Ontario experience 2018 part 2

We stayed at the Chelsea Hotel for next 3 nights. The hotel was in a great location just steps from the city's best shopping, theatres, nightlife and attractions. It features 1590 guestrooms, 3 restaurants and separate adult and family recreation areas, providing travellers with essential amenities and comfortable accommodations at an exceptional value. CF Toronto Eaton Centre is an unrivalled retail destination in the heart of Canada’s most populous city, featuring more than 250 shops. CF Toronto Eaton Centre attracts almost 50 million visitors annually and ranks as one of North America’s best performing centres. CF Toronto Eaton Centre is the first Canadian shopping centre to feature both a Nordstrom and a Saks Fifth Avenue.

Whilst in Toronto we took advantage of the hop on/hop off sightseeing bus tour, it was a great way to see Toronto and explore the city. We especially liked St Lawrence market, as it was a great place to see local food market. Our favourite desert “beavertail” is a fried sweet cakey pastry dusted in cinnamon not unlike a flat donut. The shape is like a beaver tail owing to its name. I loved them hot, slathered with melting.

We also went up CN Tower for some amazing views of the lake and the city. With the sightseeing hop on/hop off we were also given a free boat cruise around Toronto Island. It was good to see the city skyline from the water. The ticket was valid for 48 hours with 20 stops visiting some very nice neighbourhoods. After our 3 nights in Toronto, Sonia at Ontario tourism arranged return rail ticket for us to travel to Ottawa.

Again, we were really excited as we had never experienced train travel in Canada. The train had plenty of leg room as we travelled in economy class from Toronto Union station to Ottawa. The journey was 4 hours. There was staff serving food and drinks on the train. The journey was picturesque as went past the trees and rivers on the route. We thought the journey went very quickly and a great way to get between cities. Once we arrived in Ottawa which is the capital state of Ontario it had a different feel from Toronto which was busy city life.

We stayed at Sheraton Ottawa hotel for 2 nights and were given a free room upgrade with lounge access. We both very impressed with the hotel and service. Great location for sightseeing, shops and restaurants. We arrived quite late on our first night so we decided next day we would do all the sightseeing we could do in Ottawa.

We again did hop on and hop off which was great to see Ottawa. We went into the state of Quebec and we passed Justin Trudeau’s house, the Canadian prime minster. Ottawa has some lovely buildings with lots of history involved. After the tour we stopped at the local market which was amazing to see so much fresh produce and lovely gifts including maple syrup which sold at very reasonable prices. We both loved this market. The weather decided to turn so we had to abandon the rest of our plans for the day, but it gave us a sight into Ottawa, and we managed to see their shopping centre. After our 2 nights it was sadly time to come back home on the train back to Toronto union station then airport express to airport before heading back to London Gatwick on our flight. On the way we were again given club class seats and lounge access at the airport. This trip certainly spoilt us, and we saw loads!

We both thoroughly loved this trip and would certainly go back to Ontario again. Canada is special as the people are so friendly and kind. We found prices very reasonable for eating out, getting around by public transport, etc. We certainly would recommend Toronto as a city break with Nagara Falls.Another reason for us to go back would be to watch an ice hockey match as I think its a must whilst in Canada!

My special thanks go to the following people for making this trip very memorable and special: Emma, Victoria and Sonia from Ontario tourism and Christina from Niagara Falls Tourism.