Finally - my last day of work!! Mark has been here with us in Toronto since Tuesday and we've been staying in the Canadiana Backpackers Inn again since we left our home last Sunday.
Our travels plans are almost finalised, and we've managed to pack just one small bag between Mark, Paul and I (we're leaving the rest of our luggage behind in Toronto!)
The boys have been very busy booking accommodation and 2,424 km of transport! It was almost impossible to find places for tonight in Toronto and the four days in NYC - but now we're booked and ready to enjoy :-)
Travel itinery below!
Friday, September 5th - Toronto
We move to hotel for one night.
Saturday, September 6th - Montreal
Four of us take Greyhound bus coach to the French city.
Monday, September 8th - Toronto
Shane departs Montreal for one last night in Toronto. He flies back to Dublin on Tuesday :-(
Wednesday, September 10th - New York
Paul, Mark and I catch a train going south, across the border! We've booked The Bedford Avenue Loftstel for our stay.
Sunday, September 14th - Philadelphia
Time to go further south - again by train. No accommodation booked as of yet!
Wednesday, September 17th - Washington
We catch another train even further south to Washington DC for the last leg of our tour...
Saturday, September 20th - Toronto
Time to fly home to Toronto! This time we stay in Global Village Backpackers for two nights.
Monday, September 22nd - Dublin
Flight leaves Toronto around 8pm and scheduled to arrive in Ireland seven hours later for 8am GMT.
Showing posts with label toronto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toronto. Show all posts
Friday, September 5, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Recent activities!
What we've been up to...
Saturday, August 9th - torrential downpours made for a very wet Taste of the Danforth Festival. The three of us braved the rain to visit Toronto's Greek District for their famous annual food festival and taste what they had to offer. Crêpes and waffles with hot lattes ensued before hailing a taxi home.
Tuesday, August 5th - went to our first ball game to support our adopted home team, the Toronto Blue Jays! Surprised overselves by enjoying it so much, we munched on fries, oreo cookie, butter popcorn and mega pretzel, danced along to the interval exercise, took part in the mexican wave (a little), and joined the other 23,577 people in the crowd on our feet to cheer the Jays victory!!
Monday, August 4th - stayed in Canada's Wonderland until well after closing. See Paul's post on Behemoth, below. Water rides... in clothes? 'Nuff said!
Sunday, August 3rd - spent the day cycling all along the sunny east coast of the city beside the water. Had our bikes back just in time (!) and went for a plate of fish and chips on the waterfront. And almost ordered another.
Saturday, August 9th - torrential downpours made for a very wet Taste of the Danforth Festival. The three of us braved the rain to visit Toronto's Greek District for their famous annual food festival and taste what they had to offer. Crêpes and waffles with hot lattes ensued before hailing a taxi home.
Tuesday, August 5th - went to our first ball game to support our adopted home team, the Toronto Blue Jays! Surprised overselves by enjoying it so much, we munched on fries, oreo cookie, butter popcorn and mega pretzel, danced along to the interval exercise, took part in the mexican wave (a little), and joined the other 23,577 people in the crowd on our feet to cheer the Jays victory!!
Monday, August 4th - stayed in Canada's Wonderland until well after closing. See Paul's post on Behemoth, below. Water rides... in clothes? 'Nuff said!
Sunday, August 3rd - spent the day cycling all along the sunny east coast of the city beside the water. Had our bikes back just in time (!) and went for a plate of fish and chips on the waterfront. And almost ordered another.
Dirty Dancing the musical on Wednesday, July 30th => brilliant :)!
Also, a treat on the way home as we passed the much-hyped new IKEA showroom on King East.. the invitation-only launch party was just finished and we got chatting to the staff, who told us to come in and help ourselves to the leftover chocolates, woop!
Tuesday, July 29th - caught this week's free film in the huge outdoor cinema on the harbourfront.
Wednesday, July 23rd - couldn't decide where to eat this evening. Booked a table at 360 Restaurant at the top of the CN Tower. *Amaazing*!!!
