Toronto is a great city with beautiful and friendly people. Ask anyone that has ever been here and they'll tell you that it's really nice and very clean and it has all of the trappings of any major metropolitan area. But for some reason and I'll concede that it must be me, the largest city in Canada has yet to touch my heart or move my soul. Yeah, it's nice, but to date I've found it uninspiring. Maybe it's too clean, maybe the people are too nice. I have formed some good friendships here and undoubtedly they will not be happy if and when they read this, but I'm hoping this current trip will convert me.
I flew here yesterday which forced me to leave the family on a Sunday so I know I'm already in trouble. The only thing that curbed this was the fact that the weather was absolutely dreadful. We spent the morning as a family piling a chord of wood. Deb thought it would be a good bonding experience for the kids to log off and pile logs on. The kids weren't amused but they stuck it out and we put a good dent in it.
Like me previous trips to Toronto, my drive to the airport and my flight were uneventful. When I got my luggage I realized I had to get some colorful and playfully named money, but the not one, but three ATM's were either out of order or out of cash. I started to question whether my card privileges had been terminated. Would I be stuck here?
I stood on a curb and hailed a taxi. "Where to?" asked the cabby.
"I'm going to the Marriott Renaissance."
Where?" he asked.
"The Renaissance, downtown. You know, it's connected to the stadium."
"I don't know where that is sir."
I thought he must be kidding. I said, "You know where the Blue Jays play? MLB? Baseball? You know next to the CNN Tower?"
"I don't Know that place, sir."
"Listen, you have two tourist places in this city and they're right freaking next to each other. Look. See that big tall thing? Take me there. "
He was actually a very pleasant man, and after he intentionally took me to the Residence Inn, and I corrected him. he kindly corrected me in saying that I shouldn't have incorrectly stated that Marriott because the hotel at Rogers Stadium was a Renaissance Hotel.
When I finally got the the MARRIOTT RENAISSANCE I was greeted by a very pleasant woman who checked me in. She informed me that the Blue Jays were out of town so the rates were a little lower. I already knew this but having even an empty baseball stadium as my view would still be pretty cool. When I got to my room the blinds were closed. When I pulled them open, this, and I'm not kidding here, was and is my view:
Laughing out loud, I left my room and headed out in search of food. Once again I spoke with the nice lady at the counter who told me that I wouldn't find much on a Sunday night but I should head to the harbour to a place called Pier 4. I found my way there and saw a festival happening with a lot of interesting food choices, none of which I could take advantage of because all I had was Uncle Sam's Green Currency of Evil. I passed by the West African and Indian Cuisine and went into the Pier 4. I then immediately walked out of the dreary cheap, establishment which should have been named Pier 70 thus reflecting the decor and the average age of their patrons.
At long last and after wandering through the city I finally stumbled toward my hotel which, again is conveniently seated just below the cabby elusive CNN Tower. That's where the remainder of my evening was spent. A little food, A cold beer. A good bartender. The NBA Finals and a local music rag. Maybe this place isn't so bad after all...
By the way, the shot glass wasn't mine.
2 comments:
I keep telling you Jackie, Toronto isn't part of Canada. It's like the "Portsmouth" Naval Ship yard. If it's any consolation, your better off than some poor bastard from England who finds out that he's getting sent to the US on business and it turns out to be Wilkes Barre, PA - in December!
Jack, What about the supermarkets in Toronto? See if you can take some pictures...
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