Having updated you our trusty followers for two and a half hours, our numb bums meant we had to get up and do something!! Having checked the A and F website to see if the Shirts that the staff were wearing yesterday were new stock Kate discovered they were sale stock....the girl she asked yesterday must have been naturally blonde or she was just thick!! So we returned to the shopping mall to A and F and were both successful in a purchase....much better than yesterday on all fronts...still a bit overcrowded though.
Following Chris' McDonald's Fix and Kate getting extremely peeved with a beggar outside the shopping centre we went off to explore the rest of the mall. Time was fast approaching 6pm still four hours until the train departs 3 hours before we had to check-in but running out of options to do we headed back to the hotel a few little gems we found in the lobby of the most British of hotels!!
Some Army Flag (guess who is writing??!!)
The Isandlwana battle (Zulu!!!)
The Lobby...
And the Union flag decorated ceiling!!!
We collected and checked bags at the station, still 2 and a half hour until check in; of course we were forgetting...sleeper car equals 1st class, which equals 1st class lounge with freebies, TV and Internet!!! Having eaten a very unsatisfactory chicken sandwich Kate wished she had just had a McDonald's and ended up getting a Caramel sundae to satisfy her cravings!!!
Following dinner we entered the Panorama Lounge (1st class) the golf was on...woohoo...no interest to Chris of course but i was hooked...need golf fix now....cramming as much as possible!! Mclroy leading, Woods and Westwood chasing, Mickleson having a bad day and Harrington an even worse one!! The new st Andrews course was doing well!!!!
We eventually boarded out VIA Rail train, the dorm was lush, so much nicer than the Amtrak which was nice, the cabin attendant introduced himself however...joking I hope (but it seemed not) he assumed Mother and Son.....how old does he think I am or how young is Chris...or or or???? I don't get it everyone else worked out Brother and sister.
Oh my God it was freakin' funny though (yes the author of the blog has changed :-)) the attendant, suitably buried at the railway siding in a place where he would never be found, and if he was it could be blamed on a Grizzly Bear (oh such violence with which he was torn apart!!!) we set off in our little cabin which would be our home for the next 4 days. night night.
the next morning we awoke early... it's weird the sensation of being gently rocked from side to side is very relaxing when you are drifting off to sleep, yet when you are already asleep nothing wakes you up faster (short of a ferret up a trouser leg). on opening our blind we discovered the Canada that you see on postcards and documentaries...
such scenery continued for many many hours to a point where lake, forest, lake, forest became a bit tedious NATURE!!!! IT'S EVERYWHERE!!!! AHHHHHHH! Except Moose, Wolves and Bears, obviously all in Swindon filming David Attenbrough's latest documentary 'Pissing off tourists on a train'
We ventured up to the Skycar, raised carriages on the train where you can sit above the rushing treeline and see the trees and lakes a little bit better......eh! plus its fun, like you're actually driving... the carriage we were in was like the one just rounding the corner with the windows...
we then saw some open fields and a lake or river.... I'm not sure we've seen so many...it hurts
a brief pause while we waited for a freight train to pass. On the single track lines in North America the Freighters rule the railways, passenger liners have to wait for them and they are long...(jumping ahead a little) on our final night we were waiting for over an hour for a freighter to pass, when it finally got to us it took over twenty minutes to pass, it must have been over two miles long... it was freakin' huge!!! whilst waiting Chris took the opportunity to get his Homo phase out of the way by taking a picture of these gorgeous flowers beside the train track, ohhhhh so pretty...
Lake!!!!! did you see that lake???
Quick another one!!!! Kate why do you keep taking these photos???
A little further on from lake number 1'400'000'000 etc!! we passed the Canadians' sister train The Canadian No.2 taking the return journey en route to Toronto (haha gutted!!)
Despite eating really well on our journey so far (burger, chicken, beef ribs to name but a few) Chris couldn't help but eat his mahoosive (massive dad!) bag of Chips (Crisps dad!!) It is almost bigger than he is!!!
He then proceeded to complete his application to model for LAYs Chips!!
Suitably fed (in Kate's Case) and Stuffed (Chris!!) We sat and enjoyed DVD of our favorite CSI:NY Episode Snow Day
But that wasn't before we managed to collect some lovely photos of another lake!!!
And a sunset of sorts!!! It was to cloudy too get anything else!!
The Next morning we were to arrive in Winnipeg here we would stop for 4 hours. Not a problem but on arrival it rained and rained, until just as we stepped foot outside.....that is respect!!!
And a sunset of sorts!!! It was to cloudy too get anything else!!
The Next morning we were to arrive in Winnipeg here we would stop for 4 hours. Not a problem but on arrival it rained and rained, until just as we stepped foot outside.....that is respect!!!
We had a Starbucks, both of us that is Chris has found a drink he likes!! Caught up on emails and that is when we started this blog!!! We took a walk down to the Forks market an attraction here..... shops didn't open until 10....it was 9.15!! We walked down to the river to see why it is called the folks, to rivers join each other here?!! And we met some of the locals...
Can you spot this one??!!
We next found the local, Winnipeg
provincial, Manitoba
The Forks market was very nice, early in the morning on a Saturday, most people weren't up yet so it was nice and quiet...no kids!!! just the right combination of produce stalls, bread, fruit and fish etc... and gift and souvenir stalls, tat, junk and useless pieces of crap that you would never buy in a million years at home but, on holiday you conclude you couldn't possibly live without
with our train soon to depart and blogs to be finished we retired to the railway station first pausing to take a photograph of it... did you know that it was designed by the same man who designed Grand Central Station in NYC...I didn't know or care but Kate was taking an interest in History so Yay!!!!
The adventures of Mongo and the Boy written and experienced by
provincial, Manitoba
and National, Canadian, crests
We also discovered how a very famous bear got his name, sit back and enjoy the story...
During World War 1 a young Lieutenant in the Canadian Army was on his way to London from Canada. Outside a train station he saw a bear cub for sale, distressed at the suffering the little cub seemed to be in (in his capacity as an Army Veterinarian) he bought the it, named him Winnipeg, after his home town, and took him with him to London. Though it had been intended for Winnipeg to return to Canada and take up residence in the Zoo in Winnipeg, as the War worsened it became impractical to waste space on a transport ship on a bear, space that could be more easily used on supplies or troops needed for the war effort. As a result Winnipeg took up residence at London Zoo, where he was spotted by A.A. Milne who was so inspired by the Bear's story that he named one of his story book characters after him... thus Winnie the Pooh was born....sweet isn't it
The Forks market was very nice, early in the morning on a Saturday, most people weren't up yet so it was nice and quiet...no kids!!! just the right combination of produce stalls, bread, fruit and fish etc... and gift and souvenir stalls, tat, junk and useless pieces of crap that you would never buy in a million years at home but, on holiday you conclude you couldn't possibly live without
with our train soon to depart and blogs to be finished we retired to the railway station first pausing to take a photograph of it... did you know that it was designed by the same man who designed Grand Central Station in NYC...I didn't know or care but Kate was taking an interest in History so Yay!!!!
The adventures of Mongo and the Boy written and experienced by
Kate 'Who're you calling mother!!!!' Davies
and
Chris 'TREE!!!!!!!....LAKE!!!!!' Davies
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