Day Three - Toronto

Woke at about 5am. Body clock still not yet adjusted. Jo was awake too, so we watched a bit of telly. 25 channels of fitness, news, weather and religious programmes! We decided to try elsewhere for breakfast, as the hotel was a bit expensive. We walked for bloody miles - or so it seemed, but ended up having a good breakfast at a reasonable price.

Back to the room, dress for the colder weather that has descended - it's a bit nippy - and then board a bus for a city tour. The tour was very good. Our driver was a chap called Alex, who also doubled as the guide. As he drove, he regaled us with the history of the buildings we were passing. He did it in a likeable, easy to understand manner, with plenty of humour, which made it most enjoyable. As we passed the big HMV store on Yonge St (longest street in the world according to Alex – and who am I to doubt him?) he starts to tell an interesting anecdote about the store, but falters when he can't remember the name of the dog. "Nipper", I call out from my seat at the back. He can't hear me though. “NIPPER!” I shout out a bit louder. Still he can’t hear me and the story is lost. We alighted down by the harbour area. As we got off the bus, I scribbled “nipper” onto a piece of paper and handed it to him along with a $5 tip. I’m not sure which he was more grateful for. There was nothing too exciting down by the harbour unfortunately, but the sun came out and it was a glorious afternoon, so we decided to have another go at the CN Tower. The queue was much smaller than yesterday, so we bought a couple of tickets and went in. The lift actually goes up on the inside, but there is a good view of outside thanks to a large vertical window that runs the full length of the tower. The view as we quickly ascend is brilliant but certainly not for the vertiginous. Jo clung on to me as we rose, scarcely able to look. When we reached the top I headed straight for the famous glass floor and attempted to take a picture of my feet standing atop it. Jo stood in the corner, well away. It’s quite a view looking down past your feet, and the glass was obviously safe (we were told it could take the weight of 14 hippos) but I couldn’t tempt Jo to come and stand on it with me.

We had a bite to eat and drink in the ‘360°Restaurant’ and watched the ant-sized vehicles pass by below. Immensely long cargo trains passed by below and we marvelled at their length; trying to count the number of carriages, but losing count after about 30 or so! After looking through the gift shops etc at the base of the tower, we headed back to the hotel. It was late afternoon and we were pooped, so we decided to have a short nap. 2hrs later we awoke to the sound of the alarm clock. Fortunately I had had the presence of mind to set it; else I am sure we would have slept on until the following morning. We showered and dressed for dinner and then caught a subway train uptown and went to the Elephant and Castle, a British pub, for dinner. Jo had a full monty roast, whilst I went for a curry in the hope it might provoke some action in the bowel department! That’s the trouble with long-haul: it completely knocks my rhythms out! The food was good and afterward we headed back toward the hotel, but stopped off for a drink at the sports bar we had visited on our first night. Again, we played pool. Again, Jo thrashed the pants off me!