Canada

It's a quiet weekend for me, daughter and son-in-law are away, I'm in charge of my grandson. He's playing in a basketball match this afternoon. So for now I'm going through hundreds of photos to either use in blog posts or delete.
Lets see what I've got.

Back in May 2012 my very dear friend Cathy asked if I would accompany her on a holiday to Canada. She and her husband had made plans to visit his cousin in Hamilton. Sadly he developed a very aggressive cancer and died before he could accomplish his dream. It was all booked and my friend wanted to go because it's what her husband wanted but she wasn't confident to go on her own. I paid my share of the flight, bought some currency and off we went.

I was still recovering from a fall three months earlier in February which resulted in a broken foot (bones take longer to heal as we age!). My foot ached a lot but it didn't deter me from enjoying the holiday. 
Our first day was a gentle walk around a waterfront followed by a bus ride The next day was a shopping day at the mall.

The following day, together with D our hostess and seven of her friends we hired a limo into 

Toronto to see West Side Story. The show was brilliant. 

We ended the day back at Hamilton in an excellent Chinese restaurant.

The highlight of the trip for me was visiting Niagara Falls. We visited Niagara-on-the-Lake first. 

This beautiful picturesque town oozes charm.

Shaw cafe and wine bar. We didn't go in, I think it's one of those places that relies on it's 
location and looks to overcharge for mediocre service and food.

Prince of Wales hotel

Whirlpool Aero Car

Cathy and I took a trip on the Maid of the Mist

The ubiquitous photo taken just before boarding the boat.

Taken by a fellow passenger

Out for breakfast, delicious but I didn't expect it all on one plate!

We had a day trip to St Jacobs, a popular location for tourism due to its quaint village appearance,

lots of independent one-of-a-kind shops and its Mennonite heritage.

D thought the Farmer's Market was on but it was out of season,
we were disappointed but there were plenty of shops for us to browse round. 

We did some cruising in D's lovely classic Mustang

Cathy and I at Lake Erie, visiting D's friends who have a summer place there.

A very interesting trip round HMCS (His/Her Majesty's Canadian Ship) Haida.
A tribal-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1943 to 1963,
participating in WWII and the Korean war. She was named for the Haida people.

After this visit we met with D's friends for a farewell lunch. It was sad saying goodbye.
A couple of years later D and three of the other girls came over to London
as part of a European trip, Cathy and I enjoyed a lovely weekend with them.

~Be well ~

Polly x