Glen Eden
I finally made it back to Maple Syrup Country and it was time to ski!!! FINALLY!!! OH YEAH!!! Went for a road trip to Glen Eden (a ski resort about 2 hours drive from Toronto City).
WOOHOO was my initial reaction when one of my Canadian mates offered to take me skiing and from far away the slopes didn’t look threatening. I was totally fearless! That didn’t last very long though...LOL...
I was talked into going on the learners slope before trying to take on the big ones and thank goodness for that!
I can’t even count the number of times I stacked it on that slope, felt like 10 thousand million times and it was physically PAINFUL!!! OMG! The learner’s slope was FREAKING Frightening!!! LOL!!! Although I was given some instructions on how to stop, it just wasn’t working for me and I kept on picking up momentum as I was sliding down the slope. So grateful that I only suffered bruises – I never made it past that learners slope. Oh well – NEXT TIME! Just happy that my last few slides on the learners slope were “CRASH FREE” haha...
Despite the crashes it was an AWESOME first skiing experience and I’d totally do it again!!!
NOTE: SKIING = AWESOME + SCARY!!! Adrenalin and fear all at the same time ;O) Let that be a warning for beginner skiers. Highly recommend getting lessons on skiing before taking on any slope (or just have a mate with you who knows how to ski and can pull you back up after you’ve stacked it)! Also ski equipment is heavy.
Mississauga
I spent a day in Mississauga, an industrial city located in Southern Ontario – there’s really only construction to look at. Notwithstanding, there stands an interesting looking pair of buildings called Absolute World. They’re nicknamed Marilyn Monroe for obvious reasons (the curves)... LOL... the buildings however remind me of Salt N Pepper shakers...
I also paid a visit to Lake Ontario (Mississauga end) and its adjacent park during my visit and that was nice. From the shoreline you can see the back drop of the industrial city that surrounds it. Sorry to say the lake is polluted so people don’t swim in it. At the time swimming in the lake didn’t look tempting anyway because it was partly frozen and so was I... haha...
Toronto City
Honest Ed’s
My Canadian mates introduced me to some very Canadian icons. One of which was Honest Ed's a landmark discount store located in Toronto City. It’s been at the same location for over 60 years.
The outside lights are reminiscent of a theatre marquee – PRETTY COOL!
Honest Ed's store reminds me of Australia’s Dollars & Sense store(s) only 100 times bigger. REALLY! The store is MASSIVE and covers an entire block. Mates and I weren’t paying attention to where we were going inside hence ended up lost in this MASSIVE store and going around in circles. It didn’t matter that I was hanging out with locals – we still ended up astray. It’s unlikely people exit the same way they enter... LOL...
Best bit about visiting Honest Ed's was reading the cool and funny sayings located both in and outside the store such as "Come in and get lost!"... haha... These sayings and every piece of store signage is apparently hand-painted.
Tim Hortons
In Canada, Tim Hortons is BIGGER than Maccas!!! Left, right and centre – Tim Hortons is EVERYWHERE – it’s hard to miss it! It’s Canada’s answer to America’s Starbucks. Biggest difference is the price.
Thankfully I have Canadians mates who wanted to show this Aussie a real Canadian bargain ;O)
For travellers like moi this restaurant is definitely easy on the purse, with hot drinks ranging from $1.00 to $2.00 CAD depending on whether you order small, medium or large. Extremely hard to find coffee and/or hot chocolate selling at those low prices in Oz. The hot beverages aren’t exactly the creamiest nor very milky but are nonetheless satisfying when trying to keep warm :O) Snacks such as donuts and croissants are rather cheap too.
If it's food and drinks you want at a great deal you’ll get it at Tim Hortons ;O) AWESOME!
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Thank you to my Canadian mates for the catch-ups and for pulling me back up onto my feet again every time I stacked it in skiing... LOL... YOU’RE THE BEST!!! LET’S CATCH UP AGAIN SOON!
