Travelogue We have just returned from what was truly the holiday of a lifetime in Canada. Canada was somewhere we had longed to visit and we were unsure of where to go in what we were told is the second largest country in the world. We finally chose a 17 day coach touring holiday which started off in the east and ended on the west coast with a flight across the middle.

We started off in Montreal, a large and bustling city. A coach tour of the city was included and the guide gave us lots of ideas for our free time there. I love plants so the Botanical Gardens were a "must see." Their plants were way behind ours with magnificent displays of tulips and spring blossoms.

Canada's capital, Ottawa, was our next stop. We loved the city, the tulip festival held each year was at its peak and well worth a visit.

The following day we had to be up early for the long drive to Toronto. En route we visited the Skytower which was 400 feet tall and had a magnificent view over the 1000 Islands in the St Lawrence River. Now I'm not keen on heights but I braved that because the following day a trip up the CN Tower in Toronto was included. This is one of the tallest free standing structures in the world. A glass fronted lift took us to the first observation deck 1,150 feet up. I closed my eyes most of the way and nearly all the other women in the lift did the same while the men happily filmed the event! Part of the observation deck had a glass floor. I managed a walk on it but daren't look down. Seeing the photographs afterwards was bad enough!

We had booked an optional trip to Niagara Falls which was amazing. First of all we rode on the Maid of the Mist boat which took us right into the spray, fortunately, on boarding, everyone was given a huge plastic cape to keep most of the water off. Afterwards we were taken for a splendid buffet lunch at the Penthouse Suite of the Sheraton Hotel which overlooked the falls. Literally the highlight of Niagara was a helicopter trip over the falls. On the way back to the hotel we stopped off at a winery. I didn't know they made wine in Canada but was assured it was delicious by the wine drinkers in our group.

The following morning we had to be up at 4am in order to catch an early flight to Calgary. When we landed there it was snowing. We were taken to see the ski jump where Eddie the Eagle gained Olympic fame. It snowed all the way to our hotel in Banff. Our first sight of the Rocky Mountains was awesome. We were given a coach tour of the region with its numerous lakes, beautiful waterfalls and majestic mountains. On our way to Jasper we took a snowcoach ride on the Athabasca Glacier which was over 7000 feet above sea level. The snowcoaches were impressive machines made specially for the glacier ride.

Our final stop was in Vancouver via Kamloops. Our hotel was close to the beach and Stanley Park. We went on a cablecar up Grouse Mountain but, unfortunately, it was very cloudy going up but had cleared a little on the way down. It seemed strange to see daffodils in bud at the end of May.
On the last full day of our holiday we went to Victoria visiting Butchart Gardens which was a flower lovers paradise having been created in an old limestone quarry over 80 years ago. Afterwards we explored the town fitting in last minute essential shopping for the family presents including black bear and moose droppings [chocolate, naturally!]

We didn't want the holiday to end. There was so much more of Canada we wanted to see. We'd love to go back again one day and maybe hire a motorhome to take more time to explore on our own. It's certainly a country I could recommend if you're not one for beach holidays and lounging around. We had several very early starts and busy days but it was well worth the effort of getting up early most days.

Eating Out