Canada !

Week 2 - Easter Monday to April 19th 1998

April 13th
(Easter
Monday) To see if I still suffered from vertigo, Janet, Alysse, Kaitlyn and I caught the GO train to Union Station, then from there followed the short walk to the incomprehensibly tall CN Tower today. For the uninitiated, it is the worlds highest free standing structure in the world.
To my surprise, I managed the glass lift that whisks you up 340 feet in less than a minute and was able to stand within 6 inches of the (wait for it) GLASS FLOOR on the 'sky deck'. Alysse was the only member of our group who had the courage (or is it foolhardiness - it's so difficult to tell between the two) to actually walk across it - although thinking back, I never saw her look down !
The walkway across to the lift that would take us up a further 100 metres (!) to the 'Space Pod' got my fear of heights going - although only 1 floor up, it's subtle use of mirrors weakened my knees. I recommend visiting this higher area, despite the fact that I had to be near the central wall at all times !
Once back on terra firma (latin officionados please tell me if this is the correct spelling) we visited the Royal York Hotel - it's big and old and has wicked carpets - and the shops underneath it (one of which has a very good selection of Winnie the Poo toys)
Finally, it was back to Union Station (the old part of which is well worth seeing) at the start of the rush hour (which is not so good to see) and off to Scarborough and dinner.
As a final note on the day, I bought a camera today, so once the pics are processed I'll try to find a scanner then post them here.

April 14th I explored the downtown area today, looking at the very tall buildings in the banking district (between University and Yonge on Queen St.) because I made a wrong turn upon exiting St Andrew subway station on my way to meet Romana for lunch.
Upon discovering that I'd backtracked 3 subway stops, I actually got my map out, turned around, and got to where I was supposed to be going. The above mentioned Romana introduced me to the joys of the bagel sandwich, and I was picking sesame seeds out of my teeth all afternoon.
A major moment of happiness - in the UK, my love of the Converse Hi makes me a fashion dinosaur and them unavailable. Not so here - having planned to throw away my old boots on arrival (after a year, the sole had decided to do it's own thing, but I needed their comfort on the flight) - very little could have made me happier than discovering a shop selling them. In a moment of great daringness, I decided on 'Bamboo', a sort of Kermit-skin green.
The exploration ended with the discovery of a quicker TTC route - the Scarborough RT (Rapid Transit). Basically it's an above ground version of the subway, and it knocked a full half-hour off my travel time. Excitement or what ?

April 16th A calamitous day. Kaitlyn and Alysse have overcome all their initial shyness and discovered that (due to my complete lack of exposure to children) I am a pushover. It started with Alysse trying to get me to say "zee-bra" and "tom-A-toe" rather than "zeb-ra" and "tom-R-toe" and now they are calling my use of the term "telly" where they feel that "TV" should be used.
Being rather young and all, this has degraded to wrestling contests and my having to walk around the house with one or two kids attached to my feet. On reflection, I suppose that the silver lining to this is that it's giving me a chance to burn off the incredible number of calories that I am tucking away.

April 17th I joined the Last Minute Club today and booked my flight to New Orleans through them.

April 18th I discovered the Don Mills shopping mall today - it's about the size of the Butts Centre - sorry Broad Street mall, but all on one level. I changed some travellers cheques and went for a walk.
A thought - You don't see many people walking around here except within the very residential areas. I believe this to be caused by two things - one, the love of the car and two, the distances are HUGE.
Against other modern cities, there is so much flat(ish) good building area around here, that outside the main centre the city sprawls for mile upon mile (sorry - kilometer upon kilometer) with 2 story buildings set within oversized plots so the occasional tall building (and they are not small) looks crazy on the landscape.
I ate at a fast food joint called Harveys. The Spicy Chicken was quite possibly the best I've ever had, Didn't like the chips (sorry, fries) though - too well cooked.

April 19th Anne-Marie remembers me - and more importantly has forgiven me. She finds it highly amusing that someone English would be interested in touring Boston, a major player in kicking the British out in the 18th century.
Still, a lot of water has gone under the bridge since them, and I am readying a tea bag to throw into the harbour as a show of good faith.
I watched Janet and the kids working on the garden until guilt got the better of me, and I helped by fixing and cleaning the guttering on the garage. I guess that by having not done the gutter on Gran's bungalow last summer, my subconcious was getting worried that I'd lose the knack.

