We flew into Toronto on Sunday 04 September and rubbed shoulders with Tommy Lee at passport control.... The queue for the taxi was long and a limo driver who had just dropped off a client offered us a lift at $50 the same price as a taxi so off we went to check into our hotel. It was overcast and grey but humid as hell we decided to walk around a bit to orientate ourselves. Unfortunately it was too late to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario, it would have been a bit rushed to try and see it all in 30 minutes, none the less we could admire the architecture of the building with it's funky glass exterior. We strolled through Chinatown and absorbed the exotic smells and sounds wafting from the shops and restaurants before heading downtown to take in the atmosphere on Queen street west where we found a restaurant for a quick bite to eat.

Monday 05 Sep: Another overcast day in Toronto but much cooler then yesterday. It's amazing how the weather can affect your impression of a place, two overcast days and Toronto just seems like another big city. We thought we would leave the CN tower for another hopefully brighter day as we would be back in Toronto for a couple of days at the end of our trip. We took a peak in the Eaton centre for a spot of shopping and spent some time in Yorkville this area has a very cool funky vibe. Museums are closed on a Monday so we had to admire the Royal Ontario Museum from the outside, this building has a very funky jagged glass shaped façade. We had a lovely steak in Baton Rouge and an early night was on the cards as we were leaving for Montreal in the morning.

Tuesday 06 Sep: Perhaps a coach to Montreal was not the best idea as the journey was very long but the scenery was quite pleasant. Following the north shore of Lake Ontario passing endless miles of rolling farmland. This long journey was punctuated with a boat trip in the 1000 Islands resort region. This area is picturesque and takes its name from more than 1000 islands that dot the lake and river along this international waterway, encompassing communities on both sides of the US and Canada border along the St Lawrence river. We arrived in Montreal quite late so we headed straight to old Montreal and had dinner at Mechant Boeuf, Claudia's Tuna was melt in your mouth delicious.

Wednesday 07 Sep: The weather hasn't improved and it's still grey and gloomy at least it wasn't raining. We are now in the region of Quebec and have to get used to a new language and French culture. Gosh even the signs are in French including the STOP sign (Arrête), and good old KFC is PFK (Poulet Frit Kentucky) How funny!

We took the obligatory photo of us posing on the winning podium with the Olympic complex in the back-ground and I'm sure the view from Mount Royal on a clear day is quite spectacular but it was not meant to be today. We took a brief look at the contemporary art gallery which was free as they were in between exhibitions. We then heading down to old Montreal to explore the cobbled streets and old world charm and many galleries. An impulse buy saw me purchasing a painting by Gisele Boulianne it's amazing what retail therapy can do to lift ones spirit. That night we had a fantastic meal at Bonaparte where we sampled the delightful tasting menu and we can highly recommend this restaurant to all the next time you are in Montreal, every course was delectable.

Thursday 08 Sep: Off to Quebec today and yeah the sun has finally come out to play. I was beginning to think we had not actually left good old Blighty! Wow Quebec City is so stunning it's no wonder UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1985. The historic district of Old Québec has the only remaining fortified city walls that still exist in the Americas north of Mexico. Kébec, is an Algonquin word meaning "where the river narrows".

Quebec city is so gorgeous, quaint and packed full of charm. We have travelled a lot and visited many cities and this city ranks up there as one of the best we have ever seen, Quebec City blew us both away. We had a fantastic meal at Le Lapin Saute, where rabbit features on the menu and would have been rude not to sample. The rabbit pie was delicious.

Friday 09 Sep: Today we went on an excursion to Tadoussac to do a whale watching tour on the St. Lawrence River at the mouth of the Saguenay River. We have gone whale watching in the past wherever the opportunity has arisen and have seen whales in South Africa, Ecuador, Boston and New Zealand, but this time it was something special. I know it was the season but also the location - Tadoussac is located on the north-west shore of the Saint Lawrence River, at its confluence with the Saguenay River. The cold, fresh water from the Saguenay and the warmer, salty water of the St. Lawrence, meet to create a rich marine environment. The rivers support an abundance of krill, making the area very attractive to whales. Nothing could prepare us for this spectacle, it was amazing, we saw so many whales (Humpback, Fin whales, Minke, Beluga). Wow it was so fantastic, this young Minke whale was in such a playful mood and kept leaping out of the water it was so cool to see and I also managed to capture it on video, in a 40 second clip this Minke threw himself out of water 4 times, it was awesome. When we were back in Quebec we spent the afternoon drinking in the charming atmosphere of the old town and we had a lovely meal at Bistro Sous le Fort that night.

Saturday 10 Sep: I decided to get up at the crack of dawn to explore Quebec city without the thongs of tourists and I managed to capture some amazing photo's before we made our way to the Capital city - Ottawa. The sun is still shining and it's amazing what a difference that has on not only your mood but also your impression of a city. On route to Ottawa we stopped at the Sucrerie de la Montagne for lunch an authentic sugar shack. Once we arrive in Ottawa we spent the late afternoon walking around the old Parliament buildings before heading to by-ward market area for Sushi at Kinki, if you love Sushi you will love Kinki their fillings in their maki rolls is very creative and simple delicious.

Sunday 11 Sep: Another gorgeous day in Ottawa and time for some culture after missing out on the museums in Toronto. We started off at the museum of civilisation and not only is the architecture of the building very aesthetically pleasing to the eye this is one of Canada's best museums and we spent a couple of hours there before walking across the Alexandra bridge and explored the rest of Ottawa, we walked along the Rideau Canal, ByWard market area and Parliament hill before heading to the national gallery. For dinner we found ourselves back in the lively ByWard market and had a scrumptious steak at the Empire Grill.

Monday 12 Sep: We left Ottawa this morning on route to Midlands. Today we visited Algonquin Provincial Park and walked along some scenic trails before heading to Midlands were we spent one night before the piece de resistance - Niagara Falls, we can't wait.

Tuesday 13 Sep: Today we journeyed to Niagara Falls. Upon arrival we headed out for a thrilling boat ride on the maid of the mist and preceded to get drenched by the mighty power of the falls. We spent the rest of the afternoon taking photo's and drinking in this natural wonder. After Dinner we went to the top of the skylon tower to take in the view of Niagara falls all lit up at night.

Wednesday 14 Sep: Claudia and I both decided to get up to watch the sunrise over the falls as you only get to do this kind of thing once in your lifetime. After breakfast it was time to get a birds eye view of the falls as we we had arranged a helicopter ride over the falls. The perception you get is so different and we love it but it's always over far too quickly. We headed back to Toronto today and that night we went up to the top of the CN tower and had a lovely meal in the revolving restaurant.

Thursday 15 Sep: Woo hoo sunshine on our last day in Toronto, and we made the most of it. Our previous negative impression of the city was quashed. We started off with some last minute retail therapy at The Bay before we heading to the Rogers centre and CN tower for some photo's with a nice blue backdrop. We had a quick Prosecco at the harbour front and drank in the sunshine before heading to the arty distillery district for a spot of lunch at the Mill street Brewery before heading to the airport for our evening flight back to London.