Hamilton, Ontario

We decided to stay in Hamilton for our vacation. It is centrally located, less than an hour from Niagara Falls and just a little over an hour from Toronto. This Historic City is a beautiful place to visit!  (And because we weren't in Niagara Falls, the cost of the hotels were more than reasonable.

In addition to the gorgeous library (I shared the pictures yesterday), there was a beautiful art gallery, an underground mall that connected many buildings, The Canadian Football Hall of Fame,  the lake....

The  municipal park at this end of Lake Ontario.

The walking trail was beautiful!  It was a rainy day, and it began pouring when we got to the point - prompting a very quick run from that point back to the car!

Have to have the picture of one of the downtown signs! 

Whitehurn - below, sign above.  This historic house was located less than two blocks away from our hotel - behind the municipal courthouse.

Below- the view from the street corner on Bay St.  Beautiful architecture!

Hess Village - a funky little conglomeration of restaurants and bars was just down the street.  I loved exploring this little neighborhood on foot!

Gorgeous old building on Main street.  I love the architecture of this building!

So, I found this sign in front of a restaurant in Hess Village.  I thought that the Tragically Hip menu was a play on Hipsters.  Wrong, wrong, wrong you ignorant American.  Tragically Hip is a band.  A very big band.  They had a concert that night in Hamilton.  (one of the last two concerts with the current lead who is battling cancer).  The special menu was a nod to concert goers - a meal that would be quickly prepared for them so that they could get on their way to the concert.

Later that afternoon, the crowds headed down to the concert.  Before the doors opened, the lines wrapped around that corner by the light, and the parking lots were full.  We saw so very many people headed in to the concert!  I found out after the fact just how well loved Tragically Hip is by the people of Canada.  I've since found their music on i-Tunes, and I've got to admit, I'm a fan.  I wish I had known of them before now!

I wish my pictures of the crowd letting out after the concert had come out!  So many people, so many cars, so many tail lights.  It was quite the sight!

Hamilton is a beautiful city, and well worth exploring.  I am so very glad that we decided to stay here! I loved our Canadian adventure!