Thursday 28 August - Ottawa to London to York

Our trip started the day before. OC Transpo route 97 was completely out of sync. First there came two short turn trips to South Keys. Then two Airport buses came along 2 minutes apart. The bus was uncomfortable and there is no provision for cases. The second one overtook us  of course. Ottawa Airport was dead in the evening. Everything shut down as there are few flights out. The Air Canada flight to Heathfrow, although full, was great. The babies all slept and we arrived 20 minutes early. The refurbished Terminal 2 is great. Light and airy and the crowd movement has been well thought out. The corridors are wide and there is a lot of room around the baggage carousels so that everyone can look for their bags without blocking anyone else. Immigration was very quick. We only had to wait six minutes for the Heathrow Express - I had bought our tickets in advance on line.  There was quite a bit of activity in Acton Aggregate Terminal and I saw a preserved Warship diesel hydraulic in maroon at Old Oak Common. I went to the back of the train at the Airport so that we got out right at the steps for the Hammersmith and City Line. Our Oyster cards gave us access and we were in one of the new trains which are quiet and comfortable. The net result of all this is that we arrived at Kings Cross with 1 hour and 40 minutes to spare before our 1300 train to York.  We had an excellent meal at the Parcels Office and I had a Fullers London Pride - by far my favorite bitter beer. Kings Cross is the only station I know that has a platform 0 and our train left from here. It was punctual but the ride was very lively at times and quite unpleasant over pointwork. Sadly the beautiful curved York train shed is filthy with diesel fumes. The beautiful cast iron scroll work with railway company crests was painted in many colors at one time. It has been allowed to deteriorate just like at Paddington.

At York there was time visit the bus and train information offices and to get an unlimited sim card for Mary's iPhone (I had already bought mine at Heathrow) before getting to our 1530 appointment at the apartment on the Shambles. The timetables for the various bus companies were readily available. However the railway companies seen to have difficulty in producing timetables jointly. The lady seemed horrified that I wanted to get to Whitby via Middlesborough and even worse that I had thought of coming back via Pickering and bus from there.

Just across the street from the apartment

The apartment is excellent. Well furnished and well located above an art shop and close to everything. There is an enormous Marks and Spencer with a food hall right next door. We bought some staples and then went for a drink at the Red Lion. I had a pint of EPA which was quite good but a little tame compared to London Pride.

Modified gas lamp on the wall across from our window in the Shambles,

Tuesday 19 August - Return to Ottawa

Rimouski had a serious fire which gutted the whole of the downtown area. Unfortunately the town was rebuilt in the form of a gigantic parking lot into which buildings, such as hotels, were sprinkled. To make it worse, a divided highway was built along the pleasant river front to cut off the water from the town. A board walk was constructed from which pedestrians, having braved the traffic, can admire the river on one side and the traffic on the other. A good example of a lack of town planning - shades of Seattle.
We left the hotel after a good, well organized, buffet breakfast. It was a little misty but the sun quickly burnt off the fog and we had good weather.
We spent the entire day on the road apart from a stop at St-Jean-Port-Joli, Drummondville for lunch and Hudson.

St-Jean-Port-Joli

The church at St-Jean-Port-Joli was attractive although the garish red roof did it no favors

An interesting visit to the Gaspe but a lot of traveling.  Travac Tours came up to their usual high standard to give us the opportunity to see as much as possible.
Click here to see all pictures taken on this trip 

Monday 18 August - Reford Gardens and Rimouski

The weather really closed in as we left the hotel and the morning was spent in rain, heavy at times, and with dense fog patches. The ride through Gaspe and along the coast was not very pleasant because of the weather. Lunch was at a greasy spoon in Ste. Anne des Monts where service was slow but it had Murphy's stout. The sun came out and we had a pleasant ride along the northern Gaspe coast to Reford Gardens. Although they have a micro climate this only brings them equivalent to Montreal. The gardens were great and our guide was able to fill in the historical details. The area along the stream was the most interesting so far as I was concerned.
Reford Garden Web Site

 Click here to see all pictures taken at Reford Gardens
We stopped briefly at Pointe-au-Pere where a museum commemorates the sinking of the Empress of Ireland.

We watched this heron catch and gulp down a fish at Pointe-au-Pere

The hotel was good but the restaurant service was abominable.
Click here to see all pictures taken at Reford Gardens

Click here to see all pictures taken on this trip 

Sunday 17 August - Perce

Today started out fine but the cloud closed in during breakfast and there was heavy rain and poor visibility on the way to the dock. There was a possibility that the boat would be cancelled but they decided to go despite the poor visibility.

