Moving on from Montreal

After a great 3 weeks in Montreal it was time to move on - so we did a big tidy and pack then started heading west.

First stop was the Upper Canada museum - a very impressive recreation of an 1860's village with many original buildings. For instance, here's a water powered cotton mill:

Then we went to Fort Henry in Kingston - also stuck in the 1860's, where Zoe visited a Victorian schoolroom and learned to be a soldier.

Then we arrived in Toronto to stay with our friends (Luciana, Warren, Martha and Liliana). The 3 girls bonded immediately and had great fun playing together.  We visited a local eco fair where there was a chance for a close encounter with several animals:

Which one's more scary; the tiger or the snake?

We went into the city for one day of Toronto Sightseeing - including the once record-breaking CN tower (which we got close to but not up)

 Unfortunately most of the city seemed to be a building site so I can't say it made a great impression.

More impressive was dinner with our friends - cooked in their very own wood fired pizza oven!

Then we set off for Niagara falls. The town itself is full of the kind of tat that would make Las Vegas slightly embarrassed. But the falls themselves are magnificent:

That little speck almost under the falls is the Maid of the Mist. Despite the fact that you get completely soaked it's an amazing experience - one we had to try:

Sure enough - we got very very wet:

That was it for central Canada - next stop the Pacific Coast!