For years on this blog, I keep mentioning this, and on Saturday I finally got my act together and took some pictures -- the purpose being to illustrate the train trip from Woodstock to Toronto which is the first step of virtually every major trip I take.
It's become my go-to method of travel because the travel time (1 hour 40 minutes or so to downtown Toronto) can only be matched by car between 2:00 am and 5:00 am. The rest of the time, the perennial traffic can increase the road travel time by anything from 30 minutes to 2 hours.
As a matter of routine, I travel in Business Class because the train times always overlap meal times, and the stuff sold from the trolley in Economy is pretty much all bad news for a diabetic.
As soon as I boarded at 11:20 am, the attendants were ready to spring into action. The service began with a snack pack and a drink of choice. The other passengers had already gotten their drinks during the 30 minutes or so while the train ran up to Woodstock from London, Ontario.
Lunch followed soon after. There's always a choice of three dishes for lunch: a pasta dish, a meat or fish dish served hot, and a cold plate lunch with a different kind of meat or fish. Today, they offered fettucini with mushroom alfredo sauce, and a wild cod hot meal with potatoes and vegetables. I went for the cold plate, a salad of chicken and curried ramen noodles on romaine lettuce. The side dish was a cauliflower and chickpea salad, and the packaged dessert was an apple cake (I passed on the bread roll). More wine to drink? Of course. And still more afterwards, if you'd rather do that instead of coffee or tea.
On a dinner time trip, they throw in a liqueur service along with the
coffee and tea. The meal always ends with a choice of plain dark chocolate or
dark chocolate with raspberries.
Along the way, there are a few scenic landmarks. I missed the first one, the view from the Grand River trestle in Paris, Ontario. There's a good view of downtown Hamilton and Hamilton Mountain as the train descends the Niagara Escarpment at Dundas. It's a view you can only see when all the leaves are down.
These abandoned telegraph poles and dangling wires can be seen all along the line.
The train also skirts the edge of one portion of the Royal Botanical Gardens. Of course, it looks much nicer in summer.
Serious high rise condos appear in Mimico, at the southwest corner of Toronto, lining the shore of Lake Ontario just west of the Humber River.
As the train slides into downtown, it passes right at the foot of the Rogers Centre domed stadium and the world-renowned CN Tower.
A few moments later, the train pulls into Toronto's historic rail hub, Union Station, with its iconic and striking Great Hall. This station has been serving Toronto's rail travellers for 95 years now.
A short cab ride brought me to the Sheraton Centre Hotel, where I got a room with a great view of the outdoor skating rink and winter market on Nathan Phillips Square in front of the City Hall. Viljo Revell's curving towers and flying-saucer council chamber still appear strikingly imaginative and ahead of their time as the building nears its 60th birthday.
Here's a video clip of the fun on and around the rink.
Back in my room after dinner, I had a grandstand view of the square below at night, with all the lights on and the Holiday Fair going full throttle with market stalls and kiddie rides.
My purpose of coming to downtown Toronto was to enjoy a show I haven't attended in person for years: the annual Toronto Symphony Orchestra/Toronto Mendelssohn Choir performance of Messiah, the first of five consecutive concerts being Saturday night (December 17). And it was fabulous.
And that's stage one. Two nights in Toronto, and now it's time for the real getaway to begin with a short ride from Union Station, on the UP Express dedicated train, to Toronto Pearson Airport. And then, onto a plane and off to... well, to be revealed in the next post!
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