The boat took us first to the rock.  Two types of cormorant live here, one high up and the other lower down. The top ones were silhouetted against the sky.

We went around Bonaventure Island to see the gannets nesting in the rock strata. It seems there are some 200,000 in this colony. They are really graceful as they glide through the air. There were two seals in the water just off shore. Apart from gannets, there were many other sea birds, gulls, kittiwakes and a few shore waders etc.

 We landed on the island where the Parks Canada Manager, Carol, gave an excellent, humorous, presentation on the Gannet and how Parks Canada manages this park.
By this time the weather had improved considerably and we decided to walk across to see the gannet colony. The walk took 45 minutes starting up a fairly steep climb through thick forest with some burnt areas and several streams. The colony was amazing. The birds are very close together and the noise was very loud. It stank a bit. We could get very close.  Many of the chicks seem to have been abandoned. Several birds were fighting, in some cases to the death.

 Click here for video of the gannet colony

By this time the sun had come out and the return walk, although mainly downhill, was quite hot. We saw a fox walking in the undergrowth.

The boat back was uneventful but pleasant in good sun.

I am sure everyone took too many pictures of this famous rock but it is impressive

We had a drink in the pub, a heavily hopped IPA was excellent, and then went on a short tour of Perce.

Dinner this evening was at an excellent fish restaurant with scallops. Walking back we enjoyed watching the gannets diving into the water in a feeding frenzy very close to shore.

Click here to see all pictures taken along the Baie des Chaleurs, Perce and Bonaventure Island

Click here to see all pictures taken on this trip

Saturday 16 August - Riviere du Loup

Most of the day was spent in the bus. Through Rimouski and along the Matapedia valley the weather was socked in and the rain was heavy at times. Dense forest. There were several fishermen in canoes.

Lunch was at a tearoom in the Cascapedia Museum. Service was unprofessional but the soup and sandwich was fine.

The weather improved in the afternoon and was had a pleasant drive along the Baie des Chaleurs. There was a brief interval when we wandered along the beach.

There was a great view of the Perce rock from the room.

Dinner at the hotel was the Seafood Platter. Salmon, cod, scallops, shrimp, lobster - topped off with a bottle of Seine et Marne.

Click here to see all pictures taken on this trip

Friday 15 August- Gaspe trip, Ottawa to Riviere du Loup

We were up very early this morning and Steve very kindly drove us to Westgate Shopping Centre.  Check in with our Travac Guide, Margueruite was quick, efficient and very friendly.  There was a detour to Rockland to change buses because of a washroom malfunction. Weather was grey and threatening with many showers.  Washroom stop at Hudson.
The weather seemed to improve as we moved east and we were treated to an impromptu tour of Quebec City. There are great views over the river and the Plains of Abraham were well manicured. There is practically no garbage as it is well policed by Parks Canada.
The railway bridge across the St. Lawrence is particularly impressive. It fell twice during construction.
Lunch in Levis was a disaster. We ordered half a chicken which turned out to be half a white bread chicken sandwich covered in a thick gravy which you could pick up with a fork. It quickly turned into a brown gelatinous mess. Very unappetizing and quite disgusting.

The ride along the south shore this afternoon was excellent
The clouds had lifted somewhat and part of the run was along the Route des Navigateurs with pleasant, well maintained, houses. We saw old ovens used to bake bread sold at the roadside and there were some weavings and model boats for sale. This was accompanied by Beethoven's 8th and 9th symphonies (Karajan).
We were given a good reception at the hotel in Riviere du Loup and had a good meal in the restaurant. 

There is a pleasant walk along the river with good views across to the north shore.

Click here to see all pictures taken on this trip

Monday 12 May - The Arboretum, Dows Lake and the Tulips

This weekend has seen the first good weather of the year and we decided to take the OTrain to Carleton and walk through the Arboretum to view the tulips on Dows Lake.  The long winter and late spring has put everything back by at least a week and many trees had not fully budded out.

There was just one solitary duck watching the tree climbing turtle.  Maybe the rest of the ducks were busy in their nests

Only  one or two trees were in bloom - we will need to go back in a couple of weeks.

The redwing blackbirds were looking for mates while the robins and swallows were feeding their young

 

 

The tulips were spectacular as usual but I have so many other pictures that I didn't bother to take many.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/colinchurcher/sets/72157606946131873/

We walked into Chinatown and had a good dim sum at the Yangtze then walked home to the Byward Market.  Good exercise on a warm pleasant day.