All views are my own in their entirety
- I am not intending to spark an international incident or get deported -

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April 13th (Easter Monday)	To see if I still suffered from vertigo, Janet, Alysse, Kaitlyn and I caught the GO train to Union Station, then from there followed the short walk to the incomprehensibly tall CN Tower today. For the uninitiated, it is the worlds highest free standing structure in the world. To my surprise, I managed the glass lift that whisks you up 340 feet in less than a minute and was able to stand within 6 inches of the (wait for it) GLASS FLOOR on the 'sky deck'. Alysse was the only member of our group who had the courage (or is it foolhardiness - it's so difficult to tell between the two) to actually walk across it - although thinking back, I never saw her look down ! The walkway across to the lift that would take us up a further 100 metres (!) to the 'Space Pod' got my fear of heights going - although only 1 floor up, it's subtle use of mirrors weakened my knees. I recommend visiting this higher area, despite the fact that I had to be near the central wall at all times ! Once back on terra firma (latin officionados please tell me if this is the correct spelling) we visited the Royal York Hotel - it's big and old and has wicked carpets - and the shops underneath it (one of which has a very good selection of Winnie the Poo toys) Finally, it was back to Union Station (the old part of which is well worth seeing) at the start of the rush hour (which is not so good to see) and off to Scarborough and dinner. As a final note on the day, I bought a camera today, so once the pics are processed I'll try to find a scanner then post them here.
April 14th	I explored the downtown area today, looking at the very tall buildings in the banking district (between University and Yonge on Queen St.) because I made a wrong turn upon exiting St Andrew subway station on my way to meet Romana for lunch. Upon discovering that I'd backtracked 3 subway stops, I actually got my map out, turned around, and got to where I was supposed to be going. The above mentioned Romana introduced me to the joys of the bagel sandwich, and I was picking sesame seeds out of my teeth all afternoon. A major moment of happiness - in the UK, my love of the Converse Hi makes me a fashion dinosaur and them unavailable. Not so here - having planned to throw away my old boots on arrival (after a year, the sole had decided to do it's own thing, but I needed their comfort on the flight) - very little could have made me happier than discovering a shop selling them. In a moment of great daringness, I decided on 'Bamboo', a sort of Kermit-skin green. The exploration ended with the discovery of a quicker TTC route - the Scarborough RT (Rapid Transit). Basically it's an above ground version of the subway, and it knocked a full half-hour off my travel time. Excitement or what ?
April 16th	A calamitous day. Kaitlyn and Alysse have overcome all their initial shyness and discovered that (due to my complete lack of exposure to children) I am a pushover. It started with Alysse trying to get me to say "zee-bra" and "tom-A-toe" rather than "zeb-ra" and "tom-R-toe" and now they are calling my use of the term "telly" where they feel that "TV" should be used. Being rather young and all, this has degraded to wrestling contests and my having to walk around the house with one or two kids attached to my feet. On reflection, I suppose that the silver lining to this is that it's giving me a chance to burn off the incredible number of calories that I am tucking away.
April 17th	I joined the Last Minute Club today and booked my flight to New Orleans through them.
April 18th	I discovered the Don Mills shopping mall today - it's about the size of the Butts Centre - sorry Broad Street mall, but all on one level. I changed some travellers cheques and went for a walk. A thought - You don't see many people walking around here except within the very residential areas. I believe this to be caused by two things - one, the love of the car and two, the distances are HUGE. Against other modern cities, there is so much flat(ish) good building area around here, that outside the main centre the city sprawls for mile upon mile (sorry - kilometer upon kilometer) with 2 story buildings set within oversized plots so the occasional tall building (and they are not small) looks crazy on the landscape. I ate at a fast food joint called Harveys. The Spicy Chicken was quite possibly the best I've ever had, Didn't like the chips (sorry, fries) though - too well cooked.
April 19th	Anne-Marie remembers me - and more importantly has forgiven me. She finds it highly amusing that someone English would be interested in touring Boston, a major player in kicking the British out in the 18th century. Still, a lot of water has gone under the bridge since them, and I am readying a tea bag to throw into the harbour as a show of good faith. I watched Janet and the kids working on the garden until guilt got the better of me, and I helped by fixing and cleaning the guttering on the garage. I guess that by having not done the gutter on Gran's bungalow last summer, my subconcious was getting worried that I'd lose the knack.