Canada

CANADA

Visited | Our Home

Canada comes from a St. Lawrence Iroquoian word, kanata, meaning village or settlement. The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of aboriginal people. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled along, the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of additional provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom, highlighted by the Statute of Westminster in 1931, and culminating in the Canada Act in 1982 which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament. A federation comprising ten provinces and three territories, Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. It is a bilingual and multicultural country, with both English and French as official languages at the federal level.



Vancouver
VANCOUVER
Visited | Home Town

Vancouver has so much to offer from a lovely relaxing summer walk along the seawall in magnifacent Stanley Park to an exhilarating winter ski trip to Grouse Mountain. We spend an afternoon shopping at the public market on Granville Island and then take the sea bus to Londsale Quay for lunch. We head to North Vancouver and walk the Capilano Suspension Bridge before smelling the flowers that line Queen Elizabeth Park. See Photos


Victoria
VICTORIA
Visited | 2005/2007

After a short and relaxing ferry ride from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, we drive into the beautiful city of Victoria. The Royal London Wax Museum, an unbelievably realistic view of more than just the royal family, is one of our first stops. We see a wide collection of local marine life at the Pacific Undersea Gardens and then grab a bite at Milestones overlooking Victoria Harbour. We then take a tour of Craigdarroch Castle before heading home. See Photos




toronto
TORONTO
Visited | 2005

Our stay at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Toronto was a short distance to many shops and restaruants. It is also a short walk to the Hockey Hall of Fame, where we took photos with the greatest trophy in sport, the Stanley Cup. We then stroll down to lake Ontario and board the Tall Ship Kajama, a 164' three-masted gaff-rigged schooner for a scenic tour of the city. See Photos




niagara
NIAGARA FALLS
Visited | 2005

As our tour bus arrives to Niagara Falls we see the great falls and the many shops surrounding it. We visit the tourist shops and watch a 4-D movie. We then board the Maid of the Mist and see Niagara Falls up close before having a bite to eat at the Casino. We see the fireworks and lighting show before taking the tour bus back to Toronto. See Photos




A QUOTE TO REMEMBER

St. Augustine | "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page."