Talk about being taken back in time, this place is really something, I was in my own version of ‘Back To The Future’. The Historic Main Street, Unionville in Toronto is historically rich, visually stunning, and architecturally beautiful.
Continue reading “Historic Main Street: Unionville (part 1)”
January 1st 2016.
I know this is a common sentence that we hear, but I truly cannot believe another year has passed us by, time truly does not wait for anyone and it just seems that our minutes, hours, days, weeks and months are just flying by, do you feel the same way?
This year has really been something regarding the weather, it seems that so many of us are experiencing the same unusual weather for this time of the year, some people are not complaining, the milder weather is more than welcome for some. Whatever the case maybe, houses that are lit up with Christmas lights and decorations look so much more amazing with a sprinkling of snow above and around them, the photos and videos in this blog are from the neighbourhood where we are staying.
Every time I have been to Niagara Falls, I fall in love with the sheer power, beauty and awesome respect that these falls demand. In the daytime it really is splendid to behold how wonderful this place is and I end up standing there, observing, reflecting and daydreaming about the awe and magnificence of one my favourite places in the world.
Ice skating is incredibly popular in Canada during the months of November and March. One of the skills we really want our girls to attain is ice skating, being in Canada is a great opportunity for this to happen. Continue reading “Downtown Toronto: Ice Skating, girls are so thrilled!”
I have to say that this Christmas window display at the Hudson’s Bay Company store (Downtown Toronto) really brought out the child in me.
As a Muslim, Christmas is a special time of year as we celebrate with our Christian sisters and brothers the birth of Jesus, an important prophet in Islam too and whose miraculous birth is beautifully described in the Qur’an. And although this time of year has become increasingly a consumer event and has unfortunately lost a lot of its spiritual meaning, it is a time of the year where you can take a step back and maybe look at life a little differently, especially before a new year dawns upon us all.
It took me back to when I was young, a time when I used to watch Christmas movies with my family during the Christmas holidays, that Christmas buzz that you sometimes experience, it was bit like that.
The photos above show the different stages of the display which you may work out, I also filmed the moving display to bring to life what it is all about. Whether you agree or disagree with Christmas here is not really the point, I personally just took joy from the minute detail that went into this display, very, very Christmasy wouldn’t you agree?
A very happy Christmas to all my friends…and those who do not know me. I wish you all the very best for the New Year and hope and pray that our next year is a healthy, fulfilling, loving, peaceful and compassionate one.
Peace.
I love this time of year, my wife and I particularly like going to markets in general, so it was a real treat to be able to visit the established ‘Toronto Christmas Market’, especially as it was only open from November 20th to December 20th. Continue reading “Toronto Christmas Market (Distillery Historic District)”
(My solo road trip of western Canada – Saturday 3rd/Sunday 4th October)
Well, this is the end of a truly enthralling adventure. I am so thankful that I had this opportunity and I fully appreciate how fortunate I was to be able to take this on. Continue reading “The end of this epic road trip! Banff Downtown/driving to Calgary Airport”
(My solo road trip of western Canada – Saturday 3rd October)
The mastery of railway engineering is certainly seen here, its quite amazing what has been created. The railway link that was created here was a massive undertaking and the transport links that have now benefited from such engineering I am sure are fully appreciative of this fantastic feat. Remember, we are talking about the Canadian Rockies here, the range of mountains that demand respect and leave you in awe and wonder of them, the rugged terrain that surrounds this area is not to underestimated.
There were several options that were available before they created this, but apparently they went for this particular route because of its shorter distance to the Pacific Coast and because of its close proximity to the US border.
Obviously these tunnels did not just appear, and when they were created, they faced significant serious challenges, for example, there was one instance when a train derailed killing three workers. In addition to this, if you take into account the fact that the engineering of the late 1800’s is not what we have today, relate that to the fact that the geography of this land is demanding to say the least, it really is an awesome job.
Today, between 25 and 30 trains pass through these tunnels daily. I was lucky enough to see one these trains pass through with the time I had. It was a pleasant experience. You first hear the train approaching from a distance, but you can’t really make out exactly where from, then you catch the first glimpse which is great. However, the highlight, is definitely when the train enters into one of the tunnels and then starts appearing through the lower tunnel, I had not seen anything like it before, the train carriages just keep coming, it was so long that the train was fully visual on the top and bottom level, coming in and out of the tunnels! The photos that come after, are photos from another road on the way to Banff National Park.
As I left here and began my drive to Banff National Park, I passed by some roadworks, I am not sure exactly what they were doing, but watching them carve out huge chunks of rock from the side of the mountain…while I was on the same mountain, well, a bit disheartening let me tell you!
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/bc/yoho/natcul/spirale-spiral.aspx
