Family trip!

The tour almost drove me crazy! I sweared I'd never take one again! They tell you what time you have to wake up, when and where is the meeting point, that the bus driver can't wait so you better hurry up, etc., etc. They treat you as if you were a kid! Although the people we travelled with were nice and friendly, they all were "newly weds" and families, just like we. And I thought this tour was going to be a little bit different from ALL the others we've taken before, but it happened to be just the same. Nothing special!

The tour began in Toronto, a huge and beautiful city. We visited lots of places and we got off the bus when the tour guide wanted to and we took pictures just where he wanted to. Anyway, I can't blame him, he was a great and funny man.

He tried to amuse us during the long hours on the bus by telling us jokes or his adventures around the world. After every stop, he wanted to make sure that no one was missing, so he checked out the whole bus to see that everyone was in there. Only then we could leave. Niagara Falls, Ottawa, Mt. Tremblant, Montréal and Quebec were on the list, so there was no time to lose!

We took the highway direction to Niagara Falls. It was a hot day when we got there. :-/ The nature and the amazing landscapes are exactly as described in books, or just like in photos you find in Google. I had this awesome opportunity, (the kind of opportunities you have once in life), to be in the American Side and in the Canadian Part, and I can say that both are splendid! We "sailed" on the Maid of the Mist and refreshed our bodies and minds with the water of the falls.

Soo cool! :-) Then, we went to this funfair where I had such a great time in The Haunted Hause, The Guiness Record's Museum, The Ripley's Moving Theater, etc. that didn't want to get into the bus again! :-)

Afterwards we arrived at a famous town, Niagara on the Lake, not very far away from the Falls. I don't know why its so famous, there's nothing but a lake and small houses, oh! and 2 main streets! Maybe the town is well known cause of it's expensive an "luxiourious" two-story hotel, where a cup of tea costs around 60 USD!:-0 Yeah, that may be the reason...

Our next stop was 1000 Islands, a place which surprised me very much about the way other people live. I never imagined that human beings feel a desperate need to stay away from civilization! :-/ And that they do it, no matter how much it costs or how much is being lost! We "sailed" on another ship and saw a lot of islands, everywhere! In most of these, there where small and big houses (depending on the area) and the only way people could get there was by boat.

 Some of them were even "parked" next to the shore, as if they were cars! That day we ended in Quebec, what a trip! Everything was so fast! (great moments don't last forever, a disappointing reality!). Quebec is a small city, but very historical and really beautiful! It has an european style, more than any of the canadian metropolis I saw. There's not much to do in this city, but visit the historical monuments, the churches and the old town. 

We were already in La Province du Quebec so we continued to our next destination: Mt. Tremblant, a famous place for skiing! There is a lake in the sourrounding area and some beautiful houses, also european style. :-) So I can imagine people have a great time in winter! It was a pity that we've arrived in summer! :-/ Anyway, we had fun pretended we've arrived for winter season! :-) You'll see why.

Animals is what we saw in our way to Ottawa. There was a huge National Park where animals were kept in their natural environment, which was a good thing! :-) And I was even able to feed one of them with carrots! There were bears, wolves, deers, beavers, etc. And the nature was something I've never seen before, not even in my own country! :-)

When we arrived to the capital, the most beautiful city in Canada so far I know, the first thing that surprised me was the fact that eveything was written in both languages: French and English.  I already knew that Ottawa was a bilingual city but what I didn't know was that EVERY sign in the city was written in French as well as in English. For instance, in the restaurants: EXIT-SORTIE or STOP-ARRET in the streets.

:-0  There's a lot to see and to do in Ottawa, and the architecture is so different from other places in the country. It's totally unique! :-) We had the chance to see a Changing of the Guard, which interested me a lot, as I didn't have the same opportunity in London's Buckingham Palace. :-(

Finally we left the capital in order to get to our final destination, Montréal, where our flight to Ecuador was waiting for us. :-/ As we were entering into the city, the Olympic Stadium was the only building that raised in the metropolis. Its architecture is very impressive and original. La Tour de Montréal, the tower incorporated into the base of the stadium, is the tallest inclined tower in the world, with 175 metres!  :-0 It currently serves for special events and for baseball and football games. Canada is a huge country full of history, and interesting places, different from the USA despite of its closeness, a country that deserves to be visited at least once in life...