The chauffeur is back but has been replaced.  Remember the Greyhound Bus Line ad “Take the bus and leave the driving to us!”?  Well, we took the train (Canada Rail) and left the driving to someone else for only the second day since Sept. 15th, and it was wonderful.  My feet were even asking me if something was wrong since they didn’t have to trod any streets.

Today began early - 5:00 am - so we could catch our early train departure to Toronto. The operators of our B&B in Québec City were wonderfully accomodating so that we could leave early this morning (6:30 am) via taxi to the train station.  We had a basket of croissant and English muffins, butter, a choice of apricot or cherry jelly, orange juice, and fresh oranges, bananas, and apples to accompany our hot chocolate.

Our taxi arrived right on time and off we went to the train station.  Oops, we encountered a blocked roadway on his normal route, so he took a detour and still got us there in less than 15 minutes.  We checked our large bags (but were told we’d have to pick them up at the station in Montréal and then take them on the train with us- odd!), then headed to the ticket window to check in and get our boarding passes (we had reserved seats).  We had plenty of time before departure, so went to the waiting area and just sat back and relaxed.

We boarded the train about 20 minutes prior to departure, and actually left on time.  The route took us south back across the St. Lawrence River into the region where we’d toured several days earlier, so the scenery was familiar.  Since breakfast was so early this morning, we needed a mid-morning snack.  So we each had a couple of pieces of delicious chocolate we bought yesterday afternoon at the Enrico Chocolate Factory in Québec City.  Our train made a few stops along the way but made Montréal on time.

We had only 30 minutes between trains, so Mom got into the line for our Toronto train while I went to the baggage claim area to wait for our two big bags.  That took about 20 minutes, but we had no trouble getting to our next train, locating space for our bags, and finding seats (not reserved on this leg for some reason).

Again, got off right on time.  The weather was pretty cloudy most of the way and it even rained not too far east of Toronto, but we got to see some of the west part of Québec and eastern Ontario provinces.  Not too exciting; mostly agriculture like we’d previously seen, and the architecture style was again like the States.

Lunch today consisted of croissant sandwiches (ham, Swiss cheese, lettuce) that we bought in a bakery/pastry shop yesterday afternoon, “Pringles,” and a soft drink bought from the train beverage cart.

Although our train stopped at a few towns along the way, we arrived in Toronto earlier than projected. We took a taxi to our hotel (Hotel Victoria - under exterior renovation - with lots of scaffolding across the front and over the main entrance.

The drive to the hotel reminded me of any large American city, but especially of my several arrivals in Washington, DC (traffic, pedestrians, congestion).  Our hotel is clean and the room is comfortable, and not too expensive.  We have internet access, cable TV, and a phone, so we’re in heaven for the next two nights.

Dinner tonight was in an English-speaking pub.  We walked about six blocks checking all of the restaurants on a main street near our hotel on both sides of the street as well as those on the side streets.  Then we decided to go back to this pub and try their down-home style cooking pubs are known for.  Mom had a huge pork chop (with bone in) with mashed taters and steamed veggies.  I had Shepherds Pie casserole with the same steamed veggies.  Quite tasty and lots of food, and at a cost half as much as last night’s dinner!

We picked up some local maps and visitor info in the hotel lobby on the way back to our room, so the rest of the evening will be spent planning tomorrow’s activities.