From east to west

Naples-London-Toronto

As usual the first day is always the most tiring; we arrive at Capodichino airport "escorted" by our parents like a child on the first day of school. At 12:20 sharp our BA plane takes off, which will take us to London Gatwick. Obviously the plane to Toronto leaves from Heathrow, so we first have to collect our luggage, then head there with the National Express bus (about 1h and 10 min). Having already checked in for Toronto in Naples, we go to the fast bag drop and off we go; in about 8 hours we're in Toronto. Once in Toronto we go through the scrupulous customs checks (where they check internal flight tickets etc.), make a first stop at lost and found to claim our camera tripod, and then head to our hotel, the Ambler Inn. A small note: in the entire Toronto international airport you won't find an ATM compatible with the VISA circuit, so bring cash at least to pay for the taxi.

Toronto-Niagara Falls

Being able to sleep is truly an arduous task, the time difference really hits you. From our accommodation we take a taxi (25 CAD) to the Kipling metro station and with 5 CAD and 20 minutes we reach Dundas (after changing at Bloor-Yonge), from here just a few metres and we arrive at the bus station where we buy two tickets for NF (92 CAD), the journey made by the excellent Greyhound Canada (we leave at 10:15 and in 1h and 30 min we arrive at our destination; our hotel is on River Road and it's the Days Inn Niagara on the Falls. Since it's too early we still can't access our room, no big deal, we "drop off" our backpacks and via a free shuttle offered by the hotel we reach the stop, that is the casino just near the falls. Needless to say, the town of NF is horrendous, it feels like being in Las Vegas, full of venues with a thousand lights (Clifton Hill).

At a certain point we are overwhelmed by the beauty of the falls, the roar can be heard even from a certain distance... thrilling. There are two falls, the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls (horseshoe-shaped), separated by Goat Island; both falls spray the water in an impressive way, so much so that you feel an incredible humidity. Unfortunately the legendary Maid of the Mist (the boat that goes under the falls) isn't running excursions today, but on the other hand we can go down the path that leads to the boarding point to better admire the falls. Of the two I must say that the most thrilling is definitely the Horseshoe, you can get very close, and right nearby you can go down into a tunnel (Journey Behind the Falls) where you admire the falls from behind!!!! impressive. We spend the rest of the day on a bench in the beautiful park located near the falls.

Around 20:30, as every day, a beam of coloured lights is projected onto the falls, the effect is nice but it clashes with the natural beauty of the falls.

Niagara Falls-Toronto

Today we return to Toronto, again with the Greyhound buses. Obviously we can't go around the city with our backpacks, let alone go to a hotel, so we decide to use the very convenient lockers of the bus station, where for 2 dollars you can leave your stuff for the whole day. We turn the corner and we're at the Eaton Centre with its beautiful square, we head towards the CN Tower walking along Yonge St and Bay St. Along these streets you have the feeling of being in a cosmopolitan city, you see people of all races, you might even happen to come across managers going to work on skates!!!. Before reaching the tower we stop at the Gallery of Inuit Art, where stupendous artefacts produced by the Inuit are displayed, from there we head to the CN Tower, the tallest structure in the world with its 530 metres.

At a cost of 20 CAD, via a lift with glass walls it is possible to go up quickly to the top so as to admire the beautiful skyline of the centre full of skyscrapers. Fairly satisfied with the day we return to the bus station so as to pick up the backpacks and from there to the metro. The usual Kipling stop and then straight to our new hotel, the Stay Inn, very nice. We decide to heed the information sheets that hotels usually leave around and go to eat at the restaurant The Grill located nearby, where they serve very good steaks... I recommend it.

Toronto-Calgary-Banff

This morning we wake up very calmly and go to have breakfast at the usual The Grill, with the shuttle provided by the hotel we head to the airport. At 15:00 we have the flight with the low cost company Westjet (shortly after we discover that our flight has been cancelled, saddened but aware that these things happen we head to the company desk (thinking here we go with the low cost companies...), but after apologising for the inconvenience and having put us on the flight that leaves only two hours later they "fob us off" with two meal vouchers worth 10 CAD each (not bad)... though (moreover returning to Naples I find in the mailbox a letter from Westjet where I am informed that to "make up for" the incident they give us a voucher of 99 CAD for any Westjet flight, not bad either, even though I won't use it I must say the gesture was nice).

