Stats:

Odometer start: 13628

TTC Day Pass ($10.00).

Gas:

• Esso, Lakeshore. ($1.244/litre, 39.2 litres)

Meals:

• Breakfast: Gladstone Cafe. Ham, egg, and cheese bagel and maple donut. About $6.00.
• Lunch: Ethiopiques. Vegetarian platter, water. $9.04.
• Dinner: Studio Restaurant. Banquet burger, fries, salad, Sprite. $13.40.

Sleep: Grange Hotel, Toronto.

Notes:

Rain threatened but never really arrived. Drove to breakfast at the Gladstone Café and then did a little Lakeshore drive and came back to the hotel via Bathurst. Decided to risk the dampness and left the car at the hotel, opting for foot and transit the rest of the day. Walked downtown, took the King Street streetcar to Broadview and the Dundas back to Church. Had lunch at a  great Ethiopian place at Church and Dundas. Walked back downtown, bought a memory card at Henry’s and took the King Street streetcar all the way to Jameson. Came back to hotel on the Queen Street car and shot video all the way.

Later on, took the Dundas streetcar to Yonge and then the subway to Wellesley. Had dinner at the Studio Restaurant on Church (which I’d seen on Tuesday). It was a strangely surreal 1960s sort of place. The patrons were me, what I presumed to be a very old gay male couple, and two sweet little old ladies in hats, one of whom was apparently a man dressed as a sweet little old lady in a hat. I loved the place.

Wandered down into the homohood and even briefly into a bar, which reminded me why I no longer go to queer bars. The rain started again on my way home.

Photos (flickr link):

[flickr-gallery mode=”tag” tags=”trip2011, day07″ tag_mode=”all” sort=”date-taken-asc”]

Stats:

Odometer start: 13518

Meals:

• Breakfast: McDonald’s, Toronto. Number 2 meal: Sausage McMuffin, hash browns, Diet Coke. $5.41.
• Lunch: Café Hesed, Newmarket. Crispy fish lunch special with rice, salad, Fresca. $7.90.
• Dinner: Smiley’s. Pork souvlaki dinner with Greek salad, rice, potatoes, water. $13.50.

Sleep: Grange Hotel, Toronto.

Notes:

Rained most of the day so I planned this as my “Car and suburbs” day. Went on the obligatory Walmart run in the morning (St. Clair West) and had breakfast in the attached McDonald’s. Drove back in via Eglinton, then north on Yonge all the way to Newmarket. Hit several stores (photos later on Groceteria) and had a surprisingly good and cheap lunch in a little Chinese-owned café in downtown Newmarket. Drove back in on the 400 on the 407 to Dufferin, with several stops.

Made another long drive too close to rush hour in search of dinner. Ended up far east on Danforth at a Greek diner full of really loudmouthed, obnoxious locals (the Canadian equivalent of rednecks, I guess). The restaurant was a great holdover from the 1970s and I heard both Chilliwack and Saga on the radio while eating. It was sort of like being in a bad 1985 America movie set in Canada.

Came home and watched two shows on HGTV that aren’t on the American version and I realized my chafing from yesterday’s really long walk(s) was in bad shape, so I headed to Shoppers Drug Mart at 11:30 for ointment and band-aids.

Photos (flickr link):

[flickr-gallery mode=”tag” tags=”trip2011, day06″ tag_mode=”all” sort=”date-taken-asc”]

Stats:

Didn’t drive. TTC Day Pass ($10.00).

Meals:

• Breakfast: Pumpernickel’s, Toronto. Power Up breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled, sausage, bacon, potatoes, fruit, toast, Diet Coke. $8.30.
• Lunch: Messini, Tornoto. Pork gyro, Diet Coke, water. $7.35.
• Dinner: India Palace, Toronto. Dinner special: Samosa, butter chicken, rice, aloo gobhi masala, naan, gulbjamun. $14.64.

Sleep: Grange Hotel, Toronto.

