Toronto, Canada

It has been almost a week since I came back from Toronto. So, what is taking me so long to blog about it? Nothing really, I’m just overwhelmed of the thought I was actually in Toronto and I’ve finally seen Niagara Falls. I don’t know how to start this entry. Too many storied to tell, too many things I want to share and I can’t organize my thoughts! So in advance, I would like to apologize if I jump from one topic to another! LoL!

OK! Here it goes. I requested this specific Toronto flight with my good friend Ruth. She’s one of the few people I spend most of my time with during days off. She’s one of those I consider to have become my family here in Abu Dhabi. I am glad that I had the Toronto flight with her. Imagine working with people you’ve only met once for 14 hours! Whew! When you think about it, it’s not that bad, anyways, it will always happen. But being with someone you know makes it just better, way much better.

Abu Dhabi to Toronto

So, 14 hours of flight, what do you do? A LOT! We had to do 3 services, 2 hot meals and one is called mid hamper treats. The mid hamper treat is like a basket full of candies, chocolates and chips. We also serve fruits, sandwiched and juices. Mid hamper treats service is my personal favorite! Not because most of the guests are sleeping during this service but because we can also grab yummy chocolates and snacks from the baskets if there are any left. LoL! And because the flight is ultra long, we get 4 hours of rest, a big help to rejuvenate our energy and strength! Two days layover in Toronto! Wuhoo! I’m ready to explore!

Yey! I'm in Toronto!

Day 1: Rest. Eat. Relax.

Upon arriving Toronto, I felt like I was back in Los Angeles. [Oh, I stayed three months in LA in the beginning of this year, for vacation.] Not entirely the same but the ambiance, the mood, the environment, it was similar. I just knew that the layover was going to be a good one. Ruth was going to meet her relatives and so I came into decision to tag along with her. I was a bit hesitant at first but I then realized that it’s only every once in a while that I get to fly with a friend in a good destination. Right when we got to the hotel, I changed and fixed my things, ready to go wherever I had to go. Ruth’s uncle and cousins picked us up from the hotel and from there we went to their home in Mississauga to eat lunch! Finally, real Filipino dishes! Shrimps, pancit palabok, bibingka and even halo-halo! YUM YUM YUM! I have never eaten so much food for months! Relaxed a little then passed by to Ruth’s cousin’s house and then went to the mall. I wanted so many things to buy but tax in Toronto was shocking! A whopping 14%! I controlled myself not to buy anything expect for a Stilla lipstick from Sephora. Sephora is love. Not like the love I have for MAC make-up but close to it! LoL! After going around the mall went back to the house and took a nap. Snoozed until dinner time and after dinner went to a café called Demetre were I found the best crepe I have ever had in my entire life! It was like heaven! LoL! I’m a sucker for sweets and this just blew me off! LoL! We immediately went back home because Ruth’s cousins had classes the next day and we had to wake up early as well.

Crepe and I! LoL!

14 hours of flight and still alive and kicking!

Day 2: Niagara Falls. Meeting Tita Goya and friends.

Above all things that I wanted to see in Toronto, It was my visit to Niagra Falls that I was looking forward to the most. We had to wake up early because it was about an hour or two drive to go to Niagara. We didn’t have the leisure of time so we had to make the most out of things. First thing we saw when we got to Niagra was the Rainbow Bridge. Rainbow Bridge is the borderline of Canada and the USA. You could actually wave, Hello Buffalo, NY! LoL! But nothing was more amazing than the falls. The US side was already wonderful but the Horseshoe Falls in the Canada side was just mind-blowing! It was such a beautiful sight. I wanted to try the Maiden of the Mist, a boat that cruises near the falls, however, no one wanted to do it with me and when I saw that the boat didn’t really go near the falls, hmmm, I changed my mind as well. Instead, we went to a tunnel behind the falls. I found the tunnel trip more exciting and interesting actually. The tunnel had two paths, one going behind the falls and the other beside it. They gave us rain coats to wear and at first I was clueless what it was for since I thought we were just going behind the falls. To my surprise, going beside the falls was like going under the rain! The wind was blowing hard towards the terrace where you could take pictures! I was super excited that I didn’t give a damn if my camera was getting wet but misfortune came and my camera died on me! Argh! I charged it before I left Abu Dhabi and I’m still confused why my battery didn’t last me that long! I’ve charged it again lately and the battery is ok! Tsk! Good thing, Ruth was there to save me! LoL! So, I owe Ruth half of the photos I had taken in Toronto! After paying a visit to one of the most famous place on earth, we had lunch in a casino nearby. Once again, I pigged out for it was a buffet. Food was ok, I expected more selections but the food was great and I still ate a lot! LoL! I slept all the way back to Mississauga.

Beautiful Niagara Falls

Jump for Joy!

Behind the Niagara Falls

In between Ruth and Rhea(Wife of Ruth's cousin)

Ruth’s cousins were suppose to bring us to downtown Toronto where I was to meet Tita Goya, a very good friend of my parents in the Philippines [Tuguegarao], but they didn’t have enough time because it was Ruth’s aunt’s birthday celebration that night. I really wanted to meet up with her so she picked me up instead. It was great that she picked me up. Finally, I was with someone I’ve known for a long time, before I even joined Etihad. It felt like I was back in the Philippines, in my province, with my family. We had dinner in this restaurant called Richtree, it was like a market wherein there was a wide selection of food, too wide that I couldn’t decide what to eat so I ended up ordering this very scrumptious salmon steak! After dinner, we met up with my Tita Goya’s friends in a cheese and wine café. Ambiance in the café was really nice. Candlelight tables, soft good music was playing in the background, it was a good place to hang out with friends, old ones if you get what I mean. LoL! But nonetheless, I enjoyed the place but most especially the people I was with. We actually got carried away with our stories that we didn’t notice it was pass midnight already and my wake-up call was 6:40 in the morning! So, I had to say goodbye to my Tita’s friends and to my Tita Goya as well. Promised them that next time I would have a Toronto flight I would spend time more with them. Arrived the hotel around 1:00am and went straight to bed.

Toronto to Abu Dhabi

I woke up about almost an hour before wake up call. Watched a little bit of cartoons and then I started to get ready for the flight. 15 minutes before checking out, Ruth and her cousins were knocking on my door and had Tim Horton’s coffee and pecan pie with them. I must say, Tim Horton’s coffee is better than Starbucks, and the pecan pie was really good. Ruth and I said our thank you and goodbyes to Ruth’s cousins, hoping to see them again in my next Toronto flight. Flight going back was supposedly shorter than going to Toronto, 12 hours and something, but just our luck, there was no visibility of the runway in Abu Dhabi so we had to divert to Dubai. We didn’t leave the airplane but the guests, because of the long flight, were already impatient. We were on ground for about an hour! Whew! After almost 20 hours of being on work, finally, Abu Dhabi! I have never been happier to have landed Abu Dhabi! LoL!

Before I end my entry and forget about it, I’d like to thank Ruth and her relatives for allowing me to tag along with them. I had so much fun in Toronto because of them. And also to my aunt, Tita Goya for picking me up all the way at Mississauga just to have dinner with me. LoL! Why do I feel like I’m making a speech as if I have won an award! LoL!

OK! Back on track! I will miss you Toronto! I will see you again soon! Hopefully! Ahihihi!

And yeah, I had a Jeddah flight yesterday. Tsk. I really hate medium haul flights. So little time so much to do and they are the worst guests. I don’t know why but it feels more tiring than long haul flights sometimes.