The Big Apple part 2

Here she is posing with her Tiffany purchases, what a happy bunny!!!
We leave you with some images and we feel that they speak for themselves. The Chrysler Building (Phileas' favourite).

The United Nations General Assembly, despite its critics a wonderful organisation.

Times Square where we went to see the Broadway production of 'Legally Blonde - the musical'!!

Fogg particularly likes this final image. There are some wonderful Victorian buildings with ornate decoration and fascinating fire escapes. This in Little Italy our favourite place for dinner.

We fly home today and will post a final 'thoughts' blog on our return.

Thank you for reading and your comments, we are glad you have enjoyed our postings.

Best wishes from Phileas and Fogg.

Farewell Canada, hi to The Big Apple (part 1)

Well, we are now in New York on the final day of our journey and so we are posting our final two blogs. We loved Canada, a beautiful country and wonderful people not least Fogg's cousin John and his wife Faith and my mum's cousin Sally and her husband Russell. We have been reminded on our travels of the importance of family and it has been brilliant to explore New York with our youngest daughter Hannah.
Anyway back to Canada and Ottawa a delightful capital city with the UNESCO World Heritage Rideau Canal and locks. We had a gentle trip on the canal learning a little of the history of this part of Canada. It made us realise how little we know of North American history, must rectify that on our return.
Fogg here. It is worthy of note that the Rideau Canal is frozen solid for about two months in the winter and is used for recreational skating on a regular basis. It was originally built to move armaments during the war with the Americans in 1812 but it was never used for that purpose. The locks pictured here (seven in total) convey pleasure boats at about six at a time up the steep rise from the Ottawa river. My cousin John and his wife Faith were brilliant tour guides and amongst other things introduced us to the delights of Timmy Hortons, a wonderful chain of coffee shops that sold awesome doughnuts! So our time in Canada came to a close all too soon and we flew to the 'Big Apple' to meet Hannah!
We found a diner and planned our visit. There are so many icons in New York and so little time we have merely scratched the surface and visited a 'few' shops! Central Park is wonderful and it was great to walk there in the shade in the very hot and humid city. Walking past the Dakota building we joined many others at the plaque to John Lennon and also watched turtles in a lake which Phileas, particularly, found exciting. Fogg thought he had escaped more wildlife watching!
Grand Central station is a wonderful building . Phileas commented she thought it was like a Cathedral. So over to her for more commentary.
The Guggenheim was one of the most exciting buildings that we have seen, some great Kandinsky's but Hannah was not too keen on the Louise Bourgeois (some debate here on the spelling!!) and I did find them quite uncomfortable.
We have seen and done so much here that we will post a second New York blog. Suffice to say that this is a crazy, exciting city and we love it!!
Best wishes
Phileas and Fogg

Across Canada, which holds 50% of the world's freshwater!!

