Originally posted: Sunday, 3 May 2009
Hello all again, I hope you all are well. Everything here in Toronto is good. I would say of the places I have been to so far, Toronto is good, but not great. The one thing that saves it from being a shithole is the people. Canadians in general are really down to earth and accommodating. I have made some good friends who are fun to hit the piss with. But, before I go on about Canada eh, I will have a parting shot about my last week or so in New York after my last update.
I went to 2 baseball games in the space of 24 hours and have to say how much I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it was a Thursday night, I went and saw the Mets play the Padres at their new stadium. Unfortunately the Mets went down 4-5. And I have to say, sorry Yankee fans, but their new stadium (cost US$900 million), in terms of getting food and beers and the number of vendors, and getting to the toilet or whatever service you require, is much easier at Citifield than it is at Yankee Stadium.
Having said that, the following day I was at the new yankee stadium to see them
beat the Indians 6-5 in a barn-burner. There was about 6 home runs hit, and Derek jeeter hit the game winner in the 8th inning. It was the Yankees first ever win at their new stadium and their second only game ever there. I had bought my tickets online months ago, and it turned out they ere bleacher seats. I have never truly experienced 'the bleachers' before, and it is not somewhere where you take small children or the faint hearted, but the vibe there is electric - just make sure you never wear the opposing teams colours or Boston red sox gear, because you will get abused like I've never heard.
The only place I can compare it to would be standing in front of the scoreboard at adelaide oval during a cricket match. And I have to say, sorry Mets fans, but in terms of atmosphere and being in awe of a stadium, the new Yankee stadium (cost US$1.5 billion) is much better than Citifield. Even so, to think that you might be one of the first Australians at these new stadiums was pretty nice.
I also was able to go back to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks last game of the year, in which they flogged the Nets by about 30 points. My only regret about my time in new york is not having gone to an Ice Hockey game. They say it is much better live than on TV because there is so much going on away from the puck that you don't see on TV, much like AFL I would imagine. But all in all, New York was great. I got so much in there and took about 500 photos, so I was ready to leave when the time came.
And so here I am in Toronto! There are some things i like about it here. The pace is not too hectic, and the infrastructure is good. Subways and streetcars are frequent and easy to use. There are enough places to get smashed at. But apart from the CN tower and parts of the waterfront, there is not a whole lot to do or see here. And I have not been able to land some work like I would have liked. I have some leads which hopefully turn into something, and I'm in no danger of running out of money anytime soon, so I'm still having a fun time.
I went to a Major League Soccer game here last week, which was just like an A-league game on steroids. And Last night I went to see the Blue Jays play the Orioles at Rogers Stadium. It has a retractable roof, and is much like Docklands stadium, but they play on artificial grass, as was the soccer game. The city actually reminds me a bit about Melbourne, but without the intimacy or the identity or the art or the culture or the sport. The other bad thing about Toronto is the price of booze; about CN$6.50 for a pint.
Some people I have met have told me also how beautiful British Columbia is, so I am contemplating heading to Vancouver if I can't find work here. Whistler is also not far from there, so I could head up there for some Mountain biking/hiking.
Hello all again, I hope you all are well. Everything here in Toronto is good. I would say of the places I have been to so far, Toronto is good, but not great. The one thing that saves it from being a shithole is the people. Canadians in general are really down to earth and accommodating. I have made some good friends who are fun to hit the piss with. But, before I go on about Canada eh, I will have a parting shot about my last week or so in New York after my last update.
I went to 2 baseball games in the space of 24 hours and have to say how much I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it was a Thursday night, I went and saw the Mets play the Padres at their new stadium. Unfortunately the Mets went down 4-5. And I have to say, sorry Yankee fans, but their new stadium (cost US$900 million), in terms of getting food and beers and the number of vendors, and getting to the toilet or whatever service you require, is much easier at Citifield than it is at Yankee Stadium.
Having said that, the following day I was at the new yankee stadium to see them
beat the Indians 6-5 in a barn-burner. There was about 6 home runs hit, and Derek jeeter hit the game winner in the 8th inning. It was the Yankees first ever win at their new stadium and their second only game ever there. I had bought my tickets online months ago, and it turned out they ere bleacher seats. I have never truly experienced 'the bleachers' before, and it is not somewhere where you take small children or the faint hearted, but the vibe there is electric - just make sure you never wear the opposing teams colours or Boston red sox gear, because you will get abused like I've never heard.The only place I can compare it to would be standing in front of the scoreboard at adelaide oval during a cricket match. And I have to say, sorry Mets fans, but in terms of atmosphere and being in awe of a stadium, the new Yankee stadium (cost US$1.5 billion) is much better than Citifield. Even so, to think that you might be one of the first Australians at these new stadiums was pretty nice.
I also was able to go back to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks last game of the year, in which they flogged the Nets by about 30 points. My only regret about my time in new york is not having gone to an Ice Hockey game. They say it is much better live than on TV because there is so much going on away from the puck that you don't see on TV, much like AFL I would imagine. But all in all, New York was great. I got so much in there and took about 500 photos, so I was ready to leave when the time came.
And so here I am in Toronto! There are some things i like about it here. The pace is not too hectic, and the infrastructure is good. Subways and streetcars are frequent and easy to use. There are enough places to get smashed at. But apart from the CN tower and parts of the waterfront, there is not a whole lot to do or see here. And I have not been able to land some work like I would have liked. I have some leads which hopefully turn into something, and I'm in no danger of running out of money anytime soon, so I'm still having a fun time.
I went to a Major League Soccer game here last week, which was just like an A-league game on steroids. And Last night I went to see the Blue Jays play the Orioles at Rogers Stadium. It has a retractable roof, and is much like Docklands stadium, but they play on artificial grass, as was the soccer game. The city actually reminds me a bit about Melbourne, but without the intimacy or the identity or the art or the culture or the sport. The other bad thing about Toronto is the price of booze; about CN$6.50 for a pint.
Some people I have met have told me also how beautiful British Columbia is, so I am contemplating heading to Vancouver if I can't find work here. Whistler is also not far from there, so I could head up there for some Mountain biking/hiking.
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