Saturday, September 5, 2020

Mosaic Monday #95: 2013 Weekend Getaway

The reason for this trip has long faded from my memory, but my old paper travel journal tells me that Spousal Unit and I were in Toronto and Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL) from September 14 - 16, 2013.  Maybe we just needed a short getaway from the environs of Cleveland, Ohio, our home at the time.

My notes don't say where we stayed in Toronto, but clearly we had a front-row view of CN Tower.  A 1,815-foot high concrete communications and observation tower, it was completed in 1976.  Its name "CN" originally referred to Canadian National, the railway company that built the tower.

In those days, I was not meticulous about taking photos; the only record of our walking tour of downtown is the metal lawn art and this clever advertisement for a news channel.  According to the journal, we took advantage of the Toronto live music scene.  Downtown was also hopping since it was the last weekend of the Toronto Film Festival - I remember we were keeping our eyes peeled for famous people! (but we didn't see any!)

The next day, we drove south to NOTL and checked into the BranCliff Inn Bed and Breakfast, a beautifully restored building that had formerly been the school for NOTL for many years.  My notes show that we had dinner and drinks just down the block from the B&B in a gorgeous Irish pub, and then followed a self-guided walking tour the following day.   Regrettably, I have no pictures of the pub and only a few shots of quaint NOTL.




NOTL is a town in southern Ontario that sits on the shores of Lake Ontario, at the mouth of the Niagara River.  It's known for its wineries and the summer Shaw Festival, a series of theatre productions.  The flower-filled, tree-lined old town features 19th-century buildings, mainly along Queen Street.  An ideal location for romantics everywhere! 

*Short post this week since I just returned from a three-day hiking/camping trip.  If you need more reading material, check out these other posts that have been drawn from my travel journal: BelizeVirgin GordaRoad Trip, and Grand Cayman.

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.
Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Tuesday (U.S. Mountain time). 
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog. 
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back. 
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by. 
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully. 
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

33 comments:

  1. Niagara is such a pretty area, our Dad used to go there frequently when he was fishing on the Great Lakes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Niagara? Wow. Just thinking on Marylin Monroe and Joseph Cotton, a fantastic film I loved. A dramatic scene with seeing the falls.
    The old buildings in town are lovely.

    Stay healthy and well.

    Happy MosaicMonday

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a cool trip. I love that truck crashing out of the building! I'll be back to link up tomorrow. Enjoy what's left of the weekend and thanks for hosting :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I do love walking tours and taking photos. I love the window that is just beautiful craftmanship.
    Dawn aka Spatulas On Parade

    ReplyDelete
  5. ...Niagara on the Lake is a fabulous place to spend the day. Too bad that it's off limits for Americans this year.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I often think that I should have kept a travel journal, I guess blogging about our trips is the next best thing with the added benefit of armchair travel!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I and my daughter visited Toronto about 25 years ago. We wanted to go up in the tower but it was closed due to heavy fog. There was no view to see :( . But we were able to see "The phantom of the Opera" the same night.
    I hope you had a great hike. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Those are familiar photos! My son performed at NOTL. We visited. He met his now wife, as she worked in Stratford. They now live in Vancouver. We haven't been back to NOTL since. Thanks for the good memories.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I made multiple visits to Canada over the years but I never had the opportunity to visit Toronto. My husband had multiple business trips here, however, and enjoyed the city. You certainly had a wonderful view from your hotel of the city! Isn't it great that blogging makes us take more photos and keep a record of what we see? It has been so enriching that way.

    ReplyDelete
  10. We were at Niagara on the Lake in 1976ish. No travel journal so memories are minimal. I do remember it was a charming spot. We drove from Detroit area. Sounds like you've enjoyed the warm weather hiking. Happy Labor Day to you!

