A few final pics from dinner at Rodney’s Oyster House in Toronto.  Sorry for the blurred oysters – too many gimlets?

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Since then we have been on the train and only had wi fi in Winnipeg, and we were busy there.  So it’s catch up time.  Lots of pictures; just a few words

The train was grand – four nights and three days.  Life aboard was good.  There were 14 prestige cabins and we got along well with everyone, especially an older Lady and her cousin from Windsor, ON, a retired oyster farmer and his mate from Sydney, Australia, and a couple from Manchester, UK.  The four prestige cars are all at the back of a 36-car train.  There is a dining car, two cars of prestige rooms, and a combination lounge car/observation car.  We never left those four cars.  Our room was tiny but functional: a comfortable L-shaped couch with a small table during the day which converted to a comfortable full double bed at night.  There was a large picture window.  The bathroom was small – a toilet, a sink, and a shower.  The shower was just barely big enough to fit in but the water pressure and temperature were both good.  Drinks were included and were served wherever you wanted them.  The food for three meals a day was very good – highlights included a bison burger, lobster ravioli, and a veal chop. Deserts were excellent. In Prestige Class we also had hors d’ouevres at cocktail hour.

There are numerous stops along the way. but usually just for long enough to stretch your legs.  We got out in Hornepayne, ON (there is nothing there) and in Jasper (a tourist town with restaurants and gift shops where we have been before on a road trip).  The exception was Winnipeg where we stopped for five hours.  A bus tour of the city was included, but we skipped it for a walkabout on our own.  Winnipeg is a nice town.  It’s Museum of Human Rights is spectacular.  The architecture inside and out is stunning, and the exhibits, mostly interactive, are truly interesting.  Come see this if you can.  We also watched Dragon Boat races on the Red River, part of the event for kid’s cancer that was going on.

The scenery along the way is spectacular.  It’s way better than the pictures below because the pictures lose something when taken from behind the train windows.  You can see reflections from the windows in some of the pictures.  Along the way (in order) you see forests, prairies, mountains, and rivers.

SCENES FROM THE TRAIN GALLERY – NO CAPTIONS

We arrived in Vancouver several hours late on Monday, and we immediately checked in to the Marriott Residence Inn downtown.  Thursday night we ate at Le Keg in the ritzy Robson area.  Le Keg is a Canadian steakhouse a cut below Ruth’s Chris and the like, but it is very good.  We shared delicious calamari.  Elaine had salmon; I had an excellent NY strip steak.  There were numerous gimlets and a nice bottle of Pinot Noir.

On Tuesday we walked about this bustling city that has lots of high rise construction going on.  We bought a day pass on the Aqua Bus and spent most of the morning at Granville Island, home of one of the best public markets in the world.  We had raspberry scones and hot chocolate before wandering the food halls and craft shops.  We Aqua-bussed on to the Yaletown area where we had an excellent lunch on the patio at Earl’s Kitchen – a pitcher of Moscow Mules to accompany Elaine’s sushi and my bacon cheddar burger.  Then we walked and water taxied some more before returning to the Marriott for wine on the balcony.

Dinner tonight is open.  Tomorrow morning we have an 8:40 AM flight to Portland, OR, and I’ll pick up the blog Wednesday night or Thursday morning from Depoe Bay.  Pictures from Vancouver will be included in the update.

 

Dinner Wednesday night at Rodney’s Oyster House was a triumph.  I had nine delicious oysters, a trio each from different locales, with fresh horseradish and a plethora of hot sauces.  Yellow fin tuna was my main.  Elaine had excellent NE clam chowder and possibly the best scallops ever.

Thursday morning was sunny and cool.  We walked the short walk to the CN Tower and rode up.  During the summer and three hour waits to go up, but it was blissfully empty and enjoyable.  Took lots of pics.  Then we walked to the Hockey Hall of Fame and spent a fascinating 90 minutes or so there.  For lunch we went back to St Lawrence Market and ate at Buster’s Sea Cove.  Elaine had a calamari po-boy; I had grilled calamari and chips.  Yum.  While we eating, the good weather ended, and it was teeming rain.  We made it back to hotel.

We board the train at 10 PM tonight.  It’s on schedule!  Next post depends on wi fi at stations, possibly not until arrival in Vancouver on Monday.

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Our flight last night on Air Canada Rouge was uneventful.  Business class was wonderful.  Very roomy seats, decent enough food, and free flowing cocktails and wine.  We arrived on time at 12:15 AM and breezed through an empty immigration and customs area.  The bags were on the carousel before we got there.  Oddly enough, as of today Air Canada has changed the schedule for our flight and now it arrives at 8:00 PM.  That would have been better!  We were at the hotel and checked in by 1:10 AM.

Wednesday morning broke sunny and nice – temps in the upper 60’s.  Way better than AZ’s 105.  Marriott had upgraded us to Club Class, so we enjoyed breakfast in the club on the 46th floor, one flight up from our room on 45.  We had a good walk around downtown Toronto.  First stop was the St Lawrence Market where we had a delightful private tour of the market with  Bruce Bell, a noted Toronto historian.  After that we walked down to the distillery district, now a upscale neighborhood of shops, artisan workshops, and restaurants.  We had lunch at the Mill Street Brewery – mussels and frites for us both.  Excellent Landmark Ale.  Then it was a long walk back to the hotel for a well earned nap after our early morning arrival.

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This afternoon we will go to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport to catch an Air Canada flight to Toronto.

The flight doesn’t arrive until midnight, so the first post from the road will be sometime on Wednesday from our hotel in Toronto, the Marriott Delta.

The itinerary goes like this:

Thursday night at 10:00 PM we board VIA Rail’s Canadian for a four-night three-day train trip across Canada, scheduled to arrive in Vancouver Monday morning.  (Since passenger trains have to give way to the freights who own the tracks, the Canadian could be many hours late arriving.)  There is no wi-fi on the train, so any posts while traveling will be from stations along the way that might have wi-fi available.

In Vancouver we will spend two night at the Marriott Residence Inn and do a bit of exploring.  We have visited Vancouver before.

Then we fly on to Portland, OR and drive down to Depoe Bay where we will spend eight nights in the same condo at the Village at North Pointe that we have rented three times previously.

Finally, we fly home to Phoenix on September 21st.