The city of sirens

W 

Well I have never heard so many sirens. Even with earplugs, the noise was unbelievable. All day and all night. If something terrible was happening in Toronto, no one would take any notice, as the constant sirens make you immune. The first night, we were up every hour convinced that the city was under siege. We booked ourselves on a tour to Niagara and were not disappointed. A crack up of a bus driver (Sub continent, chain smoking, lead footed, nutter) collected us at 8.30am and we held on to our seats for the hour trip to Niagara.

There is something slightly strange about the locals. You would think we would be the cold ones, but VDS and I have spent most of the time in really light clothing, as despite a few snow flurries, we have been bathed in glorious sunshine. The locals resemble animals on two feet with so much fur, coats, boots and gloves – from the trendy young guy at the traffic lights with the fox around his neck, to the pigeons fighting for space over the road vents, with the people that are homeless. As always, the level of homelessness in Canada is always a bit of a shock.

We had showered in the morning but really there was not much need, as we got drenched riding under a boat beneath natures fury. The falls were amazingly impressive. I had been to Niagara before and had been disappointed. I am not sure what the difference was this time but it was fantastic. We had a fabulous lunch above the falls with a window view of the massive walls of water. We got lots of odd looks from the fur wearing Canadians as VDS was padding around in bare feet. Her runners were soaked so she made the decision to go on a barefoot walkabout. We had a lead footed drive to the lovely Niagara on the Lake and then on to a winery to warm ourselves with ice wine.

The last few days have been quite frenetic with long conference days. We have definitely earned our keep after delivering three workshops, presenting six papers, a poster and chairing sessions. The conference organisers call us the mad Aussies as we have found kindred homes people and have spent a huge amount of time laughing. I don’t think I have laughed so much in ages. Sore ribs and a broken tooth are testament to the raucous time.