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ALASKA - BRIEF TRAVEL GUIDE
Explore the true North, the land of spectacular scenery, abundant wildlife and friendly hospitality. WHAT TO SEE, TO DO AND WHERE: Mount McKinley is the highest mountain in North America (6,194 m or 20,306 feet), 150 miles from Fairbanks. Mountain...
Balloon Flying in Thailand
Our trip to Thailand had been long awaited, originally planned
for the winter of 94/95. My wife Karin had bought the maps and
books and even packed; we were off. The balloon was ready at
Thunder and Colt with a heavy duty basket tailor made for...
Mexico's Mayan Riviera has something for everyone
Playa del Carmen and the Mayan Riviera have an exceptional array of attractions and activities from the Mayan ruins at Tulum to the Playa del Carmen nightlife, you will love your Mexico vacation. Here is a listing of some of the popular ones: ...
Serengeti Safari, Tanzania
No place in the world compares with Serengeti - and its neighboring wildlife havens - for the sheer exhilaration of its wildlife experience. It is so spectacular that it deserves more time to explore and absorb its full-blown beauty.
This is the...
Take Two On Cruise Travel Tips
Pay attention to the advice from frequent cruise travelers. They
have seen it all and have the stories to tell. Using their
guidance can make things a bit easier for an inexperienced
cruiser. After all, no one wants any "surprises" to put a...
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Hello from Toronto (4) - An Exploration of Toronto's West End
One of the beauties of Toronto is its diversity, the fact that
hundreds of ethnic groups from all over the world congregate
here in this metropolis and give their distinct flavour to this
urban mosaic of cultures.
Since I had already taken my European visitors on a walking tour
of downtown, covering most of the main sights, as well as on a
bicycling tour of Toronto's waterfront, I decided it was time to
show them some of Toronto's residential neighbourhoods for an
authentic feel of the city away from the big tourist sites.
We started in the East end and drove through East York, an up
and coming neighbourhood, originally working class, where many
of the older bungalows are now being upgraded into two-story
homes. Crossing the Leaside Bridge over the Don River, we
explored the upscale Leaside Neighbourhood, featuring
beautifully kept houses sheltered by a canopy of huge trees.
Making our way over through the equally upscale Moore Park
Neighbourhood we crossed the Mount Pleasant ravine to get to the
highrise towers of Yonge Street. Further west on St. Clair I
turned north towards Upper Canada College, one of Toronto's
foremost private high schools, an appropriate anchor point for
the elite Forest Hill neighbourhood. On our drive through this
exclusive area, my visitors noticed all the horseshoe-shaped
driveways in front of the mansions, something that I had never
even noticed before.
Heading back down to St. Clair we drove past the multi-ethnic
area around Bathurst Street, continuing our trek westwards
towards Corso Italia, another Italian neighbourhood in Toronto.
My European visitors commented on how green the city is,
something that struck them as very different from many European
cities. They also noticed that the residential neighbourhoods
very extremely quiet and peaceful and that all the hustle and
bustle and noise was confined to the main streets. We enjoyed
looking at the little corner stores, displaying flowers, fruits
and vegetables and the lively neighbourhoods with all the
shoppers.
Then we drove back south to Bloor Street and explored the Polish
area around Roncesvalles Avenue, right next to an area full of
stately houses and majestic trees on the eastern outskirts of
High Park.
Toronto's largest park was our next destination. High Park
features a variety of sports facilities, including baseball,
tennis, a swimming pool and is a mecca for fitness buffs. There
is also a small zoo with various bovine creatures, goats and
other smaller animals. The heart of the park of Grenadier Pond,
a beautiful natural body of water surrounded by willow trees.
Various fishermen were practicing their hobby, although we did
not know what type of fish they might catch.
We strolled along the pond while overhead the "Snowbirds", a
team of rather outdated Canadian fighter jets that have an
unnvering habit of crashing, were practicing for the Air Show.
They were doing loops and flying in various
Crews Get Handle On Wildfire North Of Los Angeles
Crews working through the night beat back flames and built containment lines around a two-day old wildfire that charred nearly 22 square miles of brush. The blaze was 62 percent contained Saturday morning and no structures were threatened, Fire Capt. Sam Padilla said. He said there were no open flames, which slowed the fire's spread.
Diplomat: 'Ghosts In The Room' Plague U.S., Iran
John Limbert, who spent 444 days as a hostage in Tehran, stepped down as head of the State Department's Iran desk on Friday. Limbert says that while the White House has made persistent efforts to change the tone of America's relationship with Iran, conflicts between the two nations are deeply ingrained.
formations,
sometimes surprisingly close to some of the highrise buildings
right next to the Humber River.
Once we had reached the southern edge of the park we turned
northwards again and walked past Colborne Lodge, the home of
Jemima and John George Howard, a monument to a couple that
helped to create one of Toronto's largest parks. The
Regency-style cottage, built in 1837, is also a perfect example
of the architecture that was so popular in the early 19th
century.
After High Park we headed further west through the lively Bloor
West Village neighbourhood, which features many stores and
restaurants, many of them Ukrainian. A craving for smoked
sausages and cabbage rolls can definitely be satisfied here.
Then we turned down from Bloor Street towards the parking lot
right next to the Humber River. We parked our car and went for a
half hour walk up the path by the river. I explained that the
Humber River leads towards salmon spawning grounds and every
fall thousands of brightly coloured salmon make their way up the
rapids. We also saw several grey herons, stalking their slippery
prey.
A nice gentleman, originally from New York City, stopped beside
us and asked if we wanted our picture taken. I immediately
spotted his accent and he admitted he had been in Toronto since
1963, I guess he still hadn't lost his accent. He gave us some
restaurant tips and walked on with his dog. A nice little
interlude.
All this walking had made us hungry and we wanted to return home
where my brother would fix us a delicious lunch. The last part
of our West End exploration included the very upscale Kingsway
neighbourhood, with its mansions, expansive front lawns and
majestic trees. From there I drove back through the Annex
neighbourhood and up the Rosedale Valley towards the Don River
Valley, where I crossed the river on Pottery Road. Again, my
visitors were commenting on the huge amount of green space that
Toronto had to offer.
Our second last destination along our driving tour was Chinatown
East, a collection of Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean stores at
the intersection of Broadview and Gerrard Streets, followed up
by Little India further east on Gerrard. The ethnic mosaic in
Toronto truly creates some astounding neighbourhoods and the
diversity as well as the large amount of green spaces had left
an impression on my European visitors. They commented that away
from the downtown core, Toronto didn't even seem like a large
city, but more like a colourful collection of villages.
About the author:
Susanne Pacher is the publisher of
http://www.travelandtransitions.com. It deals with travel to
foreign countries and is chock full of advice, tips, real life
travel experiences, interviews with travellers, insights,
cross-cultural issues, and many other features. Participate in
our travel story contest
http://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm and win great
prizes, a fabulous cruise to the Amazon. Life is a Journey -
Explore New Horizons.
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