From Quebec, we took the train over to Halifax, Nova Scotia. A 17 hour journey, which turned out to be our worst train journey yet. Hardly any sleep and the train was almost full. No spare seats to lounge about on this time!

Halifax was a nice place and we had a great time here. We visited the Atlantic Maritime Museum and also the Citadel.
The museum has an excellent Titanic exhibition, featuring items rescued from the tragic ship.
There's also some very interesting footage from the 'Halifax Explosion'.

The Citadel was great, too. The Scots Guards (not real ones) were there and we also went on a guided tour of the citadel and the guards living quarters. I'm glad we're not staying in them. 20 beds in 1 tiny room.

Anyway, click on 'Read More' to see the pictures.

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Second part of the pictures of Quebec....

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We spent 3 days in Quebec and had a wonderful time. Quebec City is a beautiful place and full of charm.

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After a few days in Toronto, we ventured into Montreal, the gateway to the french speaking province of Quebec. 6 hours from Toronto by train, was nothing for us!!

We stayed at the HI Auberge de Jeunesse on Rue Mackay. It is a beautifully restored old house with excellent amenities, located just up from the train station and 2 blocks from the main streets of Rue Ste. Catherine and Rue Crescent, makes it an ideal base to explore old and new parts of Montreal.

On the Saturday, we headed into the old part (Vieux Montreal), which feels like you could be in Paris. Once we'd remembered bits of our GCSE French, we were fine.

At the Notre Dame Basilica, there was a wedding.on ...

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Pictures from Montreal...

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These pictures are of Horseshoe Falls, Niagara Falls and are trip on on the Maid of The Mist.

Horseshoe Falls

London Bus in Niagara?

Niagara Falls

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Baseball game - Toronto Blue Jays Vs Kansas City Royals

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Pictures from Toronto.

Bike ride over on Toronto Island and up the CN Tower.

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More pictures from the train journey.....

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Here's the pictures from our epic 3 day train journey, from Vancouver to Toronto...

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These picturese were taken on Vancouver Island. We went whale watching with a company called (very novel) The Prince of Whales.

Sadly, we didn't see any whales. Plenty of sea lions though!!

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These pictures are from Victoria. Most are from the ferry on the way over to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island.



(Click the Read More link to see the pictures)

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Here's some pictures from Whistler.

We spent just 2 days here, but it was a nice relaxing break from the hustle and bustle of Vancouver.

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Today we went to Niagara Falls. We caught the train from Toronto it took about 2 hours to get there.
We were told it was a 40 mins walk from the station to the fall's so being the travellers that we are now, a taxi was not an option.

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Well we've been busy bee's while in Toronto. The first day was spent getting our bearings which can take some time with all the block system and long streets.

Yesterday was spent at the attractions we went up the CN tower which was great fantastic view of the city and surrounding area. We went up to the skypod which is the highest point.

Earlier that morning we went over to Central island, which is about 15mins on the ferry. We hired some bikes there , which Lee's been dying to do since we were in stanley park, Vancouver. The island was great to ride round, but were both aching today.

Last night we did the all Canadian thing and took in a baseball game. The atmosphere was great. The game took about 3 hours and the amount of food consumed in that time was huge.

We'd always tried to fit in a visit to Whistler, whilst we were in Vancouver and with a couple of spare days, we decided to head up there.
CAN$ 50 return by Greyhound each and we were on our way.....

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Nestled between mountains on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other, Vancouver is an awesome place.

We spent 7 days here and loved every minute. Once we'd got over the jetlag and got our bearings, we began exploring......

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Located on Granville Street in Downtown Vancouver, the HI Vancouver Central is a great place to stay.
We opted for the private room and there wasn't much difference from being in a hotel.
En suite bathroom, TV, air con and a nice comfy bed! What more could you ask for?

Right next door, is 'The Royal'. This is the hostels bar/club. We went there on a Friday and the place was packed. A mixture of locals and backpackers. Live music until 10 and then party until 01:00.
Great for stumbling back to the hostel!

The hostel has a kitchen, plenty of internet terminals, laundry room, TV room and common room.

If you're staying in Vancouver on a budget, HI Vancouver Central is the place to stay!

We're now over in Toronto after a gruelling 3 day journey, on 'The Canadian' train.

Just had chance to add a few more of the pictures from Vancouver.

A few more pictures from Vancouver.....

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Here's some pictures of our trip so far. There's loads more, but we've just not had chance to get them uploaded onto the website.

After spending 6 days in Vancouver, we headed on up to Whistler for a couple of days on Tuesday. Whistler is an amazing place. Really nice scenery and very tranquil. Didn't manage to do any boarding, just wandered about and had some beers.
From Whistler, we went over to Victoria on Vancouver Island. Went out on a whale watching trip, but didn't manage to see any. The whale season doesn't really start until the first half of May. Just our luck!!
We did manage to see plenty of sea lions and the odd bald eagle.

Tomorrow (Friday 30th), we board 'The Canadian' train, for our 3 day journey over to Toronto. That's one bloody train journey!! I used to moan about the 30 minute trip into Manchester Victoria from Rochdale!!!

Once we get to Toronto, I'll be adding more of the pictures and a load more stories about what we've seen already.

We're both having a great time and getting into the backpacker lifestyle. I've even started growing a beard.... it's taking some time though!! I have got a year to grow it though :)

Take care peeps, and see you all soon.

Here's those pictures so far....

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After a long flight, we're finally here in Vancouver. Bit jetlagged, but are almost there.

Spent today getting our bearings around Vancouver and took a trip out to Capilano suspension bridge. Pretty wobbly to say the least!!

Found a cheap eat place on Granville Street, just down the road from the hostel. The Templeton, is just like an old diner from the 50's. It even still has the old jukeboxes in each booth.

We're gonna spend the next few days planning our weekend and getting our train tickets sorted for the trip to Toronto.

Next week, we're planning on going over to Victoria on Vancouver Island and time allowing, up to Whistler.

Right, that's it for now. Speak to you all soon.

Julie and Lee

Here's some our planned, must see attractions in Canada :-

• Whale watching on Vancouver Island


• Rollerblading in Stanley Park


• CN Tower - Toronto


• Niagara Falls


• Capilano Suspension Bridge

And much much more!

If there's anything, you think we should definitely make time to see, please let us know.

HI Vancouver Central

Our first digs have been booked and we're staying at the HI Vancouver Central for a week.

The plan is to stay there for a week and then have 2 days on Vancouver Island and a day in Whistler.

Our train to Toronto leaves on the following Friday at 17:00, so we'll have plenty of time to explore Vancouver and the vicinity.

Great deal from the hostel - stay for 7 and pay for only 6! That'll do for us!