Canada Days 5 & 6

This was our last day of touring, another cloudy day. We started in Montreal arriving at the Montreal Botanical Gardens around 10 am. This was located near the Olympic buildings. There is no way to see all the gardens and greenhouses in one day. It was quite impressive. We really enjoyed the Japanese garden. The first three pictures are the Olympic buildings.

After the gardens, we had lunch in Montreal before boarding a boat for a tour on the Lawrence River. These are all pictures from the boat. Yes, there was an amusement park in view too. Sorry for the quality of pictures--another cloudy day.

These were the most unusual housing units. Each built so no one could see in each other's apartment. 

We drove by this lookout on a previous foggy day. We were finally able to get out and enjoy this wonderful view of Montreal.

Another hour ride took us to dinner and another half hour to our hotel to get ready to leave the next day.

Our ride home was going to be shorter than getting there, but it wasn't quite. It is now that I will comment on other aspects of the trip. We had been warned about these buses not being the most comfortable. I was anxious about that, but on the morning we started out before we boarded the bus, I made myself think optimistically. It didn't work.

This was the most uncomfortable bus I have ever been on and I am not alone in those sentiments. George was not so uncomfortable as me because he is taller at the waist than I am. I know this because when we change drivers in our car, we always have to re-adjust the mirror. I am longer in the legs. My knees were right up against the seat in front of me and it was hard metal under the cloth exterior.  This picture shows how much room between seats--note the seats in front were not reclined.

This is how snug it was for George to read a book. I could not do this. I had to sit sideways to fit my book and me between the seat.

I often had my left foot stretched in the aisle. My back had been acting up before this trip, but the hours on this bus made it really flare up. I couldn't roll over in bed at night without pain and get up and down without worrying about the sharp shooting pain that might or might not come. My arthritic knees were also not happy. I felt for other taller people on the bus who were equally uncomfortable.

The worst part for George (and some others) was the heat. It was often up too high making us uncomfortable while others complained of being cold. It wasn't until one of our last days that it was realized that the last third of the bus wasn't getting the heat. The poor driver was unsuccessfully trying to please everyone and must have gone nuts with some saying it's too hot and others it's too cold.

This trip was too aggressive for seniors. Too much walking and we all wondered if it could have been better planned. Most mornings we had 1 1/2 hour commute to the first stop and the same on the way back, with riding in between stops too. I guess we couldn't be pleased--either too much walking or too much sitting. Our French tour guide was young and more energetic.

When we were going to board the ship, it had to dock at a different location and we had to walk up and down flights of stairs and across the yard to get to it. I don't know why I didn't lose weight on this vacation.

So, the trip had those discomforts. The other bad parts that were annoying were the tips. We thought most things were included. We had prepaid the bus driver tip that was suggested at $10 per person. That's understandable, a long trip and he was excellent. But then we had a guide with us for 3 days who it was suggested the same amount. That did not seem reasonable in comparison. We had two other tour guides who we had to tip. It turned out all meals did not include tips. Then there was the room service, the boat tour guide, valet service and I'm sure I'm leaving someone out.

George and I were fortunate not to have some of the misfortune of others. One person racked up $400 phone roaming charges in the first couple of days. We couldn't do that because thanks to the error on the phone tech part, we were not able to use our phones at all because they did not activate the international roaming. When I was finally able to contact them, they couldn't do it because we were in a foreign country. So, we certainly didn't have any charges and no service either!

Another poor woman got generously pooped on by a pigeon. But the worst case of all was the woman in our group whose passport, driver's license and credit card were stolen. They charged $700 on her credit card. We had to drop her and her daughter off at the consulate one day while we toured and they took a taxi to catch up with us later and still the next day we had to drop them off somewhere else to pick up the temporary passport and meet up with us later. The day after that, her passport and driver's license were found and turned in. She was thankful she wouldn't have to deal with the DMV.

I was a little disappointed in the clickiness of some of the seniors. I know those who know each other might want to sit together, but it's fun to meet new people too. They were saving seats for one another in groups of six and the first meal we ended up just the two of us with the bus driver. It's ok, it's other people's loss. Our sister-in-law said after that, since she was in the front of the bus that she would save us seats. I couldn't believe we were back in high school with clicks and the desire of alcohol.

I will say, we did get to meet this really nice couple and we enjoyed their company a great deal. We did make new friends and could have made more if people were open but they were content with their groups.

As I stated previously, our driver was very accommodating. He agreed one night to drop off those who wished at the casino very close to our hotel. Keep in mind, these days are long and we all just want to get back to our rooms, maybe use the pool if we got back at a decent hour--never happened, but I did squeeze in a dip with my sister-in-law one night after 9 pm.

I believe the driver took a wrong turn and then there was construction detours, it ended up being at least 1/2 hour or more back to the motel to drop off 4 people to the casino. They were to find their own taxi back. He was accommodating for 4 people out of 50+.

Then another night, they made an unscheduled stop to a liquor store for 5 people to get off. This is at the end of the day when we just want to get back. I was really surprised in the number of people who were very much into wine and alcohol on this trip. The leader had plastic cups in case we wanted to drink on the bus.

Then on the way home, we stopped at the duty free shop and had to wait 20 minutes for one person who had gone back in for something. We just wanted to get home. Going through US border took longer and seemed less efficient than the Canadian side.

The final picture is one we wished we didn't have the opportunity to take. The bus broke down in Albany on our way home. Thank God we made it to Cracker Barrel and were not stuck on the side of the road.

So, here was another couple hour delay. At this point the driver's smile began to wane. He had to be in New Jersey for another trip the next morning. The poor guy, people were asking him if he called a repair service, if he called his bus company--the man knew what to do. One woman told me she was going to call the bus company because she was under the impression he hadn't--I told her he did. He had to do protocol to call them first and they make the other arrangements.

Then there were the men who were trying to figure out was wrong. They inspected things and were coming up with what they thought was wrong. The driver said he just drives them, he doesn't repair them.

Then there were those who were trying to tell him a different route home. He said he had to stick to the route he had. The poor guy having to put up with all these people and I don't even know if he got to have lunch.


There was talk of moving us to another bus (I "joked" but then we'd have to tip another driver--people laughed at that). All buses were booked due to fall foliage tours, so that was not an option.

Well, we were thankful we were not on the side of the road, it wasn't raining and we were near food and bathroom and stores. People did shop. The repairman finally arrived and I believe it was a hose that had to be repaired.

We made it home a couple hours later than planned, but we made it that same day.

So, I wonder in years what memories will remain from this trip--the beautiful things we saw or the pain and discomfort? I think it will serve me to remember the discomfort to make sure we don't ride with this bus company again for a long trip. I heard others say, never again for this company. I am not ready for another trip like this for a long time. On the other hand, the underground city, the quaint streets of Quebec City, the Olympic buildings and so much more were great to see but I don't think I will ever forget the beautiful, breath stealing, Notre Dame Basilica.