The Fairmont Royal York was across the street from Union Station, so we had the chief bellman help us wheel our luggage to the check-in counter.  Except to the wrong place.  So we later had to bring our baggage to another desk where they were strict as to maximum weight.  Remember, we are on a nearly 2-month trip, and I have a rather large suitcase, which weighed 63 pounds, 13 pounds over the limit.  Had to scramble to get everything in order, and ended up carrying more on the train than we wanted. Shocks came one after the other.  Our room on Rail Canada is so small, more like a short walk-in closet of our cruise stateroom.  When we were at dinner, someone can in and converted the room into a bedroom. Compared to others, we had it well, for our toilet opened into another small room.  Many had no chairs and the toilet in the same room.  We all had to use a common shower. The part that most stunned me was no internet.  While aghast, I was also...

I'm back.  However, return in a few hours for an actual new posting. Arrgghh, the horror, the horror.  Boarded the Canadian Railway train and learned that there would be no internet for three days. If I knew that ahead of time, I would not have taken this train journey.  Was this part of the trip worth it?  Well, yes, and you'll learn about what we saw and did over the next couple of days. I did not realize that overnight trains were so minimal, so limiting, so uncomfortable and so dangerous.  Just walking to lunch is an adventure.  I get close to falling in a safe, walking environment.  On this train, the floor and walls are moving, it's noisy and you need to leave your train and walk to the next in bitter cold.  There has been snow on the ground through the entire 3-day period. Anyway, I'm now in the Chateau Jasper for one night, and over the next two days in Banff and Lake Louise will still be in hotels, which surely will have internet.  T...

All went well today on our most significant tour of the entire trip:  Toronto to Niagara Falls and back, a nearly 10-hour extravaganza.  First, breakfast at the Fairmont Royal York's Gold Lounge. Then off we went, with twenty-something others. While line of sight is less than 43 miles, the actual ride is around 80 miles because we needed to go aroung Lake Ontario.  The falls themselves spill water from Lake Erie towards Lake Ontario. The guide pointed out various agricultural highlights, including wineries.  There are over 100 of them within the Niagara region of Ontario.  Bought a bottle of Meritage. You would think these greenhouses protect vines or other ag products, but these fancy looking ones actually cover marijuana. Recreational cannabis became legal in Canada in 2018, and adults older than 18 can possess up to 30 grams of legal dried marijuana and grow up to four plants/household.  In the U.S., while 24 states have legalized recreational uses and 4...