Michael Stanley writes, Well, some of my American relatives are visiting, and what I'd like to know is if they are just naturally STUPID or just plain BRAIN-DEAD.
They live in Michigan, about an hour south of Detroit, so they're pretty close to the border. My cousin brought his girlfriend, who neglected to bring any summer clothes, because 'I thought it was cold and wintery all year round'. Also, this same person, when conversing about the Quebec situation, thought 'isn't Quebec on the West Coast?' and 'I thought everybody spoke French in Canada, I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to speak with anybody.'
This morning I took her to the Square One shopping mall in Mississauga to buy some suitable clothing. She seriously thought that Canada was too small to have shopping malls! This list goes on, and on, and on, and it wasn't only her that had these misconceptions, others in her group also shared them.
I'm proud to be a Canadian, I've been in several other countries around the world and have seen their situation. However, I think we need to let other people (especially Yankees) know what we're all about! It took some explaining last night to make her (and others) believe that we have Provinces, not States, and work with the British system of government, not American. Some of them were shocked to find out that we have a Prime Minister, not a President, and that Canada is actually larger than the US. Something is seriously wrong.
On the bright side, we have Molson XXX, and boy, am I going to have fun later!
Frank Heisler had someone email saying "Hey wait a sec... You guys have phone lines running into your Igloos? How do you keep your computer from freezing up?"
And the coup de grace:
Etienne Brûlé was the first European to see Toronto, on the northwest corner of Lake Ontario. In 1720, English traders set up a trading post, having bought the area from the Mississauga Indians. In 1793, it became the capital of Ontario under the eye of Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe. He named the town York, and laid out Yonge Street. By 1834, York had 9000 people. That year, it took back its old name: Toronto. By 1911, 375,000 people called Toronto home. In 1953, Fred Gardiner formed Metropolitan Toronto, the first metro government in North America, out of 13 municipalities. Today, Metro consists of over 3 million people and six boroughs: the cities of Toronto, North York, York, East York, Scarborough and Etobicoke.
Petunia Clark got it right: the downtown district is jammed with noise, lights and courses with life. The actual downtown core is nestled inside "the Loop", the U-shaped subway line running between St. George, Union and Bloor/Yonge stations.
Canadian National Exhibition Lakeshore Boulevard area. (416) 393-6000 Known as the CNE, or 'the Ex', this carnival-like park originated from a farm show. Other than the midway rides and contests, it's relatively dull. It's become a giant bazaar of sorts. Parking is nearly non-existent and food is greasy. It's only open two weeks of the year in August, too. Look around, then go south to Ontario Place instead (OP admission is included in price). The Molson Indy is also here in the summer.
Centreville Centre Island. (416) 203-0405 Located on a charming little island in the harbour, Centreville is a circa 1900's children's amusement park. It's rather cute. There is a little Main St. with little shoppes, a town hall, a railroad station and lots of traditional rides, such as a real 1890's merry-go-round. There's also the free petting zoo called Far Enough Farm. Pack a lunch - the food is terrible, terrible. It's free to enter, with small fees per ride.
Chinatown Spadina Ave. Stretching from Queen St. to College St., this is a pure shopping mecca, not to mention culture shocks galore. The largest in North America, it bustles with activity and fishy smells. You can sample to cuisine from various restaurants (usually with a toasty-red chicken hanging in the window) and haggle some bargains from grocers. There are also large shopping centres here too. More importantly, there's tons of Sailor Moon and Sanrio merchandise here.
ChumCity Building 299 Queen St. W. (416) 591-5757 This is the 'futuristic headquarters' of that goofy TV station Citytv, Channel 57, Bravo! and MuchMusic. This is a station where the crew are easy-going and the only one in the world without studios! Interactivity being its key, the whole building is rigged so that one could go on live, anytime, anywhere. Their website allows you to read TV listings, or just watch the ChumCity building via realtime camera. Citytv broadcasts both Star Treks, by the way.
CN Tower 301 Front St. W. (416) 86-TOWER This is the largest free-standing structure in the world and Toronto's second-youngest historic landmark. Measuring 553 metres, it was built as a telecommunications antenna. If the sky's clear, you can take a peek from three observation decks - including the Space Deck, 133 stories high - as far away as Niagara Falls. It's also home to the 360 Revolving Restaurant. At the base, you can play mini-golf, Q-Zar and ride a space-age pinball ride in the Simulator Theatre.