Having travelled for 3 nights across Australia by train we had assumed that the Canadian journey would take less time. How wrong we were, we had not taken into account mountain ranges and lakes that had to be circumnavigated as well as the massive distance across the second largest country in the world, after Russia. This was an awesome journey through high mountain ranges and across water logged plains. Our travelling companions came from many countries and we spent some time talking about politics, art, teaching and shared experiences. The train has dome cars with seats set high under glass roofs which allow wonderful views of the surrounding countryside. The photo shows how long the train was and also that it needed three engines to pull it. The Rockies were absolutely stunning, many still carrying much of their winter snows, their peaks sharp and jagged.
They gave way to the Prairies, not as large and broad as I had imagined but covered with yellow and blue fields of oil seed rape (canola, as it is known here) and flax. These gave way to water, lakes and ponds, rivers and streams all surrounded by miles of forest, silver birch, aspen and of course fir. I was reminded of the Girl Guide song 'Land of the Silver Birch, Home of the Beaver', but Fogg would not let me sing it!! I was delighted to see Beaver lodges but unfortunately no sight of their elusive builders. Fogg is champing at the bit so I will just briefly mention Toronto and Niagara. The former is a great city, full of charm where modern glass edifices jostle with great Victorian architecture. As you can see Fogg has enjoyed himself here. We both had a
wonderful day at Niagara Falls and got wonderfully soaked on the 'Maid of the Mist'. But oh dear what a tacky place!
OK Fogg here you are, best wishes from me, Phileas.
Hi Fogg here at last! Note the 'ear' in the bottom right hand corner of the 'Rockies' photo, probably belonging to Phileas as she was trying to sing Land of the Silver Birch etc.... down mine! Toronto was hosting a Caribbean festival and we came upon a square full of beautiful people celebrating in wondeful costumes. In another square people were beginning to take their places for a free showing of the film Romeo and Juliet and all around there were street entertainers and artists plying their wares.
An exciting, vibrant and proud city which we will continue to explore today. Niagra Falls was crazy. We all got incredibly wet as the photo shows exactly where we were. All aboard were given waterproofs which merely enhanced the humidity already at about 60%!. We all looked very glamourous in our blue plastic bags. On our return to Toronto we stopped to taste some local wine at a winery that specialises in 'Ice wine'. Over to Phileas to explain and to sign off. So goodbye from Fogg for now.
Canada produces about 80% of the world's ice wine and this winery produces 20% of that. The grapes are picked at 2am in January and of course are totally frozen. Crushed immediately the only liquid from each grape is a drop of very sweet nectar. This wine, a dessert wine is fabulous and also very expensive.


So Canada is proving to be a pretty special place as some of our friends at home already know. We havn't finished here yet but must close now. Best wishes from us both, Phileas.

Vancouver Island part 2

We are ready for our trip from Vancouver to Toronto on the train and so we have time to tell you more about our memories of Vancouver Island. I think that the first thing I want to say is that our previous blog did not do justice to this beautiful island. So two more photographs showing firstly the extraordinary but very common sight of logs on the beaches and secondly a typical view this time taken on the ferry as we returned to the mainland. The logs are either escapees from the massive log barges that float from the forests to the sawmills or they are mature trees that have fallen and been carried down rivers to the sea. Both have been washed or
in some cases thrown onto the beach and the rocks by the winter storms. The wood is weathered and apparently tumbled like pebbles on the beach. It seems mostly just to be left, the sea water making the timber unusable. Some is used by the locals to create dramatic sculptures at the entrance to homes or in gardens. Unfortunately it is too heavy for these travellers!!! I will hand over to Fogg now but I will return later to talk about the Orcas.
Hi. The flying Fogg here!! In Victoria I fullfilled a boyhood dream and we flew in a six seater sea plane. A wonderful experience taking off from the water and cruising over beautiful beaches and
islands whilst looking at the snow capped Olympic mountains in the distance. We wobbled and dipped our way around the tree covered hills north of the city before landing smoothly back in the harbour. This photo shows Phileas alighting daintily from the craft wiping the palms of her hands!!!!!!!!!!! We had amazing views as we were both right by the window and Fogg was sitting right behind the pilot. It was a beautiful day and as ever Phileas was up for more adventures on the water not being content with a relaxing afternoon we were soon back on a boat run by the 'Prince of Whales' company looking for Killer Whales. Phileas has told me to say how much I loved the trip. Actually she does not need to tell me. It was Awesome. We came across a 'super pod' seen only about two or three times a year and we spotted at least twenty. Some in small pods as this photo shows and some 'breaching' but too far away for photos. On a completely different subject I would also like to mention how interesting it has been to learn a little about the North American First Nations peoples and the parallels that can be drawn between them and the Aborigines of Australia a subject I will be following up on our return to England. A brief comment about Victoria. Named after our illustrious Queen it is the capital of British Columbia and in some ways tries to be more British than Britain. It was quite bizarre to see Route Master buses and English pubs lining the streets but it is a wonderful place alive with street performers and 'artists' and a super harbour which was somewhere between Padstow/Hornfleur and Sydney in character. We found an excellent restaurant with harbourside seats from which we could see the parliament building lit up with fairy lights!. (Why don't we do that in London!) I know that Phileas is now champing at the bit to have her say so I wish you all well, Fogg.
Victoria was lovely and I think that as it only had the legislature and not all the commercial buildings it was able to keep a small town feel.
I was a bit nervous about the flight but in fact it was absolutely no problem despite Fogg's comment. The take off and landing were so smooth (it was a very calm day) and we were able to get wonderful views down onto the water and over to the islands and mountains. As for the whales, well that was very special and for me a real privilege. These animals are enormous, the dorsal fin of a fully grown male reaching up to two metres in length. They also swim very fast which made filming difficult and I have a lot of footage of water! At one point a large male came right towards the boat but submerged just as I got him in the view finder. He was identified by his large floppy fin which gave him the name 'Ruffles'! He is a film star having been used as a 'wild extra' in Free Willy!! The small pods were made up of either a male with a couple of 'ladies' or two or three generations of females; all were following the salmon.
We leave Vancouver having only had a short time to explore. This is a very exciting city which needs a revisit, sometime. Until then more adventures to come with a three day train ride across the Rockies and the Prairies to Toronto.

