Too large for my luggage

On my way from Earth Hour to home to continue my packing, I came across this great art of Hindi gods. I felt so much in my heart and took a photo of me and the gods in front of a garbage container. Life is full of surprises.

Thank you all who I came across while my stay in Canada.

Thank you the kindest people in the world I met, especially the family in Tamworth.

Thank you Anne for your hospitality.

Thank you Ülle for your support and help.

Thank you Evelyn for your love and best moments in Toronto.

I will miss you all.

Oh farewell...

Came out to a pub on Earth Day, which is my last day in Canada this year, as I am leaving home to Estonia tomorrow. I am way too emotional to write down something here, but it has been a pleasant trip, nice people, exciting events and so much love. Oh and cranberry soda, which I had no idea before :D So here is to me - cheers! Thank you Canada and Toronto for greeting me the best!

Street art

I am throwing a little going away party for the nice people I had an honor to meet while my stay in Canada. While shopping in Chinatown for vegetables, as they have the best variety and the best prices I came across to this very cool street art. Poster of a female body put together with different sheets of papers. Cool! Sorry for the bad quality, as I took it with my phone.

Bye kitchen friends!

No people on the photo, but lots of stuff, which is very close to me as were many of the people working here. So much fun and so many special moments. Take care and hopefully we will see you soon!

Bye volunteering!

Lots of bye's from now on, as in two days I will leave home!
Boxes I will miss you, as it was fun to arrange the contents of you!

It was great to know the staff at Tartu College and make some new friends, such as Katre and Annaliis. Hopefully we will see you all soon!

Bye choir!

I had to say bye to the gals and lads at the choir practice. It was great to know them and enjoy some real Canadian company. Lois, Shirley and Edna, cheers and the best of health for you! See you soon. Hopefully!

Livia and Estonian national costume

When at Livia's she showed me some interesting things she has. One of them was most definitely the Estonian national costume, that she had laid out on her couch for me. I am really proud that foreign Estonians still cherish such things and are proud of them.

R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant

When at Livia's she showed me around her neighborhood. One thing to catch my interest was wonderful R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant. It is both a crucial piece of infrastructure and an architecturally acclaimed historic building named after the longtime commissioner of Toronto's public works R.C. Harris. It is located in the east of the city at the eastern end of Queen Street and at the foot of Victoria Park Avenue along the shore of Lake Ontario in the Beaches neighbourhood.

Read more about the plant HERE.

Viktor Tretjakewitsch's work

I do not think I can say anything better, than what has already been said in a wonderful The Globe And Mail article about two apartment houses designed by Livia's father Viktor Tretjakewitsch. Read the full article HERE and get to know more about the history of these two buildings.

At Livia's!

Made it safely at hers. Hello from her balcony!

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is the biggest body of water close to Toronto. Therefore it affects it climate a lot. I have never really had time to walk by it and to take photos. On a beautiful day like today it was the best thing to do. 

Read more about Lake Ontario HERE.

Queen Street East

Livia invited me over for a chat and a walk. I took a nice bike ride there, of course I had my camera with me so I took photos of what I saw. Queen Street East is known to have pretty houses and people are really taking care of their properties. I loved this set of three beautiful houses close to Woodbine Beach.

$10 bill

For a long time I have wanted to take photos of the beautiful maple leaves of a 10 dollar bill. I got this really new bill, so it was the best for the shot.

Mushroom rice

The home-made meals in Toronto just keep getting better. Mushroom-rice with pineapple and cucumbers, sweet chili sauce on the side! Yummy!

Ewert and the Two Dragons in Toronto!

This spring a mania of Ewert and The Two Dragons took place in Toronto. The name was in the air, people bought their CD's and they even came to visit us at the Estonian House! Wow! It was nice to see them, of course, but never did I think that they will become so important me during my last days before heading home...more about it in my next post.

