Off to Canada

I'm almost caught up now with my blogs and about 90mins away from Montreal subject to any further delays.
So we waved goodbye (temporarily) to the USA and boarded the train to Canada. The journey was very good with plenty of legroom and heaps better than the plane. I would recommend it if you have enough time to spare as it takes about 10 hours but the scenery is very pleasant and they have a cafe car which is well priced. It was an early start having awoken the kids at 5:30am to be back at Penn Station NY by 6am to check in for a 7:15 departure. They all slept on the train except Herb who watched movies on his laptop non stop!
Wasn't sure what to expect at customs but it turned out to be very painless and we were processed in no time at all. The border staff at Niagara were very courteous as well which was different to our arrival in the US. Our accommodation was just around the corner which was a good choice as it was raining and dark even though it was only 5pm.
We arranged to get some Chinese delivered to the hotel so we didn't have to go out. Early night and up to visit the falls after a leisurely breakfast at the Inn we were staying at. It was a scenic walk beside the river to the falls but it rained on and off so wasn't the best day to sightsee. Didn't matter though as we still took plenty of pictures.
After another hot chocolate we headed back to pick up our bags and board the coach and train to Toronto. Had some fun with taxis in Toronto as they tried to tell us we needed 3 cars so we had a bit of a verbal altercation and arranged to send the girls off with luggage to the hotel and the boys walked. I was not going to pay for 3 cars but was prepared to spring for 2 and got annoyed with them. Warm shower at the hotel and hearty meal and beer around the corner bought my good humour back!
The weather was not good due to an ice storm so we had a lazy morning over breakfast and then headed out doors to visit some neighborhoods. Toronto has many different cultures so we visited Kensington markets, Little Italy, Little Portugal and some shopping downtown. I would have liked another day to visit the Irish and Polish districts. We also canceled dinner in Greektown as we had filled up too much on pizza in Little Italy and hot chocs of course....
Very early start this morning at 5am and I wanted to book a minivan and car to the station but couldn't because it was only a local fare - avoid taxis in Toronto if you can! Anyway I wanted an early start to make sure we had plenty of time in case we couldn't get cabs but all worked out OK and we are on the train to Montreal where we will spend Xmas.
I will call you tomorrow night which will be your Xmas day about 10 or 11am.
Mike