With best wishes, Phileas.

Vancouver Island part 1, in which our intrepid travellers meet a bear!

We are back after a short intermission, but fear not we have been busy and would like to share with you some of our experiences on Vancouver Island. One key memory for me of this place will be trees, big fir trees like the Douglas Fir but also the Arbutus and the Maple. The logging industry is going through difficult times here but we were still able to see great rafts of logs being floated down the rivers and in the sea to the sawmills. Another abiding memory will be the mountains and the wood clad islands. Even in the middle of summer snow clings to the higher slopes, the image made stronger by the blue sea and sky.
We have also experienced rain especially on the
west coast; we stayed for a few days in Tofino where the rain forest grows down to the sea. Rain forests are best explored in the rain and we were not disappointed. Nor were we disappointed by the wildlife and poor old Fogg was once again dragged off to see the local fauna. We took a wonderful trip to watch black bears, in the wild, feeding at low tide on crabs which they revealed by rolling over the rocks on the beach. We also saw grey whales, Stellar Sealions and much to my delight and suprise sea otters and humming birds (obviously not at the same time nor in the same place!!!). The Bald Eagle, symbol of the USA, lives and thrives around the waters
of the Island. We were very privileged to see a young eagle in the nest stretching its wings whilst being watched by a proud parent. These birds were flying around us and taking off from low branches as the mist was covering the tops of the trees. We have again met some wonderful people here including a number of Fogg's relatives who have been so kind to us and have looked after us when we were feeling very tired. Also Mindy, a lively Schnauzer, who finally decided that we were ok and even allowed herself to sit on our laps for a short while! So all from me now; Fogg will relate the story of the bear although it was me who saw it first! I will never poopoo warning
leaflets about wildlife again, you never know what you might meet round the corner.
Fogg here. I would like to amplify what Phileas has said. My cousin Joan and her partner Keith have been wonderful. They have enhanced our trip here through their generosity and time. Phileas has forgotten to mention the wonderful beaches and the trees and driftwood on the sand. Also the shells and sand dollars exposed by the low tide.
Now, the bear. Whilst having a snooze in a remote and empty car park on the road from Tofino to Nanaimo I was woken sharply by Phileas claiming there was a bear in the car park. Without a thought for his personal safety Phileas forced Fogg to retrieve the cameras from the back of the car whilst the bear sauntered past at some distance (yeah right!!) . Hurrying back to
the driver's seat ( the bear having decided to change direction) Phileas and Fogg both armed with only a camera hid and cunningly snapped and filmed whilst the bear, now called Albear, who thankfully totally ignored us. A wonderful moment. So this is a lucky Fogg who escaped by a gnat's whisker from the jaws of a black bear. As my cousin Joan remarked this morning I always seem to have one foot on the stage. Although I may have embellished this slightly this in fact is a true story! This is Fogg wishing you all well.