Chirstmas evening with my DIGI SLR

Hope to click better once i get used to the controls of the camera..

No Stories.. Just snaps

1750 Kilometers in 39 Hours. Montreal To Niagra falls with a stop over in Toronto

If someone asks me the direction to Toronto from Montreal, I would say, go straight on 720, head straight, and you would reach Toronto in approx 6 hours. Huh, that’s what we did starting Saturday morning 8.30 AM. We were an hour late from our scheduled pre-decided & agreed time, but it wasn’t that bad considering that there were 10 Indians on the trip to Toronto/ Niagara.

Little I had an idea what it would be to maneuver the steering wheel of GMC’s Envoy for 1750 kilometers in the next 38 hours. Huh!! Ya I did it and did it pretty neat without dozing off for a single moment while on the wheels.

Proving the dynamism in us Indians we changed our plans to cover Niagara Falls on Saturday itself, instead of taking a break at Toronto.

8 hours of driving amidst the fall colours and on the shores of Lake Ontario, we reached Niagara Falls at 4.30 PM. Awed, open mouthed and silent.. that was the expression of each of us on the first sight of Niagara from within our car.

Rainbow bridge- connecting US to Canada

Observing dusk take over at the falls, we took the ride to the “journey behind the falls”. YA… they take you behind the waterfall..

it’s a cave behind the horseshoe waterfalls, with two openings to hear and see the water thundering down and a lookout point, rendering a implausible view of the horseshoe.

Have you ever seen a rainbow in the night??? We spotted one. Take a closer look above.

Niagara in the night all lighted up, is a breathtaking sight.

Day ended and we headed back to Toronto to spend the night mesmerized by the Niagara Falls.

Sunday morning… change in plans.. instead of heading towards Niagara, we headed towards the CN tower in downtown Toronto. CN towers, the tallest manmade structure on Earth. It truly is a piece of marvel and something to make Canadians proud about.

Morning un reflected elegantly on the downtown sky-scrapers .. yes sky- scrapers, but all of them were overshadowed by the height of the CN tower.

Up on the tower at the highest man made observatory on Earth, Toronto looked astonishing bathed in the morning sunlight. The sun rose up in glory on the Ontario lake casting shadows of Down town Toronto on the city.

But the most impressive of the lot was the shadow of CN tower which would have measured a couple of kilometers.

Posing on the Glass roof atop CN Tower, in different poses.. i managed to get a funny one..

The clock struck 12 and we headed towards Niagara.. another hour of drive and we were at the Niagara Falls again.

Our days agenda was fixed.. a ride on the maid of the mist. Wrapped around in blue shower coats we boarded the maid and the experience cannot be explained.

My mom told me that there is a treasure at the place where the rainbow starts.. I found it..

Three rainbows.. one of them is man made

Started back from the Niagara Falls at 5 PM towards Montreal. A couple of breaks on our way to serve our biological needs and to grab a munch and were in Montreal at 1 AM.

Dead tired the next day was spent dozing off.. ... (that's the reason of a day's delay in this post).

Amidst Mist on Laurentians

It was yet again Dominic guiding us around the landscapes of the Laurentian Mountains. The weather forecast warned us of a bad day ahead, but the warning was not to deter the spirits of 13 Indians determined to explore the Autumn colours of Canada on the heights and valleys of the Laurentian Mountains.

It was misty with a light drizzle to start our journey. The meandering roads, light showers and the mist on the hilly terrain of Laurentians, reminded me of my golden days at school in Mount Abu; it was nostalgia for me. The colours of the fall season began to show up as we drove along, amidst the mist. It was like brush strokes gliding onto a canvas, glowing with autumn colours, dotting the horizon with reds and oranges against a misty blue sky.

A few stops on our drive to

spot a remarkable lake jetty

To feel and smell the colours of fall

At a silent waterfall where a couple was celebrating their 40^th wedding anniversary all by themselves. May be it was the place where they met for the first time!!!

Final stop was at Mount Tremblant (pronounced as MO TREBLA in French); the highest peak on the range. The village here was like a town I used to imagine while reading the Fairy Tales during my formative years. The village’s edifice is coloured in blue/red/yellow/orange, perfectly complementing the colours borne by nature. (Surprisingly the property rates at a small village here are more expensive than the prime area at Downtown Montreal!!!!!)

A late afternoon beer followed by Italian lunch gave us enough fuel to last for the entire day. A ride up on the ropeway, adventure trail down the hill on a bike, followed by jumping around the place with all the youthful energy marked rest of our day. It was tough, returning back to the city with colourful memories and memories to cherish.

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