Well, it’s been a few days between posts. (Apologies to those who have been travelling vicariously through these blogs, time to get back on board). So.... On Monday (15th August) we packed up our things and left the cottage at Lake Erie. We then drove up to Toronto, (Stopping for a break in London on the way). We arrived in Toronto in the mid-afternoon, and dropped of our bags at the accom, as the room wasn't quite ready yet, then went to drop off the rental car. We then went and found the Apple store, as Joan had a '1 on 1' training session booked for 4pm. We found that no problem, and let me tell you, it's no wonder that Apple has more money than the USA. I have been to the Apple stores in each city I Have visited, and they are all popping off – it’s insane.
Rob and I left Joan for her lesson and went back to the hotel to move all our bags in and stuff. I made contact with a friend of man called Nathan. I arranged to meet him on a street corner in the city at 6.30pm. Nathan is a DJ that Kyla and I recorded a song with about 4-5 years ago. We never met him, but sent audio tracks over the internet and came up with a breaks tune (it was in the days of MySpace and just before Facebook.). So I went and met him and he took me to a local spot for some dinner and a few beers. It was cool to meet him, it’s kind of like meeting a pen pal I guess. We had a good chat about the differences between our two countries and what we had been up to over the last few years. He then took me to another bar in town, which was a cool little spot down a side street, so it was nice having some local knowledge or I would never have found those places. I then walked him to his subway stop, and wandered home. I had a bit of a thirst on by then, so I stopped in at a little Irish pub just around the corner from the accom. I like going into bars and just watching people, you get a good feel of a place by doing that I have discovered. There were a couple of games on the telly, so I tried to follow them a bit, and then headed back to get some sleep. The following morning we got up early as Rob and I wanted to go up the CN Tower, but had read on trip advisor that there can be long queues. We got there just after 9am, so we ended up being one of the first people up there for the day. It was pretty cool, great way to check out the size of the city and give yourself a bit of orientation.
Rob and I brought a package deal so after checking out the view we got to go and see a 3D short movie about surfing in Tahiti featuring Kelly Slater. It was pretty awesome. The 3D in those things are way better than at the movies, and it was crystal clear, so looked pretty cool.
We then went on a ‘motion ride’, like the one at Te Papa that moves around while you look at the screen and squirts water at you and stuff. It was pretty hard case, but the animation on the screen let it down a bit. The other funny thing was that both these extra things in the package deal – had nothing to do with Canada – which we thought was a little odd, but we had fun.
After checking out the CN Tower we went and looked at the St Lawrence Market place. Over 120 specialty merchants and vendors await you at Toronto's premier market* at Front and Jarvis Streets. In the centre of the historic Old Town Toronto, close to the hub of today's downtown, sit three buildings that have served as Toronto's social centre, City Hall and market place throughout the City's history. It was really interesting to look at all the different food, and the different smells are amazing too. Following this we took a streetcar a couple of blocks and then looked through a few shops as I am looking to buy a new suit. It seems that the deals and sales are much better in the USA, so we are going to have a look when we are in Boston. I think I am going to have to bite the bullet and buy another suitcase as well. As I would rather do that and be able to buy things without having to worry about how I will get stuff home. Anyway after lunch we came back to where we are staying, and I had a Sauna and a swim in the pool, then took an afternoon nap.
In the evening I took a couple of Subways and met Nathan again out in a suburb that he lives in. He showed me around the neighbourhood a bit and then we went back to his place for a few beers. He has a nice studio setup at his place so we compared music and stuff for a while. He also showed me a BBC documentary on Planet Earth, he had a few of them in a series, and the way they have filmed them is incredible. We were watching them on Blue Ray on a big TV – so they look great. I would be interested to check out some more in the series. He then walked me to the Subway, and I cruised back into town. The subway system is cool, it’s like New York, but a lot cleaner and there are only two lines basically, so extremely easy to navigate. I stopped in the city to get some dinner on the way home, and walked down the main street to check out the shops and people out at 11.30pm on a Tuesday night. So that’s been it over the last couple of days. Rob and I are going to go and check out the waterfront area today – and then see where the day takes us. Tomorrow we have an early start (about 5am) as we fly to Boston quite early. Still having the greatest trip ever, and looking forward to the sights ahead. Oh, by the way, the snow back in New Zealand has featured on the news in Canada for the last two nights in a row. So we are all thinking of you – part of me is sorry I missed it, but I have to admit, it is a very, very small part of me J Stay Well Everyone – Love Ya. Miz.
Oh, One more thing, I took some photos with big animals ha ha;
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