Hamilton is located at the head of Lake Ontario, between Niagara Falls and Toronto. According to local inhabitants Hamilton is the eighth largest city in Canada. Hamilton's proximity to both natural resources and retail markets, and the accessibility of various modes of transportation, has helped make it a main industrial centre for Canada. Famous comedic-actor Martin Short hails from the city also.

The Park in downtown Hamilton

We were staying downtown in Hamilton this week at the Sheraton Hotel which luckily had a shopping mall and cinema attached to it. In short it would have been very easy not to leave the hotel for the week. Yet we managed to venture out. A few blocks away was a fantastic cultural and entertainment street called 'Hess Village'. This street was remarkably European, with varying types of restaurants and bars, with outdoor verandas and European styled buildings. This street was a very popular lunch, dinner and music venue for the Boyne cast.

We had another busy birthday week in Hamilton celebrating Natia Rtveliashvili, Brendan Campbell and Aisling Drennan's birthdays. We had one very special date also, in celebrating Yvonne Lynch's 21st Birthday. So we took to the Hess Village to celebrate, and we received the ultimate VIP treatment in KOI bar, where they gave Riverdance the 3rd floor of the bar. Check out the photo's of the Birthday Parties!

This was Riverdance's 2nd time appearing at the Hamilton Place Theatre, which was a very large auditorium holding over 2500 seats. A packed opening night saw audiences jumping to their feet and clapping all through finale. While we were performing this week there was also a wrestling tournament on in an adjoining theatre. It was very interesting to see the wrestlers warm up and test their routines to the max! Included in this week's diaries are some more backstage photos featuring cast members icing their legs after the show. Many of the Irish dancers ice their legs immediately after performing in order to minimise injury and protect against shin splints. Speaking from experience, believe me, these ice buckets are freezing! Also featured is a photo of the Irish dance troupe sitting on the stage steps awaiting rotations for the show.

Hamilton is situated directly between Niagara Falls and Toronto, each are just a 45 minute drive. Luckily we had the Sunday off and so different groups took day trips to both. A large group took a limo service to Niagara Falls. Earlier in the tour we saw the falls from the American side, so this time we had the chance to see the falls from the Canadian side. It was equally if not more impressive.

The Niagara Falls outing!

Toronto is on par with New York City, San Francisco and Chicago when it comes to cultural attractions and urban endeavours. The best place to start is at the top, and in this city there's no mistaking where that is. The landmark CN Tower is one of the tallest structures in the world. As the capital of Ontario and Canada's largest city, Toronto has become a dynamic cosmopolitan hub known for entertainment, culture, sports, high fashion, and big business. The Riverdance group took in the cultural side of Toronto on this day and caught one of the final performances of Phantom of the Opera in the theatre district.

Nina Burke at the Phantom in Toronto

Hamilton marked our final week in Canada this tour. Join my next time for more Boyne tales from America!