Apr 17 2011

Toronto Day 2: Niagara weather change

After a few hours sleep, we decided to get up and attempt to seize the day. Unfortunately the weather forecast was correct, and it was raining in the morning. Most of the things we planned for the day were outside, so we might have to rethink this itinerary. Instead of going to the CN Tower and the Toronto Zoo, we’ll head for Niagara Falls.

Before heading to Niagara though, we decided to stop at a place called Sweet India for some lunch. It was really affordable, and not bad at all for the price. On the way out, we saw all of their deserts. Thinking that we should try a bunch of them, I got a box of a dozen cookies and such. They were really interesting. These little pastries that looked like doughnut holes were actually wet because they had been soaked in syrup. We also got a bunch of different flavours of barfi, which is a bit like marzipan.

The drive around Lake Ontario (through Hamilton) was about 90 minutes, which wasn’t all that bad considering the poor road conditions due to the heavy rain and fog. Upon arrival, the rain was still pretty intense, but we tried to find parking to view the falls anyway. I found this place that said free parking with entry ticket. It turned out to be this bird aviary, which was quite cool! We went in, and there were three floors of differently-themed aviaries, each with birds native to that type of climate and environment. I took plenty of photos, and once I get home, I will try to upload some of them.

After the bird sanctuary, we decided that we would try to walk down and see the falls. It was quite chilly and damp, but we made the walk anyway. Right around the time that we got to the falls, the rain dissipated, the clouds cleared, and the sun came out. What a difference! Not only did it feel significantly warmer, but it really gave us the chance to see the falls like they should be seen. They were spectacular.

The drive back to Toronto was a lot nicer (and shorter) without the heavy rain. We made it back in a bit over an hour. Once back, we tried to find a place to eat, but unfortunately, many of the places on the GPS weren’t there anymore, or were closed. After driving around in circles, we went back to a place that was somewhat like a Chinese buffet. We bought a bottle of sake, and enjoyed a quick meal before heading back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we are going to try to see a bit of downtown, provided the weather isn’t as bad as today. 😉

|:| Zach |:|

Apr 16 2011

Toronto Day 1: Flights, weather, and delays, oh my

So today was not all that great. I took off work about an hour early in order to get to my flight to Toronto on time. Made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare, and started making preparations for the trip. As the first-class passengers were starting to board the plane, I noticed that the skies outside were getting quite dark and the rain was pretty heavy. The flight was delayed by an hour.

As I had a connecting flight from Chicago with only a fifty-minute layover, I realised that I wouldn’t be able to make it. I called to change the flight, and bumped it up to the next connection. No big deal. Another hour goes by, and we still haven’t boarded. I called to change the flight again, and realised that now I wouldn’t be able to rent my car as the rental agencies in Toronto close at 22:00. Ugh.

We get to Chicago, to find out that neither of those connecting flights made it in, and that we will have to take the flight to Toronto departing at 21:30. With the time change, we will now be arriving at midnight. Unfortunately, that flight didn’t take off until about 11:30, and we didn’t get to YYZ until about 02:00.

While in Chicago, though, we were tired, hungry, and thirsty. These wonderful girls from Toronto gave us some of their breakfast bars and water, since there were no restaurants open in the airport. They were incredibly nice, and uplifting during an otherwise not-so-pleasant experience.

On the flight into YYZ, I sat next to a man from the area, and we chatted about life in Toronto, and all the things that we should do while visiting. I told him that I had been to Ontario (including Toronto) about four years ago, but that it had been during the summer. He looked at me and said “were you here for one or both days of it?” Quite funny, although he might have been serious. 😉

After landing, going through customs, and getting our baggage (which miraculously arrived on the same flight), we needed to find a taxi. That was not the easiest task, and we ended up taking a “car.” Not understanding that the driver meant a luxury car, and being too tired to really care, we went for it. The roughly eight minute drive to the hotel cost me an amazing CAD $70! WOW, that’s more than the car rental for the entire trip!

So, I’m glad that the day is finally coming to a close, and hope that the first full day in Toronto proves to be nicer.

|:| Zach |:|

Mar 29 2011

New Libera site

After many months of preparation, and tons of coordination over the past few weeks, the new Libera site has gone live! Thank you to Ian at colesi for the beautiful design implementation, Andy for liaising between Ian, the rest of the Libera crew, and me, and to all others that had a hand in this amazing new look! The first server has been launched in Saint Louis, Missouri, United States. As soon as finances allow, I will be placing another server in London, UK (or Amsterdam, Netherlands depending on choices of carrier hotels) followed by possibles in Kyoto, Japan, and Sydney, Australia. My hope is to geolocate DNS so that everyone around the globe will have as quick and efficient of a connection to the site as possible.

Please check out the new site, and drop me a line if you have questions, comments, or concerns:

www.libera.org.uk

|:| Zach |:|