It has been quite a while since my last business trip of any kind, but more on that later. Today I’m going to write about my train trip to Toronto.

There was a time when I routinely took business trips on the train. I’ve taken a few Amtrak trips in the last few years, but it’s been a good 25 years since the last time I traveled on Via Rail for business. So I was pleased when this trip came up. Actually I was quite annoyed about having to take the trip (again, more about that later) but I liked the idea of taking the train again. The fact that Jan was joining me was an extra bonus.

We stayed downtown, just a few blocks from Nathan Phillips Square, in front of City Hall, which features skating this time of year.

The architecture offers an intriguing mix of old and new, with a (not very green) touch of nature.

It offers some interesting effects.

If it had been warmer, or if I’d brought my Ottawa clothes (and I hadn’t been busy working) I would have loved to get out more. But at least I was treated to an interesting effect on the train ride home. It was a cold day, with snow squalls, and it appears it had snowed a bit just before we came through on the train. The slipstream whipped up the snow, and created a very interesting winter scene. Of course, the fact that I was in a warm railway car sipping a glass of wine really helped to make it interesting.

Monday it’s back to the old travel routine…