God, travelling is awesome.
Well it's awesome once you get off the plane. Seriously, flying with Air China and going via Beijing saved me money (and avoided transiting the U.S which is important) but it sucked. Completely. It's hard to charm the hostesses when neither of us can understand a word each other is saying whilst apparently speaking the same language. The flying wasn't the issue though - it was the 6 hours in Sydney, 10 in Beijing and then another 6 at Vancouver airport, plus the actual time in the sky.
Anyway, enough about that. Me mate Dean (an absolute gentleman and all round good guy) picked me up from the airport. I was absolutely knackered, but wide awake with the adrenaline pumping. It was so good to see him. In true form, he suggested a few beers at a bar, and I agreed. Great way to rekindle the friendship!
So Dean is putting me up for the week at his folks house. I'm so very lucky (and appreciative) to be looked after so well.
First night I slept like a log - got up at about 1:30pm and was still jetlagged, but the thing about travelling is, you don't notice when you're not operating 100% - everything is just so new and exciting, that it doesn't matter. Anyway, one of Dean's mates got free tickets to the Toronto Wine & Food festival, so I was taken to that. Lot's of fun - so many different cuisines, wines and beers. Even a couple of Australian ones - Rosemount & Wolf Blass were there as was one from the Clare Valley. There was even a stall claiming to have wine from the Adelaide Hills - except the guy running the stall had no idea where, and wasn't keen on a chat. So entry was free but you have to buy sample tickets - $20 for 20 tickets and you try samples of whatever you like for a few tickets. So Dean and I went halves and got 30 each, which enabled me to try a lot of Canadian Beer (some were bloody excellent) along with some Canadian & American wine.
By the far, the best tasting experience though was a drink called "Caeser" which is a popular Canadian drink. Dean wouldn't tell me what was in it - the first tase was odd, but it grew on me really quickly. It consists of vodka, worsteshire sauce, A juice made of clam (!) & tomato, tobasco sauce salt, pepper and a whole bean thrown in. really bizzare, but quite enjoyable.
The one thing that stands out about Toronto is the diversity - both of the of the food and the people. The sheer range of ethnicities, for a example, really stands out and was one of the first things I noticed. Also it's cold. Bloody cold. That's ok, that's what warm clothes are for. The problem is how well heated every building is and the fact that you need to strip off as soon as you get indoors. So jackets are a must - and I#m very comfortable indoors with just jeans & a t-shirt.
Today I bought some proper boots and a big jacket to combat the weather, so I'm pretty much all set.
Again, Dean's hospitality has been amazing; and Canadians seem to be a very friendly people. I'm a lucky man.
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