Saturday, July 19th - went on a trip to Centre Island with Dave - this is when the tan happened! (Photos on left)
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Explosion in Toronno...
At about the same time as we were going to bed last night (3.30am), up north, a large propane facility was exploding...
So far, over 12,000 people from a 1.6km radius have been evacuated to York University. We're following the latest news on cp24.com. The latest broadcast was live from the fire station around the corner from our house.
Camera crews have interviewed victims of the blast, many of which describe how the windows in their house blew out, ceilings cracked and door handles melted. Electricity failed and many evacuees were forced to make their way to friends and relatives. Emergency services have been praised for their quick response, providing shuttle buses to York University campus.
So far, over 12,000 people from a 1.6km radius have been evacuated to York University. We're following the latest news on cp24.com. The latest broadcast was live from the fire station around the corner from our house.
Camera crews have interviewed victims of the blast, many of which describe how the windows in their house blew out, ceilings cracked and door handles melted. Electricity failed and many evacuees were forced to make their way to friends and relatives. Emergency services have been praised for their quick response, providing shuttle buses to York University campus.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
10 Beds in Two Weeks (and counting...)
So yesterday was our first lazy day :-) We left our rooms in UofT in search of food after getting some typing tests from our respective recruiters out of the way. Another visit to Gabby's and a long leesuirely wander all over the downtown area (including snacks and drinks in Fox and Fiddle - love it!) and we decided to head back to campus with drinks; tiredness getting the better of us (it was 9pm, after all)... The crazy Torontonians we first encountered in Pogue Mahones decided to yell out to us as we passed them, scaring the life out of poor Aoife. It was then that we discovered that all of the beer/liquor stores closed around 9. Madness altogether.
Checked out of UofT this morning and taxi-ed over to our new hostel around eleven (Official Toronto Taxi Taking Time at this stage) to deposit the baggage. Went for a walk in the gorgeous sunshine. All of a sudden, sky turns gray, then navy, then The Rain starts... We're now safely back in the comfy hostel lounge area, eating shreddies, on the toplaps, having survived the storm and the crazy laptop pikey-lady (weirdo!!!). Time for more computer literacy tests! This is happening tonight. Will keep ya treated x
Checked out of UofT this morning and taxi-ed over to our new hostel around eleven (Official Toronto Taxi Taking Time at this stage) to deposit the baggage. Went for a walk in the gorgeous sunshine. All of a sudden, sky turns gray, then navy, then The Rain starts... We're now safely back in the comfy hostel lounge area, eating shreddies, on the toplaps, having survived the storm and the crazy laptop pikey-lady (weirdo!!!). Time for more computer literacy tests! This is happening tonight. Will keep ya treated x
Saturday, June 14, 2008
1 Manager, 2 Hostels, 3 Interviews and Too Many Taxis
Friday, June 13th
An early rise for interview preparation, outfit coordination, makeup and hairstyling. That took a little longer than expected so our friend the TAXI made sure we were on time for our 11:30. More forms and interviews ensued. Jen was off to another at 2pm, mine was at 2:30p.m. and Shane was up for his at 3:30p.m.
Aoife arrived and she was covertly installed in our room. She was really tired and went straight to bed. Dinner this evening was in BB-Ques, three chicken burgers and wedges and we were done. Realising how tired we were too we retired to our room. A walk was out of the question when a huge thunder storm began over the whole city. The sky was lit up for over an hour as huge bolts of lightening and cracking thunder followed. Friday was done!
Thursday, June 12th
Over to the University of Toronto at 9a.m., we tried out the McDonald's breakfast menu. The student accommodation that we really wanted was booked out, so we settled for booking the one we has toured the night before - not the best but it would do until Sunday. We went back to our hostel, TAXI back to UofT with our luggage.
We took the street car or TTC downtown and visited the landlady to confirm we wanted to rent her house! We went to a Fresh Food Market near our new home and had lunch there, walked around down town including a visit to the base of the CN Tower. We then went back to UofT to check in.
