Canada Trip Breakdown Part One

Cannot believe I am back in Vienna! What a whirlwind trip! I am so happy that I was able to do it and I am not doing another 4 years of no Canada. On this trip, I realized that Canada is still such a huge part of my identity and makes up so much of who I am. I spent most my life living abroad but Canada is in my blood and, wow, do I have a crush. I forgot how incredibly friendly people are. Not, that kind of friendly because of customer service skills, but real salt of the Earth kindness. I also noticed that Canadians don't like awkward silences. THEY MUST FILL THE SILENCE! I had countless conversations in the hotel elevators:

Random stranger (after I have pressed the button for my floor): Oh, there's a thirteenth floor?
Me: Yup!
R.S.: That's interesting. 13 is my lucky number.
Me: Mine too!
R.S: Oh wow!
Me: Mmmmhmmm.

Random stranger 2: Where you visiting from?
Me: Vienna, Austria.
R.S. 2: Oh? I used to live in Baden Baden!
Me: Oh wow!

Thank God it was a fast elevator because I probably would have ended up becoming besties with these people. One of my friends confided in me that she doesn't take the elevator at work anymore because she doesn't want to chit chat. I find that endearingly hilarious. And I say this as someone who will wait at the door until our neighbours leave so I don't have to chit chat either. Awkwardness. And, might I add that yes, Canadians say sorry A LOT! Like, all the time! And I love it.

My 4 days in Toronto were absolutely amazing. The Royal York hotel is fabulous and I spent a lot of time restraining myself from shouting "I'M DAISY BUCHANAN, BITCHES!" every time I walked through the lobby. It's a fabulous hotel from the twenties and I classed up the joint by wearing my Blue Jays t-shirt.

I slept, I ate and I checked out different neighbourhoods. I cried thinking of my life in Toronto and realizing how much I missed certain aspects of my Canadian life. I also cried at the prices of alcohol. On Thursday night I met a friend I had met in Vienna earlier this year. She was running a little late so I told her I would meet her at the Library Bar which is in the Royal York. I walked up to the hostess and asked for a table for 1. She asked for my name and room number and then said "Michael will serve you in a few minutes." Michael the waiter showed up and placed a drinks menu in front of me and my eyes searched for the cheapest drink. A pint of beer cost 9.50 before tax and a small piece of me died. I was offered a newspaper and I accepted happily because woman drinking in a hotel bar alone with newspaper looks less prostitute-like. I drank my beer and soon realized a drunken argument was taking place at the bar. There was a dermatology convention happening at the hotel and these two doctors were tanked and pissed off and I tried to figure out what they were fighting about. I like to think they were arguing about melanoma but who knows. A couple of minutes later, a drunk fifty-something year old doctor stumbled over to my table and said "Hey there, can I buy you a drink?" I politely declined and then went onto Facebook and updated my status to tell people I had been picked up. Now, I have spent the last few years feeling like a troll in Vienna. Like somehow I belong under a bridge, peddling crack. Getting picked up in Vienna is RARE! But, in Canada, open hunting season. I could not believe it! I am not the Elephant Man! Huzzah!

My friend E.S. showed up soon after and we went to Queen Street for some drinks and food. We shared poutine at the Friar and had a great view of the CN Tower. Around 11 it was time for me to pass out and we walked through the warm Toronto night back to Union Station. Such a fab time! I spent most of Friday swimming in the hotel pool "I'm Daisy Buchanan, BITCHES!" and then got dressed to meet my old friend from Trinity College, C.F. I decided to once again check out the Library Bar. When I walked up, the hostess from the night before said "Welcome back, Ms. Marr." and I felt so fancy. I was shown to a table and Michael took my order for another 9.50 pint of beer. Two women were talking and one exclaimed "He only sleeps with Asian women!" and I was in such a happy place. My friend C.F. showed up and we did the whole happy dance hugging thing and she ordered a glass of wine and we chatted. After our drinks, we walked up Bay Street to Gabardine. She had made reservations and it is a lovely restaurant. I ordered Mac and Cheese because I am the boss of me. We shared a bottle of rose and caught up and I squealed hearing all about her recent proposal. SHE IS GETTING MAWWIED! I also invited myself to her wedding so it looks like I will be back in Toronto next May! YES! After dinner we ordered cocktails and our friend A.M. showed up. I coincidentally met up with A.M. in Vienna a few weeks earlier when he was here for a conference. We paid our bill and then walked to the Friar. I am a creature of habit. We sat on the patio and at one point the waiter came out.

