Doing Downtown

29th May to 2nd June 2006

After recovering from the delights of the marvellous wedding weekend we'd had, we hopped on the GO train into Toronto and headed for Darren's apartment, where he was kindly going to let us stay for free. Just as luck would have it, the local transport in Toronto that Monday was experienceing serious strike action so we had quite some trouble getting a taxi from the GO train station to the Runnymede part of Toronto. But we got there and had a brilliant time over the next five days. Rather than bore you with all the gory details, here's the highlights!

Lunch at the CN Tower

The CN Tower stands near the shorefront to Lake Ontario and dominates Toronto's skyline. You end up with pictures of it from every angle as it's visible from any other sight you go and see. It affords a view of all of Toronto and the islands, but seeing as the view is pretty much flat, it's not the most spectacular sight you'll ever see. Give me the Eiffel Tower any day! But, whilst the Eiffel Tower does have a horribly over-priced restaurant, the CN Tower has one that revolves. Oh, yes! The food was pretty good, service excellent, the only downside was the leak that had sprung in the ceiling. As it's a revolving restaurant, they couldn't just put a bucket underneath to catch the droplets. The waiters each had to follow it around with a napkin whenever the leak came into their section so at least we got some free entertainment!

Baseball Dreams

Very close to the CN Tower is another giant of a sight - the Rogers stadium, formerly known as the Skydome. I'm not much of a baseball fan myself, but when you've got the opportunity to go to a game and only have to pay $9 CAN for a ticket for a seat behind the diamond, you'd be silly not to take it. To be honest, it's worth going to the stadium alone just for the sheer size of it. I don't think I've ever been anywhere so big! The local team, the Blue Jays, were getting horribly beaten by the Boston Red Sox the night we were there, but it was great fun. Like cricket, it's fun once you understand the rules (and it really IS a lot like rounders!). We drank expensive beer, ate expensive nachos, and joined in the various audience rituals they seemed to have, one of which was screaming as loudly as possible during a break in play whilst the TV cameras went around the stadium trying to find the most ardent fan. If you were lucky enough to win the title, you got a "ringside" seat for the next match with free food and VIP treatment. Oooooh!

Local delicacies?

One evening, pooped from all the walking in the sweltering heat during the daytime, we decided just to go fo a meal in Runnymede and see if we could find a few drinks for afters. The meal was a lovely Italian restaurant, although the service was a bit haphazard. Very friendly, but when a big black beetle decided to fall in love with the light on the wall between our table and the next, the waiter felt the need to come over, thwack it as hard as he could and then stamp on it. The beetle made a horrible crunching noise, waiter wiped his foot along the paving stones to remove said insect from bottom of shoe, lovely appetising trail of innocent beetle left streaked next to our table... Good thing they were closing the outside eating area soon causing us to make a move inside. I didn't want to sit next to THAT all night! We later went to a pub that had the biggest beer glasses I have ever seen. It had to be recorded for posterity.

Another thing that had to be recorded for posterity was the fab Chinese meal we had in Chinatown on one of the other days. I miss real Chinese food so much and always complain when we have a takeaway or go to a Chinese restaurant that it's "not like the real thing" but in Toronto, I finally found the grail. A proper Chinese restaurant with proper Chinese people who cooked proper, unadulterated, unchanged, un-dumbed-down-for-stupid-westerners Chinese food. YUM! Pictured are my favourite dishes of Kung Po chicken and beef with green peppers. The place was filthy smelled of toilets. Perfect!



New and Old

Toronto is a pretty nice city just to walk around in. It's not too big and there's all sort of nice buildings. What struck me was the amazing mix of the traditional with the modern, as illustrated above. The amazing new Town Hall was quite contorversial when it was built, but looks amazing with modern-day eyes. It's very close to the original Town Hall with its clock tower and somehow, the two very different styles don't clash. Toronto was full of contrasts like this.

Country Living

On our last day full day in Toronto itself we took a trip over to the Islands. Depending on who you talk to (Darren!) it's only one island, but my guide book assures me it's 17 islands. So it must be true. Boarding a little ferry to take the short trip across Lake Ontario, you arrive at the Islands a short while later, depending which end you're starting from. There's not an awful lot to see and do over there, but it is a really nice way to spend a day doing something more relaxing than traipsing from one tourist site to another. In high season, there's a theme park, but we contented ourselves with a pedal car to explore the length and breadth of the main island. Those pedal cars should be introduced over here, they're so much fun! It would reduce exhaust emissions no end... There's also a frisbee trail that you can follow, with goals set up and certain points you have to reach, but we didn't have a frisbee and I can't throw, so that was the end of that! Algonquin Island (accessed by a small bridge, so maybe Darren was right - it is just one island...) is a pretty little secluded "village" where people come up with all sorts of quirky ideas for their gardens. We saw themed gardens, some examples of brilliant landscaping and a tree built from old gardening gloves. We also saw a snake, but don' worry folks, Gavin protected me. We stared at it for a bit, took a picture and then scarpered before it turned out to be poisonous. Finishing off with a picture of the Toronto Skyline (squint through the smog and you'll see it) and, yes! the CN Tower again, I think we were able to say we'd DONE the islands.