On arrival at UofT we were kindly informed that our credit card confirmed booking meant nothing. All rooms were booked and there was no room at the inn. Having been told nothing was confirmed, the three of us were not taking no for an answer and the accommodation office manager soon "found" rooms for us. A broken lift, an ignorant porter, an unmade room and an hour of complaining to management later we had the accommodation manager personally carry our 75kg of luggage to the 4th floor. In the midst of all this the three of us had been interviewed by AltisHR on the phone and arranged interviews.
A quick trip to the supermarket and we were WRECKED again.
Wednesday, June 11th
It was up "early" again, just in time for our 11 o'clock TAXI to Trinity Street for an apartment viewing. The landlady was a mad woman but is really nice. The house is gorgeous and we loved it. Heading back into town, we grabbed a smoothie and decided it was time to begin the intensive job hunt. We called all of the recruitment agencies and started the long walk up to staffworks at 1235 Bay Street and had interview number 1.
Following that we walked around the University of Toronto looking for accommodation. We found out who we had to call and made plans for the next morning as this was our final night in our first hostel. It was another early night for the three of us.
Tuesday, June 10th
Our first morning in Toronto and it was time for the orientation meeting from our working holiday company, SWAP. Still wrecked a lie in was necessary and therefore a TAXI to our meeting at 11a.m. in the SWAP office on King St. West. Three hours of information we knew already was greatly appreciated and we decided it was time to eat.
Gabby's was the location of choice as we wandered the streets amazed by the tall buildings and sights of our new home. Of course our waiter was Irish and was more than happy to sit with us and tell us all about living in Toronto and to point out the different hot spots on our map. Drinks on the house, our meal was delicious - not a bad choice at all.
The banks and mobile phone companies seem to be a little behind in terms of charges and rates compared to Ireland; this made our decision here a little harder. On the advice of SWAP we opened free student accounts with TD Canada Trust. This account gives us a maximum of 25 transactions per month before they charge us for EVERYTHING. However we did get our ATM/Laser card immediately. They were ultra-friendly.
Getting our mobile phones was slightly more of an ordeal as we entered the main shopping centre in the downtown area, the Eaton Centre on Yonge St. One sales man praised our accents, looks and even our shoes in a bid to sell us his "special" deal. But the cheapest option was to be found with Rogers, at $75 including $50 credit for the Nokia 6080. Luckily we were offered $10 to complete a survey after we bought the phones which took the sting out of being told we will be paying an arm and a leg to make, receive and think about calls.
We stopped off for some chicken wings at the beer garden of Pogue Mahones Irish bar. Sleep ensued.
Monday, June 9th
We landed at Pearson International at around 3p.m., made our way through passport control and declared our intentions at immigration. Each of us being asked different questions and getting different answers. Eventually our work permits were securely fastened to our passport pages, stamped and we were ready to go.
It was 36 degrees when we landed but the weather decided to take a turn and began to rain once we exited the terminal. Our coach arrived and brought us to the city centre, an IKEA and a few industrial parks later. We lugged our bags from the coach into a TAXI and headed to Sherbourne Street.
Installed in our basement apartment, we had two double beds, a kitchenette and en suite. We walked down town to the thick of the action, decided to celebrate our arrival in the Hard Rock Café at Dundas Sq. on Yonge St. (a very important street in Toronto navigation), the Canadian version of Time Square. Too tired to think and now in another rain shower it was a TAXI back to the hostel for a well deserved sleep.
An early rise for interview preparation, outfit coordination, makeup and hairstyling. That took a little longer than expected so our friend the TAXI made sure we were on time for our 11:30. More forms and interviews ensued. Jen was off to another at 2pm, mine was at 2:30p.m. and Shane was up for his at 3:30p.m.
Aoife arrived and she was covertly installed in our room. She was really tired and went straight to bed. Dinner this evening was in BB-Ques, three chicken burgers and wedges and we were done. Realising how tired we were too we retired to our room. A walk was out of the question when a huge thunder storm began over the whole city. The sky was lit up for over an hour as huge bolts of lightening and cracking thunder followed. Friday was done!
