balesy

Got back from visiting Toronto/ Niagra this morning. First trip to Canada as a 'recky' to emmigrating.
What fantastic people! Everyone is so laid-back and friendly! The pace of the place is so relaxed and unhurried (compared to back home (Liverpool area).
The cost of living appears cheaper. We had some beautiful meals with excellent service. People seem less money orientated than the States, where they're overhelpful to ensure a good tip. Canadians seem genuinely helpful and interested in you. They don't just grab your bags and expect a tip for moving it twenty yards. Bus/taxi drivers pull in at the road side to point out places of interest and believe me everything is interesting when you canadians talk! Fantastic, awesome, outstanding! Ha! I'm not skitting I love it! I'm getting on my kids nerves now as I can't help talking Canadian since I got back!
Old fashioned values still seem to matter. We didn't hear any raised voices, no swearing, no drunken yobs. Everyone is so polite and eager to please.
As far as scenery goes the falls were amazing! We upgraded our hotel room when checking in for a falls view. We hadn't actually seen the falls until we opened our eighth storey window. Wow! Fantastic!
The weather was totally unexpected, 74 degrees F! We got sunburnt cycling around the Toronto Islands it was so hot.
One regret- not taking the kids with us- just another reason to 'visit' again!
Thanks for all the advice you gave me prior to our trip, I wish we could have stayed longer. But most of all, thanks for being SO NICE!!!! Can't wait to live out there!!!!:

mickj

Sounds like you had a blast geezer, that is the way to do it, come see it for yourself, and see if you like it. I'll take it you didn't go to Niagara on the lake then?

Did you at least pop into the casino to try your luck, how about the hershey chocolate shop?

balesy

Yes we did go to NOTL. It was beautiful! Loved the Christmas shop! Spent an hour in there! Had a nice beer in the Angel Inn and the Prince of Wales to cool off. It was swelteringly hot- very humid.
The casino was amazing, they must make millions of dollars each week? We didn't lose too much.
Allergic to chocolate so didn't try anything in Hersheys- had a long lingering look though!
CN tower was awesome! Felt really weird standing on glass floor!Had our lunch up there or should I have said 'high' tea!

eferreira

Mickj, where is that photo, it is beautiful
Is it in Toronto?

souls canuck

nice to see a positive feedback post

I know its not all fun and games moving to a new country.. I am about to go thru what you all have.. moving to Arizona from Toronto. But if you give it some time, and roll with the punches and have some support I think you can adjust and learn to love your new surroundings if you dont already.

mickj

As you might know, that xmas shop is opened all year round, and i can understand what you mean by spending all that time in there, my wife is like looking at everything in there and getting ideas into her head, i have to stop her most of the time, and say we don't need it.

Those pubs are great, did you try going to any of the wineries/vinetards? Our favourite round there is Inniskillin, as i don't drink we just buy a few ice wines for now and then.

Am not a big chocolate fan myself, but i do like the "fudge", and as you may know, there is a store right in front of the WWE wrestling store that does nice fudge, and you can see them make it too.

Are these the floors you are talking about? Like i said, if you have a digital camera, you can just store all your pics online for free and share it with friends and family:

www.imagestation.com

or

www.photobucket.com

iaink

Ha, you aint seen nothin yet! its really only just starting to warm up!

Seriously though, I'm glad you had a great trip.

All the best with "the process"

Iain

iaink

Its the locks at the end of the Rideau Canal in Ottawa. Just out of shot to the right is the Parliament buildings and Peace Tower, and out of shot to the left is the fancy Chateau Laurier Hotel.

Iain

oceanMDX

Nice to see that you enjoyed your visit. Regarding your comment about the heat and humidity, it made me laugh because you ain't seen nothin' baby - try July and August.

By the way, did you know that something like half the water flow that used to go over Niagara Falls is diverted by Canada and the USA to each of their power plants by enormous underground pipes (something like 45 feet in diameter)? That's just one of the reasons why Canada is the world's largest producer of hydroelectric power.

lee2

It's so great to hear your comments and I'm glad you had such a great trip.

oceanMDX

Balesy,

I wanted to ask you, were the fruit trees in bloom when you were in the Niagara region?

balesy

Yes, fields and fields of peach I think? Beautiful! Taxi driver said there's probably been a festival to celebrate them- any excuse for a beer he said!

oceanMDX

You're likely right on all counts. They may very well have been peach blossoms. The region is one of the best places in North America to grow peachs due to its microclimate. Cherry, apple and pear would also be common, and they do have a Blossom Festival in the Niagara Region.

You mentioned beer. For your information, Kitchener, Ontario (named after a British General) has the world's 2nd largest Oktoberfest.

Kitchener used to be called "Berlin" (due to its German heritage), but that name wouldn't do once WWI started - so it was renamed.

oceanMDX

Balesy,

I wanted to ask you, in what part of Ontario do you want to live based on what you saw during your visit?

oceanMDX

A few web sites on Niagara:


http://www.niagaraparks.com/planavis...g_festival.php

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguid..._attractions-i