Tim Hortons

I am not sure if I did introduce Tim Hortons earlier. I must have, as it is such a common trademark of the city. Anyway Wikipedia has this part covered. The pictured Tim Hortons is yet the tiniest I have ever seen. It was put up during the construction of a subway station, as it needed to serve people and people needed the coffee. Simple as that. Tim Hortons is everywhere. Tim Hortons is for an every day person. You do not experience the Starbucks atmosphere there, but the tea is good (I do not drink coffee) and so are the baked goods. Nice treat after the movies. Will I miss it?

Downtown Toronto

Still.
Toronto..
Farewell...

222 Jarvis Street

We hanged out with Evelyn around downtown Toronto and that is where we came across the wonderful 222 Jarvis St. It was more like 123 Mutual Street for me, but it is listed as first. There is so much more and interesting to read about the building HERE. It was a great evening with some great photos.

21 Jump Street tuus

If you do not know what tuus is, then you better CHECK HERE!

Farewell dinner

My going home is approaching, so I am tying up some loose ends. One of the things is meeting my friends before I leave back to Estonia. I can't believe it has been almost a year now in wonderful Canada for me. I have definitely met some great people, eaten amazing food and experienced much more than I could even dream of.

Thank you Peeter and Cathy for this farewell dinner. Food was delicious.

Scarborough

401 at the background.

Canada Post

I have been meaning to write about it for some time. I was surprised not to find any post offices in Toronto. The thing is, as I learned later was that the company has been smart enough not to rent a huge space, but to rent a little space in Shoppers Drug Mart's for example or any other store at the mall. Makes sense, but for me completely new, as in Estonia post offices have their separate buildings and look like offices. Who knows, maybe they will start downgrading at one point as well.

Also their post-boxes look quite cool.

Rainy days!

I guess this is how the spring may be like....

Visit to a former host family

I gave a visit to my second great host family in Toronto, Donna and her family. It was great to see each other again and share stories and break the bread. Therefore here are some good food shots of the vegetarian dinner and some deserts afterwards. You can see pecan pie there, my favorite and Estonian own kringel :) 

Chicago vs Toronto

Here are some shots of the NBA game my friend took me to see. It was a great show and some great basketball. What an experience!

The sgame took place in Air Canada Centre, which is the home fro Toronto Raptors.

Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors

My first NBA game in my life!!!

NOW

Remember the Grid, as one of the two free newspapers in Toronto that help me find my way here. NOW is the second and the bigger one, which is throwing some freebie contests in which I haven't participated at yet, but I will definitely do that in the future.

Check the paper HERE.

Red-winged blackbird

Scarborough Bluffs was a great place to get to know and do some photography on red-winged blackbird. Here are two shots of the male bird in front of different backgrounds. Read more about the bird HERE.

Scarborough Bluffs

This wonderful nature miracle is listed as 100 places to see in Ontario. I was glad I get to experience this on a very interesting foggy day, which allowed to take wonderful photos.

The Scarborough Bluffs, also known as The Bluffs, are an escarpment in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Forming much of the eastern portion of Toronto's waterfront, it is located along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. At its highest point, the escarpment rises 90 metres above the coastline and spans a length of 15 kilometres. It was first named in 1793.

The Bluffs have been described as a "geological wonder" and a unique feature in North America.

Swan

What a wing-span!

My friend invited me to see the miracle of the east end. That is a Scarborough Bluffs! More photos to come from there.

Cheap breakfast

Omelette, green beans, pickles and some mayo. The best you can get for few bucks!

CN Tower

Another glimpse at the no. 1 sight in Toronto.

Ethiopian restaurant "Lalibela"

I have been in Canada almost for a year now, half of the time I spent in the countryside and the other half in Toronto, as you probably know the city is the capital of multiculti. I have had some experiences while tasting different cuisines, but after my visit to Lalibela on Bloor St. West I am hooked on Ethiopian! Oh wow, injera platters! Please bring on all the goodies. 

Learn more about Lalibela restaurant here.