Having some time available, we decide to go to BA to see if our tripod has arrived since at the hotel we received nothing (and then you say low cost companies), we discover that it is still in London and that it will arrive in the coming days. Finally we leave for Calgary where we arrive three hours later, the plane is very comfortable, there are televisions for every seat and they offer drinks and snacks for free..... but are you sure it's low cost???. Arrived at the airport we pick up the luggage and head to the desk of the Banff Airporter (where we buy for 118 CAD two tickets for Banff; this bus line operates direct connections between the Calgary airport and the town of Banff in the Rocky Mountains, perhaps the fare is a bit high but it avoids the hassle of reaching the centre and changing buses. Leaving at 20:30 we arrive (tired) at 22:30, our hotel is the Red Carpet Inn.

Banff

Today via the Brewster website ( we booked two nice trips, during breakfast we notice that outside it is snowing heavily, in an instant the streets turn white covering themselves with a candid and soft blanket of snow. At 8:45 the tour titled "all about Banff" begins, they come to pick us up with a small bus, there are five of us (including the guide), we see a series of breathtaking views such as the valley of Tunnel Mountain called sleeping buffalo by the natives because of its characteristic shape, we also visit Lake Minnewanka (spirit of the water), Mount Norquay and as a final stop the Cave and Basin where Banff National Park was born. In the afternoon at 12:45 we have "lake Louise winterland", where obviously we have to reach Lake Louise about 1 hour from Banff. The place is magnificent, there is a very large chalet that frames this marvellous lake... completely frozen.

To get to the lake the guide takes us along a path on the deep snow, obviously it is too soft to walk on and we have to wear the snowshoes provided by Brewster (see photo). Arrived on the lake we can admire this marvel of nature, it is an exceptional spectacle. Before returning we decide to taste a very good cappuccino accompanied by croissants from the chalet's café. Both in the morning and in the afternoon we spotted numerous animals such as deer, elk and Dall sheep. In the evening we stroll through the centre of Banff with its numerous souvenir shops, we have to book the return bus with the Banff Airporter which (as we discover) has no desk in the city and you have to call the toll-free number... no sooner said than done.

Banff-Calgary-Vancouver

Yesterday evening at 11:15 a woman from BA called us telling us that finally the tripod will be in Calgary tomorrow (after six days!!!). Before returning to Calgary today we have to do a nice trip "Johnston Canyon icewalk", incredibly (but not so much given the season) there are only two of us... we can say we have a personal guide. The canyon is quite far from the city (about 45 min) plus we have to take the longer route because the road is closed from 6 to 9 in the morning in order to allow the animals to feed (!!!!!!!!). Arrived at the start of the trail the guide has us put on needle boots, which are over-shoes with steel spikes, they serve to avoid slipping on the ice.

Indeed the narrow path that runs alongside the canyon is all frozen (icewalk), along the way we meet numerous squirrels, after 1 km we arrive at the lower falls, very beautiful, the waterfall flows under a case of ice. After another 2 km we arrive at the upper falls where we stop to drink a hot chocolate, on the way back we realise the actual usefulness of the spikes, as we meet numerous tourists who slip and fall badly on the sheets of ice. At 13:30 the bus comes to pick us up and take us back to Calgary, where after retrieving the tripod (without even a "sorry for the trouble") we set off again, again with a Westjet flight, for Vancouver. Arrived in Vancouver we take a taxi that takes us to our hotel, the Days Inn Vancouver Metro, we drop off our luggage and eat at the very nearby Portuguese place named (I think) A Taste of Portugal...

excellent, especially the bife na pedra, that is a meat cooked on a red-hot stone... exceptional.

Vancouver

To visit the city of Vancouver we head towards the nearest skytrain station, namely: Nanaimo, the stop is Granville (about 4 stops and the ticket costs 2.25 CAD). As soon as we arrive downtown we have breakfast with the usual cappuccino, outside it's raining cats and dogs, we head to Gastown, the old quarter where the steam clock, that is the clock that runs on steam, puts in a fine appearance. Wandering around the city we head to the beautiful (and very large) Stanley Park, even though the weather is awful it is truly pleasant to stroll along the little paths of the park. We visit the Totem Pole where there are some beautiful totems, and the famous aquarium where for the first time in our lives we can admire a beluga... what a nice animal.

Vancouver-Seattle

This morning we leave Canada, a long journey awaits us. We go by taxi (10 CAD) to the coach station, where at 9:30 the bus for Seattle departs (52 CAD for two people), after about 1 hour of travel we arrive at the USA border where there is incredible traffic. We wait two hours before entering, when our turn comes they ask us: who we are, what we do, how many of us there are, where we are going (1 florin... no that was a film), they take the fingerprint of the left index finger, that of the right, they take a digital photo of us and we have to fill in two forms (what a struggle to enter the USA though). After paying 9 US dollars (not CAD so since there is no ATM you need a credit card) our luggage goes through the X-rays...........finally we are in the United States.