Waiter: Hey guys, just to let you know, there is a storm warning in effect.
Me: Oh. That is so sweet of you to warn us.
Waiter: Um. Actually, it is more to tell you that you can't bring your drinks in. I have to do it for you.
Me: What?
Waiter: The front door is public property so, as guests, you can't transport alcohol into the bar.
Me: WHAT?!?! BAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh Canadian liquor laws!!

Yeah, I was amused. The rain started, and we left our drinks on the patio so that they could be transported for us. We ordered some more drinks and the 3 of us talked and laughed. It was pretty wonderful. Around 11:00, my friend C.F. had to catch her bus and I walked with her to Union Station after we said good bye to A.M. We were buzzed and we spent the 20 minute walk talking about how much we missed each other and how much fun it was to see each other again. There is something truly awesome about old friendships and seeing that even as an angsty teen, I had awesome taste in friends. We hugged good bye and I went back to my hotel where I watched an episode of Cops because AWESOME! Saturday morning I woke up and definitely felt a little delicate. I had plans to meet a friend for a trip to the Beaches. K.K. who I met only this past winter in New York. She is an old friend of a friend of mine and she is studying in Toronto for a few months. We met in the lobby and made our way to the 501 streetcar as I tried not to keel over and die from the copious amounts of booze from the night before. After a 30 minute ride, we arrived at the beginning of the Beaches. The Beaches is one of my favourite places in Toronto and if we ever moved back and we had a lot of money, we would totally live there. We walked down the "Main Street" and then turned down the street that my sister used to live on. Oh the nostalgia! K.K. had never been to the Beaches and when we hit the actual beach, she realized why I love it. We took off our shoes and walked in the sand and talked and by 1, we were ready for lunch. We stopped at the Beacher cafe and sat on the patio. We ordered burgers and sangria (hair of the dog) and it was just absolutely lovely. We ate too much and I groaned when I stood up, so we got some coffee to go, walked a little more on the beach and then headed back to the city. It was truly an awesome Toronto day and made my heart hurt a little more. I love Toronto so very much. I was done-o by the evening so I got some take out and went up to my room for some TV watching and a good night's sleep.

Saturday was my last morning in the city and I had some time to kill before my train to Ottawa. I walked down to Harbour Front and took pictures and tried not to sob. Being in Toronto was amazing and while it has changed, it still has the heart that defines it. It's a bustling city with high rises and Jays fans and every type of restaurant you could imagine. The people are incredibly kind and chatty and there is an ease to being a native speaker of the language. I missed Toronto but didn't realize just how much I did until I came back. Sure, it's the summer and had I visited in January, I might have felt differently as my snot froze and I slipped on ice. But boy, is Toronto just an amazing place!

I will wrap this post up now because otherwise this would turn into a novel. I will add part deux of my trip in a day or two, titled: Ottawa, Adventures In. It is great to be back home and thank goodness I took some days off this week. My jetlag is bad and I am glad past Tova realized present Tova would have probably ended up stapling her hand to the desk had she gone straight to work this morning. I missed the Kid so much and he seemed pretty happy to see me. There was a lot of hugging and snuggling yesterday and this morning taking him to kindergarten was a joy. Today I will do some work (article editing and Autism stuff) and then in the afternoon I will do some shopping and then meet a friend for afternoon drinks. Affordable afternoon drinks. I wish you all a fabulous day!

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