Tuesday, March 06, 2007

::day 1 (15 feb 07) - toronto::
at the unearthly hour of about 4am, mich and i made our way to vancouver international airport to catch our flight to toronto!
the start of our east coast adventure - on the plane! severely sleep deprived - but excited!

no prize for those who can guess what carrier we flew on!

en route to the snow-laden east coast - we were crazy enough challenge the real canadian winter! compared to the east coast, the cold in vancouver is really zilch. i wonder how we managed to endure through conditions which got as cold as -20 degrees c!! the cold was absolutely penetrating - i felt as though the wind was blowing through my face!

nice quaint houses aplenty in toronto!

what historically rich architecture! this building is part of university of toronto's campus


kensington market area - a row of shophouses with eclectic finds. a glimpse of the toronto's multicultural mix, obvious in the shops packed with goods from europe, carribean, the middle east, south america and asia.

shang, mich and i at a cafe in kensington market area - hungryhungryhungry! it was in the afternoon and we were starving coz we didnt have our lunch!

my first meal in toronto - a typical breakfast set! coz i desperately wanted to try a bagel - everyone was genuinely shocked when they learnt that i havent eaten a bagel since i came to canada! haha. it's a really common snack in north america! in light of all the hype, i was a bit disappointed - but mich said that it wasnt a good bagel though.

making our way to cn tower - in the cold and snow. the nice tree lights created a christmas-y atmosphere!

cn tower - view from the bottom. this national icon (or more affectionately known as canada's wonder of the world) stands at a height of 553.33 metres. initially developed as a telecommunications tower, cn tower now attracts tourists - with its breathtaking views from its observatory on the top!

bomb-detector - all guests must go through this cool spaceship-like-looking machine, which blows air (through the holes) through various parts of your body! i wonder it works exactly?

in comparison with other skyscrapers around the world - cn tower boast to be the tallest building in the world. but mich and i were so skeptical coz it really didnt look that impressive. haha.

AHH..now we know why - they just extended the antenna of the building!! man i felt cheated of the cad$24 entrance fee. bah:/

view from the top!!

at least the view was quite spectacular! but i still feel that cn tower is overoverover-hyped!

standing on the supposedly famous glass floor, with its 342 metre view straight down to the ground!! it was so cool - but i couldnt stand there for long coz im afraid of heights!

posing with a moose - this photo seems to be a bit out of place - but im still in cn tower!

dinner at red lobster - i met up with uncle marc and his family! uncle marc is daddy's very good childhood friend! it's amazing how they have been keeping in contact after so many years - and in spite of the fact that they are so far away from each other. uncle marc still calls us on the first day of every chinese new year:) i was very happy to see them and i enjoyed catching up with them!!

anyway i had a dreadful misadventure before i finally got to the restaurant. i took the streetcar in the wrong direction and upon realization, i immediately alighted! of all places, i had to alight along a dark and deserted street:( i waited alone at the busstop in the freezing cold for a good 10 mins before the streetcar finally came and save my life. haha. thank God nothing happened!

dinner was a sumptious seafood feast - lobster, haddock fillet, scallops & shrimps & broccoli soaked in cheese (this is the ultimate!!) and baked rice! yummydelicious:) much thanks to uncle marc for the wonderful treat:)

after dinner, i headed back to zhu's place to join mich and the torontonians! it was great fun chilling-out/catching up with them - over cakes, cards and games:) much thanks to zhu who had us over for 2 days, in her beautifully-decorated room, which truly reflected the bohemian spirit in her! :)