My Canada experience, Parte Une

For me to write a comprehensive comparison between Canada and the United States at this point in time would be like trying to write a comparison of, well...Canada and the United States after spending only two weeks working in downtown Toronto without ever having seen anything else in this huge country. My Canadian experience has been limited to subway rides up and down Younge Street (actually under Younge Street, the longest street in the world by the way), working 11 hours or so a day in a Canadian pub, and gazing out the little window of my little room in the little rooming house in which I have been staying during my time here. I have managed to walk around the streets a bit, mostly to and from my little rooming house and the above mentioned subway and an occasional foray into the frigid Toronto nights in search of something to eat...never straying more than a few blocks from my temporary abode.

Today, Sunday, my day off, I plan on venturing out with my trusty Canon 20D and taking a few photos of, yes...downtown Toronto. There just isn’t enough time to go anywhere else outside of the capital of Ontario, or even downtown proper, while I am here. Besides, I’m not adventurous enough to do something like that on my own, ie, without a guide or another person with whom I can get lost. I have an all-day subway pass today and that will dictate the length and breadth of my journey...riding the subway around the city and actually getting off and on at the various stops. The little folded tourist map is tucked safely into my leather Harley Davidson riding jacket, the hand-written map proudly sketched for me by a regular visitor to the pub in which I work (a pub and bar tour map indicating some cool places with live music), and my $1.00 stocking cap I got for protection against the sub-freezing wind-chill temperatures and light snow I will encounter today in downtown Toronto...I am as prepared as I ever will be to get out for a while.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I will post some words and photos of my last day off in Toronto later today. I fly home next Saturday morning.

Bon voyage au moi.