Notes:

Walked and did transit all day. Walked Queen Street to Yonge, up and down Yonge (breakfast off Dundas Square), over to Church, and upto Bloor. Took subway to Danforth and Woodbine. Walked to Coxwell. Subway to Pape. Had lunch at a place in Greektown. Walked to Broadview. Subway to Yonge and then to Union Station in search of the TTC Shop (which no longer exists). Walked around Union Station. Took subway to University and Spadina and walked through Chinatown back to the hotel.

Showered and rested my feet for a while and then headed back out about 4:30. Walked around Kensington Market (and did a self-portrait with the Al Waxman statue in the park), then took the Spandina streetcar to Bloor and walked around the Annex. Subway to Yonge and Dundas to shoot twilight video. Walked around downtown some more and found the HSBC branch to replenish my cash. Took Queen Street streetcar to dinner and back to the hotel. Had a great and relatively cheap Indian dinner at India Palace. Called mom and dad. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow.

Toronto transit is so wonderful. It’s fast, dependable, and behaves pretty much exactly as you expect it to (unlike most transit systems).

Photos (flickr link):

[flickr-gallery mode=”tag” tags=”day05″ tag_mode=”all” sort=”date-taken-asc”]

Stats:

Odometer start: 13354

Gas:

• Tops, Hamburg NY ($3.63/gallon, 3.2 gallons, 86.1 miles)

Meals:

• Breakfast: Peg’s Place, Hamburg NY. French toast, sausage, 2 eggs scrambled, iced tea. $19.41 for two.
• Lunch: Tim Horton’s, St. Catherines ON. BLT and donut combo, 7-Up. About $7.
• Dinner: The Tulip, Toronto. Turkey dinner, carrots, mashed potatoes, stuffing, salad, pumpkin pie. About $20.

Sleep: Grange Hotel, Toronto.

Notes:

Breakfast with Sarah at an old Howard Johnson’s that’s now called Peg’s Place. Drove around a bit more and then came home, said goodbye to Sarah and Brad and the puppies, and headed out.

The camcorder I bought yesterday was defective (it wouldn’t focus) so I traded it in for the same model. Much better.

Crossed into Canada about 1:30. No real trouble at the border but I had to go inside to the immigration desk due to my permanent resident visa and answer several questions that were not really all that much more intense than the usual border set. Entered with no problems and headed into Fort Erie searching (unsuccessfully) for an HSBC branch to get money. Finally found one in St Catherine’s, where I also had a predictably uninspiring lunch at Tim Horton’s.

I get so squishy excited when I’m driving into Canada listening to Jazz.FM or CBC Radio. Arrived in Toronto about 4:30 and checked in at the Grange Hotel. Room small and spartan and not as fresh-smelling as it could be, but it’s fine and clean and has cable. The location is amazing. Walked around the Annex in the early evening looking for Thanksgiving dinner and finding none. Went for a drive after knowing I’d find turkey at the Tulip in Leslieville (where Mark and I ate our first night in Toronto in 2006) and I was right. There were many assorted homos and hipsters there having their holiday meals. Most of the city seemed closed for the holiday.

CBC News, Family Guy, email, and bed afterward.

Photos (flickr link):

[flickr-gallery mode=”tag” tags=”trip2011,day04″ tag_mode=”all” sort=”date-taken-asc”]

Stats:

Did not drive.

Meals:

• Breakfast: Toast and coffee at Sarah and Brad’s.
• Lunch: Schwabl’s in West Seneca. Beef on Weck with fries, pickled beets, water. $27.68 for two.
• Dinner: Takeout white pizza and wings from Edie’s in Hamburg.

Sleep: Sarah and Brad’s house.

Notes:

Sarah and I headed to Best Buy to exchange the video camera (replace with a Samsung H300) and then ventured to West Seneca for lunch. After lunch, we made our way into Buffalo proper and drove around downtown, Elmwood, and North Buffalo, among other places. There are some really nice neighborhoods in Buffalo, not to mention parks designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. I thought I’d like it here and I was right. We walked around downtown a bit and then came home around 6:30 for some very good takeout pizza.

It was really warm all day. Called my parents tonight. Allergy issues all day so I dosed on Benadryl.

Photos (flickr link):

[flickr-gallery mode=”tag” tags=”trip2011,day03″ tag_mode=”all” sort=”date-taken-asc”]