Toronto

Today we flew to Toronto from Boston. It is an hour and a quarter flight but we had to allow three hours for US immigration and security on an international flight.  We did it in plenty of time but didn’t enjoy the extremely basic Air Canada waiting room at Boston’s Logan International airport. It was so basic and crowded that there is no airport in living memory that compares.

Toronto from the air
- The passenger in the row in front.

Our first impression of Toronto was that is an ugly skyline with rampant high-rise apartment development in all directions excepting to the south at Lake Ontario.

Below ground it is a different matter. Large Shopping Malls have multiple underground levels and they spread across many city blocks in the CBD. You could be in any mall in the world; the stores and brands are the same everywhere.


Wednesday September 13
Today Niagara Falls:
Travelling through the Toronto environs we saw a number of high-rise apartments
 interconnecting level is a swimming pool.

John Graves Simcoe identified the area as a strategic location to base a new capital for Upper Canada, believing Newark (later renamed Niagara on the Lake) to be susceptible to American invasion. A garrison was established at Garrison Creek, on the western entrance to the docks of Toronto Harbour, in 1793; this later became Fort York


Lake Ontario was on our left as we headed out of the Toronto area
We then crossed the locks between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. We passed the shipping channel that moves ships the 99m water level difference with 6 locks.





After driving for about 3 hours, due to multiple hotel pick-ups and traffic, we visited the Niagara college vineyard.  
They grow their own grapes and have just introduced hops and plan to ferment beer staring next year.













We passed an abandoned hydropower station; now replaced by larger facilities close to the falls.

Locks for irrigation and flow control
Finally we approached the falls, - The Horseshoe Falls -the larger ones on the Canadian side.
Upriver from Horseshoe falls






 Looking further down river the American Falls ( on the left of picture)

Many hotels are along the road surrounding the Falls Area
Horseshoe falls -view from the restaurant.


The American Falls:

Getting ready for our Boat ride:

















All aboard for the shower from the falls


 Next boatload Please:

Rocks at the base of the American Falls
















Bridge connecting USA and Canada.

Further down the water runs in a large canyon carved over millennia.
Where the river changes course is a large whirlpool

One of the hydropower stations: water is taken above the falls and goes through turbines with a fall of over 100m. Significant power is feed into the grid for Niagara, Toronto and Rochester & New York State.


 The local school of horticulture decorates the clock with a different design every year.

Where the scientists claim the erosion started some 11KM down stream
Finally, the water enters Lake Ontario.
Our final stop was at Niagara on the Lake about 10Km away on the shore of Lake Ontario. It is a pleasant well-manicured tourist town with antique shops and period stores.






A park offered good views of the lake shoreline.





One of the rivers that flows into Lake Ontario

Our trip to Niagara was very pleasant.

Thursday September 14

Toronto was renamed York in 1793 but reverted back to Toronto in 1834 to avoid confusion with New York

Toronto isn’t a pretty city, especially around the CBD. On the Red Bus ride we travelled past multiple high-rise condominiums with some historic buildings sandwiched in-between. Construction seemed to be going on everywhere. Other districts and neighbourhoods were less developed but less desirable.

This is Yonge St, a major city street, with the city's tallest condominium on the far right.



This historic fire station is still operational.

 Old & new

A mix of the old and the new - the ROM museum












The CN tower is in the distance.


The Rogers Center is an all weather stadium with a roof that open or closes in 20 minutes.

The CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) building has rubber-mounted windows to reduce the large windows conducting the outside street sound into the building. They create a distinctive building design.

Distinctive fountain outside the CN tower.


So up the CN tower we went..


The lift has a glass panelling in the walls allowing us to see the view when going up or down.
The view from the tower was spectuclar but was heavily tinted glass


 Looking towards the islands in Lake Ontario (and small airport).
 Looking through the glass floor




The surrounding gardens had interesting hedges.






































Next a boat-ride around the Toronto islands in Lake Ontario.

From the water looking back on Toronto the city scape wasn’t as ugly.



This exclusive yacht club is for Jewish boat owners in Toronto who were denied entrance to others in earlier times.



The islands have a lot of greenery and so close to the city.






We caught the bus back to our hotel, passing through older sections of Toronto.




Location: Toronto, ON, Canada

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