Between 15 and 27 March, Claire and Dad spent almost 2 weeks (without Keira or Mum) with the primary goal of completing some work experience (Claire) with a Canadian Architect, to go on a Scott-Pilgramage, and to experience life in Canada's chilly 'Spring'.
The Journey: The trip started with a bit of a misadventure, with Dad not realising you need an ESTA to transit through the US, leading to a very nervous 1.5 hour wait for approval (lots of emotions). We then experienced delays because of some major US storms, and arrrived in Dallas some 5 hours late (and an hour after our connecting flight departed!). So an overnight in Dallas (where at least we got to experience Whataburger twice and get ripped off by a homicidal taxi driver - the true Texas experience), we were once again on our way to Toronto. Where, the airlines managed to lose our bags for 3 days!
Overall, the trip was amazing, exploring Toronto, lots of Dad-Daughter time (cue eye-rolls from Claire) and a great time at Core Architects. We saw Kim's Convienience (which was truth-be-told terrifyingly scary...we felt like we were about to be mugged, have the car stolen and/or get food poisoning from anything inside the store. Not quite the experience we expected. Claire loved that every 3rd store was a cannibas store (though she didn't try any)... And we captured our first image of a true snow flake! We also went to a standup comedy night (All of us are Asian) which was definitely an 18+ event, we did a bit of shopping, a lot of exploring, eating, and bonding (cue another eye roll).
The Office Experience - Here we had a near studio-like experience of The Office (US), seeing all the iconic sets and scenes, paraphenalia and inside secrets. This was in a mall, and the journey there was our first real foray into the cold, as it was -4 and we had not yet recieved our bags!
Work Experience (the other Office) - Claire spent a full week working with the team at CORE Archictects. We were introduced to CORE via Foster + Partners, as the two firms are collaborating on a high-rise development aptly named, The One. Claire spent the week doing a crash course in all things archiecture, and came away having started the design of a three storey carpark. Highlights for Claire...lunch - going across to the supermarket and buying different combinations for lunch each day. Highlights for Dad, walking to work with Claire each morning...exploring the city after work. Claire's style for the week - full Mum! Almost every outfit was mum!
Pilgram-age - As one of the key attractors to Toronto, Scott Pilgram vs The World (thanks Daniel) has been a favourite of Claire's since the first time she saw it. So we had to take the opportunity to see the world through Scott's lens, and thankfully it was snowing for our Pilgramage. We managed to visit Casa Loma (aka Evil X #2), the Baldwin Steps (A grindy thingy), the park with the swings, and Sneaky Dees (from the comics). We tried to visit the library (where Scott first sees Ramona), but apparently it had been renovated, and the infamous stairs removed!
The Views - Amongst the rest of the fun, we also got to see some of the views of Toronto. First from CN Tower (Toronto's observatory tower) which was actually pretty cool - we got there first thing in the morning (after walking in the -5 degree weather) and were treated to amazing views. It rained shortly after which wasn't so amazing! We also enjoyed the views at the Art Gallery, and from the rooftop bar of the Park Hyatt.
Niagara Falls & Niagara-on-the-lake - As a finale to the trip, we hired a car (well that was an adventure in icy rain, forgetting our passport, and being terrified driving on the wrong side of the road) and headed down to the Canadian-USA border to see the famed Niagara Falls. They are amazingly big, getting the Hornblower is stupendously wet, and the town around Niagara is truely bizzarre! After enjoying the show (and getting completely soaked), we strolled through the nearby town of Niagara-on-the-lake before heading home to Sydney.
