Toronto!

[Oscar]

^-----No matter how many times I fly, it's always impressive.



^-----Right. Flight from Amsterdam to Toronto lasts 8 hrs. Of those 8 hrs, 3 hrs are spent traversing Canada. Plane hits the mainland west of Greenland and then flies down to Toronto. Passes over the halfway point between Labrador City and Fort George. All that time, I saw water and land, water and land. Probably the most inhospitable terrain I ever saw. No roads, no villages, no railroad tracks, no airstrips. Just thousands of lakes, rivers and streams. This photo gives a rough impression, but was taken closer to Toronto.



^-----Helllllllllllloooooooooooooo Suburbia.



^------Downtown Toronto.

As for Toronto, the key words here are "gratuity" and "service charge". I've never been to a place where people were so steadfastily determined to rid me of my money. I went out for a quick meal last night, a salad at McDonalds or something (I'd alrady eaten on the flight). No such place to be found. This is downtown, it was deserted by 8PM. Everything was closed. It begain to rain so I got back to the hotel and ordered roomservice - a CAN$ 17.00 sandwich. They charged CAN$ 2.55 gratuity (obliged - there's not getting out of it), CAN$ 3.50 service charge (ditto), CAN$ 1.36 P.S.T. and CAN$ 1.16 G.S.T. (whatever those may be). So I got charged CAN$ 25.57. And they had the nerve to ask for an "additional gratuity at my discretion". Incredible. Everyone expects tips here, usually around 2 bucks or so.



I wonder why some genius decided it was a good idea to put half of the Atlantic in a toilet bowl. For obvious reasons, it is a splashingly bad idea. Anyhow, putting toilet culture aside, as a city Toronto disappoints me. The suburbs are, well, suburbs and downtown is basically a series of construction pits and highrises. Very little green, very few parks, no visible history, no soul.

The Tower isn't bad on a sunny Wednesday morning though.

[Meanderer]

Oscar,
They always say, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I can tell it is your first time to TO (as they call it). The actual Business area of Downtown is pretty stark. Like a lot of modern cities, it doesn't have much architectural charecter.
The CN Tower is probably the biggest attraction around. It was once the highest structure in the world. I've been up in it a few times. Glassed lift up the outside of the tower. On the observation deck, they have thick glass floor panels that you can walk on and look down. Lots of people get down and crawl!
One day I was up there in 1998? and I could look down on the big Baseball Stadium near the base where the Toronto Blue Jays were playing, and I could also see the 'Molson' Indy Car race in progress and at the same time, I could look down at ..... yes down at .... a light aircraft towing an advertisiing banner behind as it circled and criss crossed the city.

The PST is the Provincial Sales Tax and the GST is the (Federal) Goods and Services Tax. I think PST is 8% (Ontario) and GST is 5% Canada wide. PST varies and I don't think it is charged in Alberta. GST was reduced as from 6% 1st Jan 08.
Visitors can claim those taxes back in some cases. Actually, you can see it all here
http://www.2ontario.com/traveltips/tips22.asp

Those toilets! When my step-sons first came to Australia, they laughed at our toilets which don't require as much water. Now I believe that our style is being adopted in Canada. And of course, the dual-flush cistern was invented here

Oscar, your description of the city itself not having soul is pretty accurate in my view. However, your just lucky you are there in summer and not winter! Not because of the cold, snow and ice., but because it is so gloomy! Grey, No leaves on trees, No birds. Just stark grey in the day and depressing Orange Glow from the street lighting at night reflecting off the low clouds and the snow on the ground.

[Meanderer]

Oscar, I was just remembering that while my wife was there to look after her son a couple of months ago, she was saying how cheap it was to eat at roadside diners etc. She, and a couple of her family, stopped at a diner (probably "The 5th Wheel" on the 401 near Milton), and they each got the following breakfast: a small medallion of beef, 2 x eggs, 2 x sausages, 3 pieces of bacon, 1/2 grilled tomato, potatoe wedges, 2 slices of toast and unlimited coffee all for the sum of $5 ea.
Now each Tuesday night, they (her and the lady she boards with) drive 30 km to go to the flick at Owen Sound in a modern multi cinema complex. Tuesday night is just $4 each. Last night, they saw, The Dark Knight (Heath Ledger), and last week The House Bunny (Hillarious she said).
Every town has at least one MacDonalds and one Tim Horton's Coffee & Donuts!
Mind you, none of the above is the kind of food my wife hoes into very often.

[Oscar]

I got home after 36 hrs sans sleep, so that was priority #1. Time now for a few last pics and impressions.



^----Pretty much the only old building in Toronto, which makes for a nice contrast with the skyscrapers.



^----The history of the town of Niagara On The Lake.



^----Niagara On The Lake. A very pretty little town, or should I say open-air museum...? It seems to have little to do with reality, but it was lovely nonetheless. The place was invaded by pensioners, thousands of them. There were coaches there from faraway places such as Indiana, Virginia and even Florida.



^-----Fort George. I walked out of the tour to see it, as it is not a part of most organized tours. Very nice to be out on my own for a while and look for some hidden beauty here and there.



^----The Union Jack flying underneath the Canadian maple leaves.

[Oscar]

^----I'd already turned back from the Fort when I suddenly heard someone play the flute. It was really nice music so I went back to see what's up and saw this sentry.

