the right cabin.  Roger wasn't 100% certain this was the case, however on arriving in our cabin he was pleasantly surprised to find our hand luggage waiting there. The on board train staff invited us to join them in the Prestige Dome Car for a welcoming drink and nibbles, on returning to our cabin the bed had been lowered and made up and after such an eventful day we were only too pleased to climb in and try to sleep.

That concludes this post and the next one will cover the train journey.