And there endeth the Canada Blog. We had such an amazing time, I've got so many photos that I just haven't got room for here and I can't wait to go back there some time. Mum's just been out there for a week (as of 24th September 2006) and loved it just as much as we did - it's an amazing place, made all the more amazing by all the fantastic people we met. Canada Rules!

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Wedding Bell(e)s

27th and 28th May 2006

After our pretty soggy start at Niagara, the whole reason for our trip to Canada was upon us - Will and Louise's wedding. Turns out we weren't the only ones who hopped on a plane to join in the fun - Gav's parents also came at the last minute, as did a couple more of Will's friends.

Will and Louise live in Oakville, about 20 minutes outside of Toronto. The main thing it's known for is that the golf club is the venue for the Canadian Open, but on May 27th it was just hosting us as that's where the wedding was. After Joel and Leslie dropped us off at our hotel (basic but very nice) we decided to hit the shops as we were just across the road from the main mall and I still needed some accessories for my outfit. I don't know why we insist on going shopping together because we NEVER buy anything, but there you are. Turns out the mall didn't quite have what I was looking for either so I went and had my nails done instead! We then spontaneously met up with Gav's parents and Liz and Di for lunch. It all got a bit hectic as Gav and I had to rush off to make sure we were ready in time to get to the golf club for about 4pm. Needless to say Gavin had to leave without me as I was having the usual "Oh-my-god-I-don't-know-which-necklace-to-wear" dilemma. I'd bought two at the mall, just to be sure and, of course, I ended up wearing one that I'd brought with me from England. Women!

I just about managed to get ready in time to get to the golf club with about 2 minutes to spare (I thought it was the bride who's supposed to be late!). I almost had a complete panic attack because I couldn't quite figure out where I was supposed to go because of some dodgy signage, but I found it in the end. The golf club has a sort of raised platform thingy with decking for special events and it was here, under a massive white gazebo that Will and Louise were getting married. The golf club is absolutely beautiful and the weather had improved drastically since our rather soggy waterfalls experience. The ceremony all went smoothly, too, no last minute objections or dresses stuck in anyone's knickers. It was really lovely and, of course, Louise looked gorgeous. (The best man wasn't too bad, either! Nudge, nudge, wink, wink)

Straight after the nicely brief ceremony the guests stormed the free bar for a much-needed Pimms and an endless round of photos began. Luckily I wasn't in any of them so I could just concentrate on drinking. Very well organised, I felt. The sun was beating down dangerously what with all that alcohol and empty stomachs so off we went into the club house for the reception. It was with some trepidation that I found out I was to sit at the top table! The Canadians are a bit weird - the parents of the bride and groom get relegated to a table amongst the plebs, but the best man's girlfriend, who's only met the bride once or twice, gets to sit at the top table with the happy couple, the best man and the matron of honour. For a moment it looked like I'd have to walk up there all on my own as well as the bridal party gets its own announcement as it comes into the room, but luckily the matron of honour's husband, who was our MC for the night, was just as shy as me so we snuck in surreptitiously after everyone else was seated.

My favourite dinner of all time was served - buffet! I don't know why people have set meals at functions, it's much better when you can have a bit of everything and as much as you like. There were all sorts of scrumptious things and I think I managed to go back for thirds, but I can't be sure. And, of course, the best thing about a buffet rather than a set meal is that you get to have three desserts. Yum!

I really liked the fact that a lot of things about this wedding were very relaxed and low key. I think we can get a bit too stuck on "the proper way of doing things" in the UK. This all felt really relaxed. Except Gavin, who was jigging up and down with anticipation before his best man's speech. The fact that it was an evening wedding also meant he hadn't really been able to drink all day cos he had to stay sober for his speech, but luckily our MC had the precedings pretty well organised so we didn't have to wait too long for the speeches and Gav was able to have a drink and take off his squeaky shoes that were a couple of sizes too small. (The downside of someone across the atlantic organising a suit for you. And boys being boys, neither Gav nor Will were too specific in their communications about mere trifles like chest sizes and suit cuts...)

Apparently, in Canada it's usual practice after the formal speeches for anyone who wants to say something to grab the mic and go off on one. Thankfully, we were spared that because Will and Louise came up with the idea of making people write limericks that included their names, the reward for which would be a brief toast and a kiss between the happy couple. People got into the spirit of it pretty well and, needless to say, it was the Brits who came up with the dirty ones... (Though not too dirty as there were little people present.)

The Canadians wimped out early despite it not being a school night, which left us Brits showing the staff at the golf club how to have a good time. We danced the night away (Gav's mum taught us some line dancing) and had to be physically removed when the club shut at about 1am. And to top things off, Gav and I got a lift home from the bride, who hadn't had a drink all day and had to drive barefoot because her feet hurt so much!


