Sunday, June 2, 2013

Canada – The beginning (Toronto)

The alarm clock showed 02:32 am and I just jolted straight up in my bed because of one minor thought: I didn’t check in. This is nothing major but the consequence is simply that I have to get to the airport a bit earlier to check in. That’s the great thing with just hand luggage; print the boarding pass and no queuing at the airport. Well this time I just forgot it (only 24 hour advance check in) and as I don’t have a printer at home I had no other choice but to change my alarm and take a train earlier.


Once I got to the airport at around 8 am I was glad that I arrived a bit earlier as the queue was massive. I had booked a flight with AirTransat as it was the cheapest (for a reason) at the time and most convenient with the time.

I will tell you a bit more about the research I have done at the end of my trip. At the moment I believe I didn’t do my best this time and that the plan I made is a bit of a gamble, but we will see.





As soon as I stepped into the machine A-310 I was a tiny bit surprised about the pretty old interior, there was even tape on the ceiling. I doubt that it limited the safety but prepared me already that I shouldn’t expect too much from this 8 hour flight to my first stop in Canada - Toronto.





Because I didn’t check-in in advance I got a middle seat assigned. Two girls came down the aisle and indicated they would sit next to me. Both were a bit on the bigger side and with me being as well not the tiniest person we all squeezed into the seats and got into a cuddly position for the flight. They just finished a trip around Europe and were on their way back home. We talked for a bit but not that much; I just wasn’t in the mood for small talk.

The on-board entertainment consisted of a couple of screens on the ceiling, showing the same movies for everyone. The food served wasn't a 5 Star meal, but edible.

Once I got to Toronto I was ecstatic that I made it to Canada, but for some reason this turned into a confused state for the rest of the day. Why am I here? Why am I here alone?

It is pretty warm here and I for once had packed a minimum so not much choice of what I can wear, but it doesn’t matter, everyone looks very different. I was so proud that I finally managed to only pack 8.5 kg.



I took the Bus from the Airport and then continued with the Subway to my Hostel, which is located downtown. After I checked in I walked around for a bit to see where I am at and getting familiar with the area.





CN Tower, visible from pretty much everywhere in the city


In between I was enjoying a coffee at the Harbour Front, sinking deep into thoughts while watching the greenish water going up and down in small waves.

















Toronto does remind me a lot of America, which is probably no surprise since it is so close to the US border. I do read up on information how to get from one point to another, but I also learned that I will only really understand the meaning of the descriptions once I am there and get to see it with my own eyes.










I didn’t feel hungry at all and gave the restaurants I passed a miss and hope tomorrow my world will look already brighter again.  2 weeks of adventure are ahead of me and I will try and make the best out of it.

Tonight I will be meeting an old friend and hopefully have an early night since I will be going to the Niagara Falls tomorrow. Let’s hope the rain stopped and clouds are gone.

Happy Travels :)

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