Thursday, June 12th
Over to the University of Toronto at 9a.m., we tried out the McDonald's breakfast menu. The student accommodation that we really wanted was booked out, so we settled for booking the one we has toured the night before - not the best but it would do until Sunday. We went back to our hostel, TAXI back to UofT with our luggage.
We took the street car or TTC downtown and visited the landlady to confirm we wanted to rent her house! We went to a Fresh Food Market near our new home and had lunch there, walked around down town including a visit to the base of the CN Tower. We then went back to UofT to check in.
On arrival at UofT we were kindly informed that our credit card confirmed booking meant nothing. All rooms were booked and there was no room at the inn. Having been told nothing was confirmed, the three of us were not taking no for an answer and the accommodation office manager soon "found" rooms for us. A broken lift, an ignorant porter, an unmade room and an hour of complaining to management later we had the accommodation manager personally carry our 75kg of luggage to the 4th floor. In the midst of all this the three of us had been interviewed by AltisHR on the phone and arranged interviews.
A quick trip to the supermarket and we were WRECKED again.
Wednesday, June 11th
It was up "early" again, just in time for our 11 o'clock TAXI to Trinity Street for an apartment viewing. The landlady was a mad woman but is really nice. The house is gorgeous and we loved it. Heading back into town, we grabbed a smoothie and decided it was time to begin the intensive job hunt. We called all of the recruitment agencies and started the long walk up to staffworks at 1235 Bay Street and had interview number 1.
Following that we walked around the University of Toronto looking for accommodation. We found out who we had to call and made plans for the next morning as this was our final night in our first hostel. It was another early night for the three of us.
Tuesday, June 10th
Our first morning in Toronto and it was time for the orientation meeting from our working holiday company, SWAP. Still wrecked a lie in was necessary and therefore a TAXI to our meeting at 11a.m. in the SWAP office on King St. West. Three hours of information we knew already was greatly appreciated and we decided it was time to eat.
Gabby's was the location of choice as we wandered the streets amazed by the tall buildings and sights of our new home. Of course our waiter was Irish and was more than happy to sit with us and tell us all about living in Toronto and to point out the different hot spots on our map. Drinks on the house, our meal was delicious - not a bad choice at all.
The banks and mobile phone companies seem to be a little behind in terms of charges and rates compared to Ireland; this made our decision here a little harder. On the advice of SWAP we opened free student accounts with TD Canada Trust. This account gives us a maximum of 25 transactions per month before they charge us for EVERYTHING. However we did get our ATM/Laser card immediately. They were ultra-friendly.
Getting our mobile phones was slightly more of an ordeal as we entered the main shopping centre in the downtown area, the Eaton Centre on Yonge St. One sales man praised our accents, looks and even our shoes in a bid to sell us his "special" deal. But the cheapest option was to be found with Rogers, at $75 including $50 credit for the Nokia 6080. Luckily we were offered $10 to complete a survey after we bought the phones which took the sting out of being told we will be paying an arm and a leg to make, receive and think about calls.
We stopped off for some chicken wings at the beer garden of Pogue Mahones Irish bar. Sleep ensued.
Monday, June 9th
We landed at Pearson International at around 3p.m., made our way through passport control and declared our intentions at immigration. Each of us being asked different questions and getting different answers. Eventually our work permits were securely fastened to our passport pages, stamped and we were ready to go.
It was 36 degrees when we landed but the weather decided to take a turn and began to rain once we exited the terminal. Our coach arrived and brought us to the city centre, an IKEA and a few industrial parks later. We lugged our bags from the coach into a TAXI and headed to Sherbourne Street.
Installed in our basement apartment, we had two double beds, a kitchenette and en suite. We walked down town to the thick of the action, decided to celebrate our arrival in the Hard Rock Café at Dundas Sq. on Yonge St. (a very important street in Toronto navigation), the Canadian version of Time Square. Too tired to think and now in another rain shower it was a TAXI back to the hostel for a well deserved sleep.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)