Priscilla and the greyhound bus

It's been a busy few days.  Family party on Monday where we got to meet Priscilla's family and eat more yummy food!  Tuesday was a day of culture!  We went to the Biermarkt for tea where we tried some local food and drank Belgian beer.  We then headed off to see Priscilla queen of the desert at the theatre with the cousins.  What a show that was!  We've never seen anything quite like it!  The costumes were incredible and the show was jaw dropping and very funny.

Tea at the Biermarkt

The main characters from Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Yesterday we got up at 4:45am and headed to the bus station to get a greyhound bus to New York City.  Our bus was brand new and even had wireless internet!  It took an hour to get everyone on the coach through US immigration as they had to scan all our luggage.  We arrived on Manhatten Island an hour late as the traffic queueing for the Lincoln tunnel was mental!  Eventually after a packed subway ride to Brooklyn, we arrived at our accommodation, got pizza and went to bed.  

Travelling in style!

Now we're off to Central Park where we're going to plan out what to see this week.

Christmas chez Ratcliffe

Joining in the Ratcliffe family Christmas traditions has been fun.  We went to St James' Cathedral in Toronto on Christmas eve and headed back to Caledon to get into our jammies to watch a Christmas film and open our stockings.  Christmas day is still underway but so far we've opened our presents, played guitar hero & scrabble, eaten a massive cooked brunch and tried a Bloody Caesar (tomato juice, clam juice, vodka and some spices).  Now, the turkey is in the oven and the light is fading.  Bring on the ommynommyness!

St James' Cathedral

Kate in her yeti coat

Guitar hero!

Playing scrabble

Downtown Toronto

We went into downtown Toronto with the whole Ratcliffe clan yesterday.  We had "world famous" peameal bacon on a bun for breakfast (similar to a bacon buttie at home but about 10x bigger & better!) in the St Lawrence market.  Trevor was a great tour guide telling us the history of practically everything!  We walked along the PATH (underground network of shops) and watched people ice-skating at Nathan Phillips Square.  Was lovely to spend time with the whole family and see the gorgeous condo Molly & Patrick live in!  We had lunch in a micro-brewery pub (get in!) and on the way home Kate bought a yeti coat!

The Ratcliffe clan outside the condo 

Skyscrapers in downtown Toronto 

The condo!

View from the condo!

Walking downtown

Arrival in Toronto!

We made it!  They let us through immigration and we're allowed to stay!  Woop Woop!

Leaving for Canada - Photos

Off we go!

We're currently sitting in Amsterdam airport waiting for our connecting flight to Toronto!  We said farewell to our parents in Manchester earlier and it's not long now until boarding.  Photos to follow later folks. This is getting quite real now!

Last minute things

Last minute shopping done, Kate's hair cut, better start packing now.  Luggage is usually useful.

The adventure begins

We leave Manchester airport on December 21st 2010 heading for Toronto.