Eaton Centre The entire east block at Yonge between Dundas and Queen. (416) 598-2322 or (416) 595-1691 Oh yeah, the Eaton Centre is a shopping mall, with 3 million square feet of over 300 shops and services housed under its glass atrium. There's fibreglass geese flying over head. Level 1 carries convenience stuff and food. 2 has stuff for the middle incomes and Level 3 has high-priced fashions and trinkets as well as a skywalk to the Bay.
George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art 111 Queen's Park. (416) 586-8080 The quiet place to go to learn all about porcelain. You can see cups, saucers, bowls, and, the most popular display, small ceramic figurines such as Harlequin. It's a $25 million dollar collection of rare ware in all. Best of all, its free in ROM admission and across the road. Do NOT bring the kids as they'll die of boredom. Only for true ceramic lovers.
Harbourfront Centre 235 Queen's Quay W. (416) 973-3000 This is a graceful complex residing on the shoreline. There's the eight story Queen's Quay Terminal with a theatre, the Power Plant (formerly icemaking now art exhibiting), the York Quay Centre with its concerts, theatres and crafts, a canoe/skating pond and the Maple Leaf Quay, with the great Antiques' Market.
Maple Leaf Gardens 60 Carlton St. (416) 977-1641 This squat historical landmark is the hockey home of our Maple Leafs since 1931. For twenty years the 'Maple Griefs' was synonymous with incompetence and was a butt to jokes like "I left my Leaf ticket in the unlocked car and I found two when I got back." Anyway, they play 40 home games from October to April.
Ontario Place 955 Lakeshore Boulevard W. (416) 314-9900 Built on three landfill islands, Ontario Place is another amusement park. There's the HMCS Haida (a WWII battleship), the Cinesphere with its titanic IMAX filmscreen, the Molson Ampitheatre (an outdoor concert hall), Nintendo Power Pod, LegoLand and the Children's Village. Unfortunately, it's a ripoff - you pay for admission AND per ride - and food is weird. It is home to the 70mm Movie Festival and the Symphony of Fire fireworks/music display. Oh well...
PATH Concourse Under Downtown, from Eaton Centre to Union Station Called the Underground City, it, at a minimum, a five kilometre maze of tunnels connecting downtown skyscrapers together. However, it is a city in itself, with 300 shoppes, banks, the TTC subway, eateries and theatres. It's clean, warm and safe. There's art, musicians, trees, fountains and auto-climate control - great for escaping the maddening weather we have in T.O.
Royal Ontario Museum 100 Queen's Park. (416) 586-8000 "ROM wasn't built in a day." Sure, it is a museum. However, it dares to differ. Packed with 6 million artifacts, it is a true cultural experience. There's traditional displays of precious jewels, those dino fossils, statues, mummies and paintings as well as multimedia displays in the Bird Gallery, a Ming tomb, an Islamic home and a bat cave - bat squeaks included. Admission includes Ceramic Museum. Note: Due to poor attendance, the adjoining McLaughlin Planetarium was closed in 1996.
SkyDome 1 Blue Jays Way (416) 341-3668 Sitting on Front Street like a sleeping oyster beside the Tower, its gimmick is the retractable roof. SkyDome is also Toronto's youngest historic landmark. With 70,000 seats, its home to the dashing Blue Jays, the ok Argonauts, the AutoShow and various concerts in its 'SkyTent'. It now can serve beer, which should be interesting. Better yet, smuggle a pop and a hotdog from the countless vendors outside (they hate that).
Toronto Islands Toronto Harbour, Ferry Info at (416) 392-8193 In eight minutes, a ferry can whisk you to T.O.'s oases - Centre, Ward, Algonquin Islands and Hanlan's Point. It's really beautiful there. Eat a picnic, go for a swim, or view the unobstructed view of the city. The islands total 550 precious acres of pure parkland. Centre Island can get really busy at weekends, but the other islands are just as nice.
"The last person to talk to King Phelemon directly, the king cut off his - well, you know, what they grow in Macadamia, sir." --King Arestes's advisor, Hercules: TV
![[Sightseeing Toronto]](to.gif)
![[Delta/Vega Graphx Logo]](image.gif)
HoTaMaLe! Gregory Lam's Website