    ReplyDelete
  11. That looks like it was a great getaway. Oh I remember the days when staying in Hotels and B&Bs was a wonderful travel adventure rather than something to worry about. I hope those days return! Toronto has been on our travel wish list along with much of the rest of Canada (being from the PNW, we are quite familiar with BC and have spent some time in Alberta, and in The Yukon but that’s leaves a whole lot of beautiful country I wish we’d been able to explore. Thanks for sharing your visit ... and for hosting.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I take copious notes when we travel. I have notebooks dating way back. It is good to be able to look back on them to clarify things that have slipped our memory. If we are having a "discussion"I have my notes to refer back to. My photos too are great triggers. Stay safe, safe travels and thank you again for the link up.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hello, Angie
    What a great getaway! Beautiful views of Toronto and Niagara on the Lake! I love the old buildings. Keeping a travel journal is a great idea, your photos are wonderful too. Thanks for hosting Mosaic Monday. Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy new week!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm glad you had a good hiking trip! Fun to see these travel photos! Enjoy your day...get some rest!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Lovely shots, Angie. We still remember with fondness our trip across Canada and the beautiful scenery there.

    ReplyDelete
  16. PS: Thanks for hosting, Angie. Stay safe and well.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Happy Labor Day to you! Seems like many cities are wise enough to cultivate their “old town” portions and sometimes they turn out to be the most interesting of places. Although I’ve been to Ontario, I’ve never managed to get to Niagara-on-the-Lake, although it looks to be full of charm.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Happy Monday. To those celebrating - A Happy Labour Day

    Stay Safe

    Much💝love

    ReplyDelete
  19. I've not spent much time in Ontario and Niagara on the Lake sounds like a lovely spot for a little getaway. Your three-day camping trips also sounds like fun and perhaps we'll hear more about that soon.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks for sharing these lovely photographs.
    Your camping trip sounds fun too.

    Have a good week.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  21. Isn't it fabulous we have journals and blogs to refresh our memories of past trips and occasions. Niagara on the River looks like a beautiful place. Oh my.....that building!! I must say love the photo of the news advertisement....so clever! I always smile at your adventures, Angie. I always I feel as if you take me on the journey with you. So, so much of the world I have experienced through your eyes....thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Interesting post. Love that stained glass window!

    ReplyDelete
  23. How lovely to go back and relive and old trip. I am so keen to get to Toronto one day, my son did a school exchange there when he was 16 and I have never been to Canada. It looks fabulous, love the crazy fun cars in walls and the beautiful planting. thank you for hosting.
    Wren x

    ReplyDelete
  24. No surprise: we had a weekend road trip too. We also enjoyed some pie that was almost as delicious as your previous post. Five layer chocolate.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Always wonderful to take a trip, especially to TO and NOTL. I say that with heart and also because Ontario happens to be where I live.
    The Inn you stayed at looks so lovely. In future, I will look for it.
    A lovely post, Angie.
    Enjoy the day...

    ReplyDelete
  26. Wow, that car coming through the wall, beyond belief. Great pictures

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi Angie. My only mempory of Toronto is a mad dash from the airport to Grand Central Station to then catch a train to Long Point Bird Obs. The second time I at least got to see NOTL and the famous and spectacular falls. More impressive than Toronto through a taxi window.

    ReplyDelete
  28. First time here and you are posting my city!
    Late to the party with my mosaic https://junkboattravels.blogspot.com/2020/09/signs-2_61.html
    Your hotel might have been the Intercontinental on Front St.
    The car is the wall is at CITY-TV at Queen and John St.
    The metal sculptures were likely at Kensington Market.
    I've seen a few famous people at TIFF but not many,
    NOTL is a great place to visit and the pub might have been The Irish Harp.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Beautiful photos from your wonderful trip ~ and what a great place too.

    Live each moment with love,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Great pictures, Angie. I love the stained glass window, it's pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Niagara On The Lake is one of the treasures of my country.

    That truck in the wall had been there for years. I'm not sure if it's still there, as the station moved and another network moved in.

    ReplyDelete
  32. the town of NOTL is gorgeous, that window too!! and that truck in the wall is so cool!!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...