Leaving Chicago was fine. The plane was tiny but the flight was smooth. The reception we got at Canadian customs, though, matched the icy Toronto weather. Compared to the US (where we were practically waved through) the Canadian immigration officer grilled us. Where had we come from? Where were we going? You have family here? Where? Who? How many? I don't quite know what the purpose of it all was. Maybe to screen out people seeking asylum or attempting to work illegally. Anyway, after we made it through I really felt like screaming, "I MAKE IT TO CANADA! I WANT REFUGEE STATUS AND WELFARE!!!!"
We got into Toronto in the dying hours of the day and checked in to our hostel, the Canadiana Backpackers Inn.
We then went out to dinner at a nearby Asian restaurant. It was nice. The portions were manageable, which was a welcome change from the US. Plus, we switched back to saying 'bill' instead of 'check'. That was nice.
The rest of the night was spent doing laundry. What might otherwise be a boring task was enlivened somewhat by the circumstances. There was only one working washing machine at the hostel. It was full when we got there and we waited, watching that machine like the hunter might watch the deer, like the kestrel might watch the field mouse. When it finished cycling we prepared to pounce (or shoot, or swoop - I realise I didn't include an appropriate metaphor for pouncing earlier) only to have some Irish girl come down and dump another load in the thing and start the process over. Thwarted, we played the waiting game once again. Our wait was punctuated by a series of vignettes featuring some of the hostel's crazier characters. Eventually, several hours later, the whole process was complete.
So that's the end of the laundry story. It may be the most detailed story I tell. The next day, our first port of call was the Toronto Eaton Centre for some shopping. We then raced back to the theatre near the hostel to catch a 3D IMAX screening of Avatar, which was really sweet. Go see it for yourself and see what I mean. We then went back to our room, which we shared with two rather dour Kiwis. We got changed and then waited to be picked up by my cousin. He drove us up to my uncle and aunt's place in Aurora, Ontario. Along the way, we picked up his adorable little daughter, Paige who was just too cute.
(Zarah: You may remember I mentioned in a previous post the story of the fraud kangaroo. We hadn't had the chance to think about getting a present for Paige, so we ended up buying a stuffed toy kangaroo from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Eventually we came clean and confessed to the very un-Australian origins of the animal. Paige didn't seem to mind.)
On the way up there, she was completely silent in the car, just staring at Zarah in the back seat. Once we got to the house she came to life though, running around and talking.
It was really great to see my family again for the first time in a few years. We caught up and had dinner before my cousins took us to a Christmas charity party (theme: ugly Christmas sweaters) at a nearby bar.
It was great fun. Afterwards, we stayed the night in Aurora thanks to my family's very generous hospitality.
The next morning we had breakfast at a local restaurant before my cousin drove us back into Toronto. We had a relaxed time for the rest of the day. We went to Toronto City Hall to watch the Cavalcade of Lights. After that we headed up the CN Tower, from where we could see the Christmas fireworks.
We had big plans for the next day, but they were washed away by the fact that we somehow slept til midday. The smelly Kiwis moved out without disturbing us. Some hostel employee cleared the remaining linen off the beds and we didn't stir. Eventually we did haul ourselves up, but by then morning was long gone. We went to a place called Cora's for breakfast. It's a Quebec-based chain with a huge menu of fruit, omlettes, crepes and many other things. It was great. What was even better, though, was watching our waiter's reaction to Zarah eating a plate of rasperry crepes and a full egg breakfast. At one point he actually bent over laughing.
In short order, it was dark. We headed back to City Hall where I tried my hand at some ice skating and Zarah watched with great amusement. I didn't fall over though, which is important to note.
Anyway, the next morning we got picked up by my cousin and dropped at the airport, which was nice of him. From there it was off to New York, but that's another story.
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