Tuesday 31st August

Holiday is almost over L

The incoming flight was late so it was clear we couldn’t make our 6.10 boarding time.  The Canadian practice of telling you well in advance which gate you’ll be at works really well – saves a last minute dash to the other end of the airport and you can see your plane arrive and get prepared.

Anyway, we take off 30 minutes late, see the sun set over Toronto and head off into the night sky.  We have the same seats as we did going, with plenty of leg room for all, but especially for me.  The films are Nanny MacPhee and the Big Bang and Valentine’s Day.  I watch the first and try to sleep through the second (without success).  The rest of the family watch them both.  I don’t think anyone sleeps on the flight.

Ellie is sitting next to an elderly lady and is soon chatting away about our holiday, Jack’s arm and (obviously) Alfie!

So at 6.50 am on Tuesday 31^st August, we touch down at Gatwick, tired, sad the holiday is over, but glad to be nearly home.  The flight was good, apart from no one sleeping.  We quickly clear customs and an hour later are on our way home, looking forward to picking up Alfie later in the day.

So have we enjoyed ourselves?  I think this is a definite “Yes!!!!!!!!”  Ellie started the ball rolling with a conversation over tea on Saturday about what we liked about Canada.

So the things we like about Canada:

1                     The people are so friendly – this we all agreed on

2                     The weather was brilliant – warm even when it wasn’t sunny – and we had great weather for our first day at the cottage and in Ottawa

3                     You can turn right on  a red light – one of the better things about Canada’s highway code

4                     Every restaurant gives you a glass of water at the start of a meal – at no charge and without asking.  A great tradition.

5                     The water in lakes and rivers is lovely and clean (and warm!)

6                     The wildlife – we saw chipmonks, exotic birds, racoons (in Ken’s garden!) and all colours of squirrels.

OK – so there are some negatives (or differences), which you need to be aware of:

1                     Lemonade isn’t fizzy – if you want that, you’ll need to ask for Sprite.  On the plus side, the lemonade is really lemony!

2                     The licensing laws are a bit archaic – not being able to buy beer and wine at a supermarket takes a lot of getting used to!

3                     On Canadian TV, they warn you before most programmes if there is mature content – including on comedy programmes like 2 ½ Men – and then repeat the warning after each ad break!

4                     We had a problem (well Jack did) with the high curbs in Canada

5                     Ellie also wrote down that the wild bears were a negative, but I’m not sure whether that’s because we didn’t see any!

Overall, though, we love Canada, the scenery, the scale of the place and the fantastic people.