Visit to the Maple Land - Toronto (Canada)

Memorial weekend (May 29, 2006) was so memorable. For a change I decided to fly across the lake (I wish I could have said ‘Ocean’!) to the land of Maple, Canada (Toronto).
I had a friend to host me. I reached Toronto Pearson Airport via United Express on Friday(they have such miniature flights too? my head was hitting the roof!). The airport was free of any hustle/crowd/whisper and with noise of few walking steps. It was a relief, nice start to a short vacation.
We took the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) bus to U of T (University of Toronto). UoT needs special mention. Thousands of multi-cultural students flock here and it has very rich and age old history. It has so huge campus with magnificent buildings, with many built in the English architecture, example would be Trinity College. It has a huge library building in Peacock shape .Wonderful.
The hostel of UoT is rented to the public during the summer and is worth a deal. Free breakfast for $5!
The most striking architecture of Toronto would be the CN tower, witnessed from any angle in any direction over a few miles in the city of Toronto, one gets a feeling (in gift shops as well) whether maple leaf of CN tower is the symbol of Canada. Its so renowned out there. Symbol of modernity.
Coincidentally there was “Doors Open Toronto” (http://www.doorsopen.org/) event over the weekend where over 140 doors are opened to the public, ranging from religious places to radio stations and film studios. Very unique and amazing. We visited a Buddha temple (the history was interesting) being run the lamas from Tibet and the CBC station cum studios. We were shown the studios which are quite compatible for any kind of shooting, be it the regular soaps or game show or movies. Toronto is next to California in entertainment industry. We had a chance to look into sound making studio of CBC radio station where a sound engineer gave our group a demo of various types of sound ( and situations) that could be simulated in the couple of well designed rooms (they have a real complete kitchen for kitchen scenes and broken pieces glasses and ceramic). Even a used chocolate wrapper is in stock! The “house keepers” are not allowed into this area of the studio!! There is a glass room, its like a vacuum, not a single echo there, to simulate outdoor scenes. It was fun. It was a rare and amazing opportunity in getting to know what is the behind the radio world.

There are many places to visit around Toronto like the Casa loma, the only authentic castle of the North America. Niagara falls is couple of hours drive.
The other places visited around the city were:-
Ø The “Center Island”, a tiny island full of greenery on Lake Ontario. It has few beaches (an optional clothing one as well!) and nice walkways. The best part is the boat ride (a 10 min) to the Island from the Beach front, downtown.
Ø “High Park” which houses a zoo and a very big lung space close to downtown. It is very refreshing and full of energy.
Ø Then there is this huge China town and Kensington market adjacent to each other, always flooded with people. One can get anything and eveyrthing at a cheap price.
Ø Eaton center Mall on Yonge Street, has a score of shops on the 3 level basement! Ranging from pricey stuff to affordable ones. Every prominent place a train station next to it, that’s a marvellous design.
Ø The skyline (buildings), though not a great size compared to NY skyscrapers, they are the gems on the crown of Toronto.
Ø Finally comes the Indian Bazaar, resembles and houses people from the sub-continent, Indians, Pakistanis etc. Tasted paksitani food and basked in the the native country atmosphere.
The most impressive and comfort factor is Toronto’s rail and roadway, its so well connected by TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) that one need not walk almost, bus stop almost every 100 meters and the street cars (bus on rails) that connect the rail stations to the city. Very well designed. But the same TTC makes or breaks normal life easily. There was a sudden strike on monday, it was decided at 7am itseems!!
My friend had pointed out a very delicious and authentic food serving, south indian restaurant - “Saravana Bhavan” which I couldn’t make it this time along with Niagara falls. Hence next time, Saravana is on top of my list!! Toronto is a must see place for its charm, variety, cosmopolitan and laid back lifestyle. On the 5th day I headed back home, with Sprint apps springing to life in my head!

Bay Bridge Day May 07, 2006

On a sunny and pleasant Sunday morning of May 07 2006, we set out towards the serene and scenic Annapolis (capital of Maryland) on the eastern shore. The bridge crossing Chesapeake Bay, adjacent to the pristine Sandy point beach has been the site of an annual Bay Bridge Walk since 1975 which is celebrated as the “Bay Bridge Day” typically on a Sunday in early May. The eastbound span is closed to traffic for use by the walkers, and the westbound three-lane span has two-way vehicular traffic that is controlled by overhead lane control signals. It is a 4.3 mile walk. The Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) organizing this event, had 3 parking spots from where shuttle buses would ply the visitors to the eastern end of the bridge. There were some makeshift eateries across the bus stop, from where we bought fries, lemonade and a bag of popcorn to supply us with energy! On the path leading to the bridge were posters placed to be sent to the US army in IRAQ, hence we signed, gave our wishes, thoughts and set off with our walk towards the bridge. It was unbelievable to walk on the bridge, felt like the king of the road with no vehicles to worry about. The atmosphere was so enthralling with water all around, the beautiful bridge and the fact that both people and motor vehicles were running on the bridge simultaneously. We could see the speed motor boats and couple of mid size ships moving past (privileged to get an aerial view) and a navy patrol controlling and restricting their movement under the bridge. There was enough vigil and medical support available across the length of the bridge and from air. We took loads of pictures and enjoyed the natural beauty. It was like a date with the bridge. There were thousands of people walking across, of all ages, an elderly couple (with walking stick) used to overtake us every time we stopped for a picture! That was interesting and inspiring as well. We explored the bridge, it had a story to share and we felt like a part of her. On the other end, elderly volunteers greeted us with a banner for having completed a walk one would cherish forever and gave us a certificate as a souvenir. That was sweet. Though bit tired we were immensely satisfied, we had a feeling of having to say good bye to a dear friend.