As for the Falls, I made a ton of pics but most of them are run-of-the-mill stuff that North-Americans have seen a zillion times before, such as this one:



So instead I'll try to post a few that may show the Falls in a slightly different way.

[Mark]

Nice pictures Oscar
I've never been to Canada, so it was informative for me.

[Meanderer]

The old building shown is the Old City Hall. Visit here: http://www.toronto.ca/old_cityhall/old_ ... l_tour.htm
The coach in the photo is parked in front of “Nathan Phillips Square”. In winter, that square becomes an open air Ice Skating Rink (day & night). The new City Hall is a very modern and attractive building behind it (out of view).
In 1997, my wife, a lady friend of hers from Toronto, and myself stopped and sat on that low wall after walking for some time. The friend commented to me that she thought there were a couple of young people following us. I had had the same feeling. The streets were very populated and lots of people sitting on that wall and benches. We set a plan. She walked to the other side where you took the photo from and I casually watched what would happen and who was involved. There were 3 young guys but they kept well apart. We didn't understand what they might want. All we had were 3 cameras and the odd shopping bag and our 'belt bags'. We set off nervously and didn’t look back, but knew they were following separately. So the friend went across the street and went into a lobby entrance. My wife and I walked around a corner and waited. When these guys (ages around 16 -20) got close, each of us jumped out in front of them and took photos of them and yelled, "Gotcha"! Scared the $#!t out of them and all three ran as fast as they could. Mind you, we headed home straight away and it spoilt and cut short our sight seeing.

I’m glad you got to Niagara-On-The-Lake. It really is a lovely place.

The last image you posted (zoomed) of the Bridal Falls portion of Niagara Falls is amazing ‘depth of field” Oscar. From where you are taking the shot has to be about a kilometre to the first bridge and the second another couple of hundred meters further behind that! ?

Do you remember when travelling to and from Niagara along the QEW you passed the ‘steel’ City of Hamilton where the Skyway Bridge is? Well, a few kilometres on the Niagara side, and a couple of hundred meters off the QEW is the hospital where my step-son is having surgery, tomorrow, Monday to put a 50 mm (2”) “ceramic” piece to fill the hole in his skull since his accident. My wife, Megan, is taking him there and will be staying at her brother’s place in Hamilton, up on the escarpment. You might also remember passing through the city of Burlington, on the Toronto side of the Skyway bridge. That is where he was working on the water main when it burst.

Regards,
Rick

[Oscar]

Whoa Rick! If I hadn't known better I'd say you were a born and bred Torontonian (is that the right word?). Your knowledge of the city and the general area is very impressive. Thanx for all the info!!

In general, I dislike big cities, the only exceptions being central London and Sydney (and San Francisco as well I guess, though I haven't been there yet). Sydney is one of my favourite places on Earth. What Rick said about the CN Tower in Toronto, I have that same feeling of awe whenever I am on top of the AMP Tower in Sydney. Awesome. I absolutely adore Sydney Harbour and the abundance of green places in the city.



^----This was taken from the AMP Tower in November 2006.



^----Sydney Harbour. I totally connect to this place.



^----The ocean slamming into the ancient rocks underneath Sydney's most beautiful suburb.

Hey Rick, I hope the surgery goes well tomorrow. Take care!

[Meanderer]

Hey Oscar! I’m a “True Blue” Aussie … Born and bred in Sydney! (Albeit in the first half of last century )

I’ve been up in the AMP Tower a few times but it’s been more than 20 years ago now. I agree with you that the view is far more spectacular looking over Sydney BUT I think you’ll find that the CN Tower is a little more exhilarating! The Observation level in AMP is at 250m. Imagine being up another 100m, because CN Tower Observation is at 350m. The only free standing structure taller is the new building in Dubai which is not yet completed. The AMP tower doesn’t afford you this perspective!



Or Look from this view http://tinyurl.com/bufzf

My knowledge of Canada can be attributed to a few things. Predominately because my wife, Megan is Canadian . (Torontonian). Hence a need to be conversant with things Canadian. (history, culture, geography). I’ve only spent 10 weeks there in the course of 3 holidays. Mainly around southern Ontario. We did spend a couple of weeks driving from Edmonton down through the Rockies to Calgary and then back the other way across to Vancouver and all up through Vancouver Island. The memories are indelible in my mind. Unfortunately, I haven't been away on any holiday for over 10 years.

Like you, I don’t like city living but I do like exploring cities. My travels have been limited to Australia, New Zealand (a couple of times) and Canada. Have only passed through Honolulu, Los Angeles and Chicago airports.

I’d love to travel the extents of Europe and see the preserved architecture. I’m always awestruck when I see on film, old houses and dwellings that a succession of one family has lived in for centuries, the cobbled streets that were created eons ago, the castles, chateaus and cathedrals.

Here at the farm I’m 260 kms (2-3/4 hrs) from downtown Sydney. There is only one route to get there unless I take an extensive detour. Where we will be settling (where Megan is now living and working) in Meaford, ( http://tinyurl.com/6o39rs ) it’s a little closer to Toronto but it takes about the same time to drive. A big difference is that there are many optional routes to take without increasing the distance too much. That pleases me!

[Oscar]

That's an awesome shot from the tower, Rick! I hope it all works out for you and your family and that you will be re-joined soon!