I landed in Toronto really late on Monday midnight because my flight from NYC was delayed for hours so my friends and I couldn't pick up our car at the rentals. Instead, we headed straight to our sweet hotel suite not too far from the airport. The next day, with our Toyota Yaris, we drove to Downtown Toronto to enjoy the hustling and bustling the city had to offer. Toronto earned the title of "Ethan's Best Architecture City" because of its super modern glass use in office and residential buildings. Last year one of my kids told me about Toronto and how beautiful its architecture was, but upon seeing it so myself I must concur with her. There's a famous market called "St's Lawrence" which has all sort of food including Foie Gras (it's illegal to produce this in America due to animal ethics concerning force-feeding). My friend bought a pound or so for $30! They said it tasted like pate and wanted me to try but I was too afraid! The thought of it reminded me of those poor ducks. I did, however, try the famous peameal bacon sandwich and it was delicious! I learned that Canadian bacon was the same as American ham. I notice that Canadian are much more laid back than the Americans. I'm sure it's better outside of the metropolitan area but even for the folks in Downtown they seemed to enjoy life more. I don't know, it's something about the way they talk and present themselves with elegance and class. Around 5 PM when people got off work, I saw many people with some of the biggest smiles on their face. The weather was superb, not too cold nor hot. Toronto also has some of the biggest and best malls I've ever been to, namely Eaton Mall across Yonge and Dunedas street. The buskers there are so different and amazing as well. It's funny, one evening a group of Native Indians played beautiful ancient music with flutes in the square and people were dancing to it, and there was this transvestite that tried to hit on my by grabbing my hands. Boy, I think I ran faster that night than I did on my marathon! Oh, a bird also shat on my head that day.

Ok, moving on, the next day my friends and I drove to Buffalo before stopping at the Niagara Falls to eat some hot wings. We went to two wing restaurants simply because Buffalo was the birthplace of this delicacy. They were really expensive, but worth the experience. To get the most out of the falls we crossed the border to view on the Canadian side. I parked on the American side because according to my research it was cheaper and the attractions are less crowded. I must say, the media made the falls look so grand and tall, but in real life they're actually not that impressive! I mean, they're beautiful and all (especially at night when the lights illuminate the water), but I thought they'd be a lot taller. That day we crossed the borders four times, twice to America and twice back to Canada. Getting out of America was easy peasy, but getting back in was TOUGH. Damn, those custom officials really gave us a hard time. I was pissed in one of the crossings because there was this white family of 4 that basically had no trouble, and when I was next they see this extraordinary dark looking Asian guy and seemed to be nervous. How I saw it, it wasn't even an interview, but more of an interrogation. When I return from my oversea trips to LAX, they see my American passport, greet me with a warm smile saying "Welcome back" and wish me on my merry way. These border officials, on the other hand, gave me shit. The Niagara Falls was a day trip as there were a lot to do. We did Maid of the Mist which was a 20 minute boat ride to face the wrath of the falls. My camera got soaking wet but I was able to capture some nice shots with a rainbow. In my opinion, the Canadian side is better than the American because you get to see the falls directly across whereas on the American side you can only see part of it on the side. The Canadian side has a straight walkway with beautiful views but everything on the American side is cheaper. The closer you get to the falls, the more it seems like it's raining. Did you know that the flow rate of the water is 980,000 gallons per....second!? I guess this is one reason why the falls are experiencing such quick erosion.

Toronto is so lovely, I can totally picture myself living there. I was told there was a distinct difference in accent from America to Canada, but I couldn't tell. Traffic sucks so badly during rush hours, especially in Downtown. I must admit, it's even worse than LA's! There is a waterfront that is worth visiting. When I lucked out when I was there because of a concert that was playing. I took a ferry to one of the 3 island parks to take pictures of the skyline and stayed there for a few hours because the sun refused to set until...10 PM! The next day I decided that I ran out of things to do so I watched Man of Steel. Haha, being the Asian I am, I sneaked a box of to-go pad thai and half a dozen of Cantonese bakery into the theater. As the movie reeled in, I open my pad thai to eat and boy was the smell strong! I was so embarrassed that I'd bother my neighbors so I escape to the very back side to eat. All in all, I thought Toronto was very enjoyable and I'm glad I went here.