The time has been slipping by and I suddenly realised I had this half written post about my jaunt up the CN Tower and my visit to Toronto Island. On the second attempt we we made it up the Tower. The first day we tried but by the time we had driven into the city visibility was so poor we realised it was a no go. We had a drive around with my friend showing us some of the landmarks such as the Parliament Building. We saw the designer shops on Bloor Street and drove down Yonge Street which is the city's longest street. Here we saw the famous Sam Sam sign which was saved from being sold and is now a Heritage sign

and we decided to do a little shopping in the Eaton Centre which was fun. I was pleased to find an Abercrombie and Fitch, albeit a very small outlet but I was then disappointed that they did not have a children's section. Although I was assured they planned to open one next year. When the guy realised I was from England we then had a long conversation about the time he had spent in London.

The CN Tower is very impressive and I'm sure that on a clear day the views are spectacular. However, visibility was still not that brilliant when we went back for our second attempt, but we couldn't put if off any longer as time was running out. My photos are therefore not that good.
You will see that I did stand on the glass floor (my head has been chopped in the collage), I really did feel jittery about it but I was determinded to it (my friends did not join me) and I even took a photo looking down. Not bad for someone who really doesn't like heights!! One of the guides was jumping up and down to show just how safe it was and that's when I beat a hasty retreat!

The trip over to the islands was perfect. The weather on that day (last full day before returning home) was very sunny, so perfect. The short ferry ride took us to over to Central Island. We decided to hire a bike and see a bit of the island (hard work but fun), seeing us three trundling around certainly amused some of the children who were yelling to their parents 'look at those old grannies'. My friend who is the same age as my daughter was not amused!! There are a lot of unusual sculptures dotted around and the river and the gardens are very pretty. There were not many people sitting on the sandy shore and it was very peaceful just enjoying the view across the lake.
My first taste of Canada has certainly made me realise I would like to see a lot more of the country and we have been invited back so who knows I may yet get to Vancouver and I do fancy seeing the Rockies so I'd better get saving!
Labels: bike, Canada, CN tower