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...

When the CN Tower was built in 1975 at a cost of $333 million 2025 dollars, to a height of 1815 feet, it was the tallest free-standing structure for 32 years. when in  2007, the Dubai Burj Khalifa was completed.  CN T remained as the world's tallest tower until 2009 until it was surpassed by the Canton Tower, and is now #10.  To the right. the Burj Khalifa, CN Tower and Willis Tower ( Chicago ).  CN T is the signature icon of Toronto's skyline, and draws 2 million international visitors/year. The CN stands for Canadian National, the railway that built the structure; When opened in 1976, there were three observation points:  The Top at 1,467 feet, the Main Observation Level at 1,135 feet, and the Terrace, the one with the glass floor, at 1,122 feet. One floor above the Observation Level is 360 The Restaurant at the CNTower, which completes a complete rotation every 72 minutes. In 1995 was named by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the modern Seven...

I was looking at my blog site and noticed that I completed a blog on April 26 and never posted it.  So this will confuse many, but transpose what you saw earlier today and insert this one for that day.  I hate to say this, but our Canadian National Railway 12-day trip could have some serious internet problems, but keep returning to see what pops up.  Then again, I've had larger problems in my global journeys, so all might well be fine, Here is what I said nine years ago  about Toronto. TRANS CANADA: Day 9--Toronto Toronto : Home to indigenous peoples for 10,000 years. Population of 6 million ( #5 in North America ), where 47.5% were foreign-born ( in 2006, 49.9% came from other countries) More people speak a Chinese dialect than French Is pronounced with the second T silent. Attracts 25 million tourists/year ( Hawaii: 9 million ). Major professional sports teams Toronto Maple Leafs ( hockey )--won 13 Stanley Cups Toronto Blue Jays ( basebal l)--two World Series Toron...