The next day, Will and Louise put on a BBQ for everyone at their house and we all just basked in the sun, nursed our various headaches with more booze and stuffed our faces till we popped. The kids were mad keen on playing baseball so we had a go at that too. Still don't quite see how it's different from rounders, but there you go. I'd never been on a baseball pitch before, so at least it was another new experience to add to my list!

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Niagara Falls

26th May 2006

On our second day in Canada, Joel lent us his car to drive to Niagara, which is about an hour and a half by motorway from Georgetown. I say car, it was more like a truck! Poor little me had to drive this massive people carrier on the wrong side of the road and on somebody else's insurance. I was terrified! And just to make things REALLY difficult, it had been peeing it down with rain with no signs of letting up any time soon. Joel had tried to be helpful by explaining the route back to the house when he picked us up from the airport the night before, but what with all the roads over there being called things like 3rd Line and 8th Avenue, I was totally confused.

Somehow, though, we managed to find the Queen Elizabeth Way which was to take us all the way to the falls. Once we got on the highway (Eh! Get the lingo!) the weather turned even worse. It wasn't really raining as much as we just seemed to be driving through wet air. You couldn't see more than about 10 yards into the distance and to confuse me further, you're allowed to overtake on the inside over there. But I soon got the hang of it and was weaving in and out of traffic like a pro. Joel will now have permanent nail imprints in his passenger door where Gavin was hanging on for dear life...

We arrived in an extremely damp Niagara and found it to be busy with tourists in brightly coloured rain capes. Despite the weather, I thought it was pretty exciting driving along the main road through Niagara and seeing the river down to our left. Across the river you could see the American side of the falls and we did get a brief glimpse of the American Falls before they were enshrouded in mist. We got the car parked and walked over to the falls, stopping only briefly for me to run back to the car and see what our number plate was cos the only information I had to go on once we got back to the car park was "It's big and grey."

Well, what can I say? Niagara Falls.

Loud.

Wet.

I'm sure it's an absolute sight to behold. Unfortunately, we weren't beholding anything because we couldn't see anything through the extremely soggy mist that hung in the air like a big smoke cloud. The ONE day of the entire holiday it rained and we were somewhere where you really could have done with nice weather. Harrumph. But we could certainly hear them. Cor, what a roar! Even though the weather was bad, the falls themselves throw up so much mist that you'd need a good rain coat either way! It was really quite incredible.

I was initially quite keen on taking the tour behind the falls or going on the Maid In The Mist, a fleet of boats that go right up to the falls, get everyone drenched in the mist before heading back to pick up a new set of tourists eager to get a soaking. All around Niagara you could see people wearing the free Maid In The Mist rain ponchos they provide for you! But we decided there wasn't much point if you couldn't see the falls. Maybe next time, eh? Looked fun though, this tiny little boat chugging up towards the huge mist cloud. Even though you know that absolutely nothing can happen, it does look weird the first time you see it because you think it will stop a lot sooner than it does, giving the illusion that it's just going to keep going right into the falls. But it doesn't. Obviously.

So we just toddled off to have a look at Niagara itself, and there's not really much to see. It's a tourist town with lots of sweet shops and arcade type places, plus a big casino. We though we'd have a quick squizz at that, maybe place a couple of modest bets. But I nearly didn't get through the door! The doorman felt the need to stop me and ask me my age, at which I got so flustered that I blurted out: "I'm 18!" (Doh! Age for being legal across the pond is at least 21!) "I mean, I'm older than 18." Gav steps in to help: "She's 28!" "I'm 28!" At which the doorman just looked bemused and let us in. Turns out I was lying either way cos I'm actually 27. Hah!

As Niagara is a pretty tacky place, we felt we needed a tacky lunch, so Planet Hollywood it was! Horrid as it sounds, like the Hard Rock Cafe, they do a pretty mean burger and it's not anywhere near as expensive as you'd think. Plus the service is pretty good. Maybe even a bit too good. We Brits tend to get a bit edgy if someone's too polite and our server very nearly fell into that category. He was just a bit too eager to please. But he did a good job, the food was nice and we had fun, which is the main thing, innit!

Niagara also happens to be a pretty big wine region, famous for its ice wine (a dessert wine made from frozen grapes) which not many people seem to actually like cos it's horribly sweet. So on the way home we stopped off at a winery. There's loads of them dotted about the place and most do tours and/or tastings. How could we resist? So we ended up at Vineland Estates, where I embarassed Gavin by a) not knowing the first thing about wine and b) making a silly face when I tasted anything cos it was all yucky! Oh well, maybe I'll learn to like it once I've grown up. Last stop of the day was St Stephen's Church just near Georgetown. We'd driven past it on the way from the airport the night before and my first thought was, "It looks just like out of the movies." Funny that. Seeing as loads of films have been made there. Well there you go, I've now seen one of the most famous sights in the world. Or rather, I've heard it.

Where the Falls weren't

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