We were to visit three towns during our brief visit across the border: Kingston, Ottawa and Montreal.
This is the City Hall of Kingston, Ontario.
Autumn Leaves - Canada 2009 |
We were to visit three towns during our brief visit across the border: Kingston, Ottawa and Montreal. This is the City Hall of Kingston, Ontario. |
 I snapped this picture while driving passed (I was in the passengerseat, so no worries!): Church of the Good Thief, what is that all about...? |
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>RMC is now over one hundred years old. It was established by an act of the Canadian Parliament in 1874 'for the purpose of providing a complete education in all branches of military tactics, fortification, engineering, and general scientific knowledge in subjects connected with and necessary to thorough knowledge of the military profession.' On June 1, 1876, the Military College of Canada opened its doors to the first class of eighteen gentlemen cadets..< |
 Skyline of Kingston. And what splendid weather we enjoyed. Kingston is situated at the head of the mighty Lawrence River, which carries Lake Ontario's water to the Atlantic Ocean. Our vantage point is the rocky outcrop on which the 'War College' is located, looking over Cataraqui River towards Kingston. Further to the left, outside this photo, is the wide, sweeping expanse that is Lake Ontario. At Kingston also the Thousand Islands begin, but our stay was brief and did not allow a visit, something to return for! |
 Our generous hosts: Danielle & Neil Aird. Neil is an inspiring webmaster, we share the 'headaches' that go with compiling an amateur, aviation-enthusiast website. Neil's history concerning aviation interests goes further back than mine and he has also mastered certain computer technics to a much higher level than I ever aspire to do. While we did talk about (and had a look at a few) aeroplanes, we were very civil and made sure we didn't 'talk planes' all the time to avoid boring our womenfolk! Danielle is a published author and very much involved in projects benefacting Indian wellfare projects, so indeed we were not at a loss for subjects to talk about! We enjoyed a wonderful stay. India and other anecdotes: www.danieonthego.blogspot.com India fundraising: www.calcuttarescuecanada.org Danie's book: www.danielleaird.com For Neil: www.neilaird.com |
 Like I said, we did have a look at some preserved aeroplanes around Kingston. |
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Kingston has that special quality of a town dominated by Universities and Colleges, most importantly the Queen's University and the Royal Military College of Canada. Soon after we arrived, Danie and Neil took us out on a stroll and I cannot remember to ever have visited a nicer North American town!
Kingston is nicknamed the 'Limestone City' because of the many historic buildings built from the local limestone. |
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We drove Route 15 north, a pleasant drive, parts were scenic, but interspersed with crappy towns like we seen plenty of in the US: a row of gasstations, fastfood restaurants and parking lots.
All scattered without any graciousness or sophistication. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder: many would disagree about the pleasantness of above photo. |
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We arrived in Ottawa.  We stayed two nights in Ottawa, in a not so wonderful Comfort Inn (Downtown). The weather had turned to rain again, fortunately my prime interest was indoors: the brilliant Canada Aviation Museum. |
The chilly & wet weather was a good excuse to spend some time in a shopping mall: The Bay's Mall.
The weather prevented a walk in more pleasant parts of Ottawa. I had intended to have a look at Park Gatineau and doing a walk around the Parliament buildings, but instead we moved about in our car, because of the rain and chilliness and witnessed the traffic congestion and ugly, atrocious area of Rideau street. Hopefully a next visit will give a nicer impression. |
Well, in Canada decorations were up for Halloween too!
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 Colour crazy.. |
 Scenic Route 148, Ottawa to Montreal, along the north bank of the Ottawa River (French: Rivière des Outaouais / Algonquin: Kichisìpi) which defines for most of its length the border between the two provinces Ontario and Quebec. |
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 No different from the US: people holding yard sales to generate some extra income to battle the effects of the global economic crisis. |
I had booked this hotel through Expedia. When we arrived I advised the frontdesk I wanted to stay only 1 night instead of the 2 booked. They refused a refund. |
 We visited the Old Town of Montreal. For Europeans it is not so very special, but it did provide for a nice walk and we enjoyed the art shops near 'Place Jacques Cartier' and the streetlife. We also had an excellent dinner at Casa di Mateo, a Mexican restaurant. |
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 Steve Alias entertaining a 'crowd'; mind you, it was getting cold and for people to stop in their tracks and listen you'd have to sing & play a very decent tune. And he did! I don't know what his connection is with that website, advertised in his guitarcase: www.theunionmovie.com |
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 I came across this photoshoot and admired the bride's toughness, as I considered it to be quite cold! And I suspect that the groom already had retired to the pub..!  |
 Two final images while walking Old Town Montreal: a classic car and a warmly-dressed street musician. Like I said, it was quite cold. |
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During the 1970s, while recovering from a concussion in hospital, I wasn't allowed to do anything for two weeks. Except listen to the radio. No tv, no reading, just the radio. I tuned in to AFN, American Forces Network, broadcasting from Germany. This way I learned about Canadian singer-songwriters such as Leonard Cohen and Gordon Lightfoot. Over the years I have collected many albums (LP's) of these musicians. During this particular trip I bought Gordon's "Summertime Dream" (1976), on cd, for in the car. It's one of the best albums ever made and reconfirmed to me Mr Lightfoot's excellent songwriter qualities. I found some lyrics, of another album, which I can relate to-
Whispers of the north, the river and the shore
In a land that tested Eskimos, ten thousand years before Whispers of my heart, in the tracks of animals I will leave my footprints there to lie beneath the snow And we can ride away, we can glide all day And we can fly away Whispers of the wind, I will feel it sting I will see it rise and fall, I will hear it sing The sound is like a song to me, it takes away the pain The river is the melody and sky is the refrain And we can ride away, we can glide all day And we can fly away And we can ride away, we can glide all day And we can fly away Whispers of the north, soon I will go forth
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