Eastern Tour, Part 1

Because my friend Chad was getting married in the Toronto area and my family wanted to visit Washington D.C., I decided to take a big three-week vacation in which I could tour the eastern U.S.A. and Canada. I've completed the first week, so here's the summary and some photos.

On the 4th, I flew into Buffalo, rented a car, and then drove to Niagara (on the Canadian side). I got a really nice room at the Hilton which has great view. I attended a party put on at the parents' house of the bride, Shanta. The next day, I explored Niagara and its falls. It is seriously beautiful there. Here's some photos I took while there.

Saturday night, I checked into a hotel in Brampton, a suburb of Toronto. There wasn't much in Brampton, but I did meet up at a sports bar with some buddies for a while. The next day was the wedding. The wedding was a Hindu ceremony, but it was time-compressed for the sake of the attendees. It was very interesting to see how another culture does the wedding thing. The ceremony was followed up with a lot of drinking, speeches, eating, and dancing. I even got out on the dance floor in all my incompetence.

After Niagara, I drove to Toronto and spent the day there. Toronto is awesome! I regret I couldn't spend more time there. I may need to do a follow-up vacation at a later date.

I next headed to Montreal. It was a long drive. Once I got there, I was shocked at how French it was! I always assumed that the English-speakers would have taken over, but it was absolutely not the case. All signs were in French. Oh, and nowhere in Canada had a data network available, so my plans to use GPS and the Internet to find my way around were foiled. I eventually found my hotel at 4 AM after hours of frustration.

The streets in Montreal were strangely empty at night, so I wondered if it was a more laid-back town. When I left my hotel at noon, I saw that it was not the case at all. The streets were packed! The city was bursting at its seams. I felt a bit clusterphobic due to the narrow roads which were lined on both sides by cars and occupied by tons of pedestrians and bicyclists. Due to my late start and frustration with the city the night before, I didn't spend much time in Montreal, which I regret, since it is a really awesome-looking city.

I originally intended to drive from Montreal to Portland, Maine, but not having a map on me, I made a poor choice of turns and drove through Vermont and New Hampshire to Boston instead. I don't regret that decision! The drive was absolutely gorgeous. Vermont had lots of picturesque forest, farmland, and towns. New Hampshire had very beautiful mountain roads with lots of great scenery. I didn't stop for pictures, but I did try some drive-by shooting.

I'm in Boston now. The hotel I booked is really fancy. Because of staying up too late texting and generally being worn out from all the driving, I slept in way too long. But eventually, I walked around the downtown area. My goodness, I love this city! It's hilly and windy, but it's a blast to walk around with its chaotic roads, ancient buildings, awesome parks, and pile of historical sites. I can't wait to see more of it tomorrow.

I plan on spending the majority of next week in New York City, and then it's on to Washington D.C. after that. I hope to post a new update next week.