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Canada

Trip in February 1995. All "facts" are how things seemed to me at the time.

Toronto

Canada was extremely Cold (I was there in February, 1995), getting down to -15 Degrees at night while I was there. They also have freezing rain, which will coat anything in a thin layer of ice, so if you clean the path of snow, in the morning, you will have a path of ice. Some might say that -15 is nothing, but it's plenty cold enough for me.

Toronto was also cold and dark. There was a lot of slush around, and you had to hop over two big puddles of brown semi frozen slush every time you crossed the road. This was the first city I'd been in without a street map, but I still managed to find my way around. I saw the Skydome and part of the CN tower. Only the bottom third was visible, because of the clouds, so I didn't go up. I also had a walk into the railway station, which was about as grand as the one in New York. There are some massive shopping malls. There's really not much to say, you're kind of limited to what you can see and do when it's so cold outside. I'm sure Canada is great place to visit in summer, but February is probably not the time when it's at its best.

Niagara Falls

The Niagara Falls were immensely impressive. Despite the cold, I think I went at the best time because of the ice on everything, formed from the freezing spray from the falls. Things like branches were about 10 times as thick because of the ice on them. It was a real "Winter Wonderland". Also, down at the bottom of the falls were massive ice formations and icicles that reminded me of the "Fortress of Solitude" in the Antarctic in "Superman - The Movie". The water flowing over the falls also had big chunks of ice in it, and all the water was really clear. The parking was easy too, unlike summer, which I gather is very busy. Of course there is a shop nearby, selling a monumental amount of tourist crap. You name it and they have it. With "Niagara Falls" printed on the side. All authentic Canadian products, made in China.

On the Air Canada flights, the hostesses were really friendly. At the start, before take starting, they said "This is Air Canada flight 736 to Newark, If you are not flying to Newark today, then you are on the wrong plane, please make yourself known to any of the cabin crew". The Plane was quite small, a DC-9. I've decided that I prefer larger planes, as you can't hear the unexplained changes in engine pitch.

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