Day 7 Thursday 30th April Toronto

Day 7. Thursday 30th April 2009. On board the “Canadian “arriving Toronto due 9:20am.
Once again we awoke at 6:10am; the train was stationary; the scenery was the same as yesterday except the snow on the ground had completely disappeared and the ice on the small lakes was no more. The grass is green; the daffodils are blooming and the Pussy Willow has kittens. It was difficult to get to sleep last night as the train was very noisy. It was if the tracks were covered with hard stones and the wheels could not crush them; like travelling over a corrugated gravel country road. Eventually the tracks became smoother and sleep was possible. As we move closer to Toronto the trees are becoming replaced with houses and all that goes with them. We have just been informed that the train is 2 hours late; it is being held up by freight train movements. Apparently this journey used to be a three-day trip but was rescheduled to a four day trip because of delays caused by freight trains.
During our trip in the Canadian we have travelled through four time zones. And four distinct geographical regions; the farmlands of British Columbia, the mountain zone of BC and Alberta, the prairies of Saskatchewan, and the green forests and lakes of the “Canadian Shield” of Ontario http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Shield We arrived at Toronto 2 hours late. It took three quarters of an hour to collect our luggage VIA Rail please do something about this; it spoils a marvellous experience. We walked 200 metres to our hotel before a three hour bus tour of the city. Our tour guide was a lovely mature lady who spoke clearly in New Zealand English; yes she was a New Zealander who has been living in Toronto for thirty years. She runs a sheep farm on the outskirts where they shear the sheep three times a year. Her farm is Erie County Farms and she takes tours of the farm. The tour of Toronto was very informative. She showed us a historical mural on the wall of a large building, and underground system of shops and walkways covering nine city blocks. People can get off the subway and walk along these walkways to their building where they work and buy their food shop at supermarkets, get an evening meal and the go home without seeing the light of day; very handy on a cold winters day. Our tour guide also said because Toronto has a short growing season all the flowers, vegetables and lawns grow at a phenomenal rate.