TCAF 2012 (part 2/Sunday)
So, what you ought to know before I started this trip is that I planned the itinerary myself. How to get to the train station to get to the airport to fly to Toronto, then take a bus to get to a subway station to get to the library and to the hotel. To clarify, the 192 Airport Rocket goes to Kipling's subway station, goes to where I get off for my hotel...and that takes, say, an hour and a half, but let's give it two hours, just in case. And because of the magic of transfer tickets, the entire ride from the 192 to my hotel comes up to the grand total of $3 CAD, which is to say....sweet deal!
My flight back was around 11:30 AM on Sunday, and given international flights, I figured I'd give myself a couple more hours to get there on time. Say...7:30? Hotel check out was also quick and easy, so I got out of there pretty close to that time. The streets were pretty empty, like the day before, but it was a sunny, beautiful morning.
(hee hee......trolleys.)
Then I went back the way I came, over to the shopping center, down to the subway station.
Tried the subway entrance doors. Locked.
For a few seconds there, I was like "......what." Tried the door again. Still locked. There was no one inside, no people, no trains. Oh yeah, I thought, I guess I haven't really seen a lot of people walking this way, today.
And then I saw a sign for the subway's hours of operation:
Monday to Saturday: 6AM to 1:30AM
Sunday: 9AM to 1:30AM.
.......9?!
....The thought occurred to me around then that maybe I should've thought of a back-up plan of transportation. Well. I didn't bring my laptop, and my phone...well, let's just say it's pretty old school. (So. Useless.)
I was still standing there by the subway entrance, looking like a bum, (or more likely like a n00b foreigner who didn't realize the intricacies involved in the Toronto subway system) when an older gentleman happened by and noticed my plight.
"The subways don't run at this time," he said. "Not until 9."
Well, yes. I gathered. I said instead, "...Would you happen to know how I can get to the airport?"
And he suggested that I go across the street and try to catch a bus, and ask the conductor how to get there. I didn't have any other ideas at the time, so I thanked him and went back up the stairs.
*Cue montage of me frantically looking for the bus stop, because it turns out there are several at the square I was at* Then I also ambushed the information booth teller just as he was coming in to work for the day (haha Sorry, guy.)....and he gave me a little green card to the Ontario Travel Information Centre, conveniently located just less than a block away, and who could totally tell me how to get to the airport......if it weren't closed, too. ;____;
Just then, I saw a bus stopping by, back the way I'd come, so I ran for it. And luckily (so, luckily) the conductor waited for me, and also told me I could get to the airport by staying on that bus, getting off at Yonge-Bloor, and waiting for another bus to get to Kipling Station.
......Which is why I ended up at Yonge-Bloor again, near TCAF, waiting for the next bus, #300.
I like how they give the street name and number, here. In theory, it makes it easier to not get lost! In theory.
But apparently, there are #300 buses, and then there are 300S buses, and also 300A buses. I'll tell you now I got on like four of them and asked all the drivers if they knew how I could get to the airport. Two of them were not sure. Two of them told me I needed to get on a 300A to get to the airport, which stopped at the same bus stop. But there were other people trying to get to the airport too, so when a 300S came along.....I got on one. =/
Well, it was going in the right direction, anyway....
If I ever come back here, hopefully I'll have time to visit the art store(s?)...but this one looked pretty good, judging from the table they had at TCAF. I think it's like Kinokuniya, but with more art supplies and less books. Kind of? Maybe?
Well, then I asked the 300S driver how to get to the airport from here....and he was said to wait for a 300A, at the same bus stop..........so then I got off the bus. And waited for a 300A, but apparently those are kind of mythical, because I stood waiting at that particular bus stop, and there was a 300, and another 300S, and another 300S that came after that. haha Eventually, I guess it was enough that the buses stopped at Kipling station, because I figured if I could just get there, I'd find the 192 Airport Rocket and get to the airport that way.
I-it was like 9AM by the time I got to Kipling. OTL
(I took more pictures after I stopped panicking about how to get to the airport.)
Canadian gas stations
It's a bit hard to see, but these stations are called "Husky"....asdffgh
I got to the airport around 9:40, and was waiting on the line for customs around 9:50.....and then I got to my gate 20 minutes before the boarding call. ha haha ha....win?
I missed the train ride back though, so I just waited for the next one....it was only an hour difference anyway, so it was okay! ;D
(image heavy)
And that was my adventure in Toronto. It was....very memorable. hahaha And amazing in so many ways!
Given more time, I'd want to visit the Beguiling and Midoco...plus I wish I ate more delicious foods there. I think I missed out on a lot of that. :T But wow. Woooooow that weekend. Moral of the story: if you're flying anywhere from Toronto on a Sunday morning, DON'T RELY ON THE SUBWAY. Or I suppose, more broadly, when you plan an itinerary have a back-up plan. Always have a back-up plan.
The end!
My flight back was around 11:30 AM on Sunday, and given international flights, I figured I'd give myself a couple more hours to get there on time. Say...7:30? Hotel check out was also quick and easy, so I got out of there pretty close to that time. The streets were pretty empty, like the day before, but it was a sunny, beautiful morning.
(hee hee......trolleys.)
Then I went back the way I came, over to the shopping center, down to the subway station.
Tried the subway entrance doors. Locked.
For a few seconds there, I was like "......what." Tried the door again. Still locked. There was no one inside, no people, no trains. Oh yeah, I thought, I guess I haven't really seen a lot of people walking this way, today.
And then I saw a sign for the subway's hours of operation:
Monday to Saturday: 6AM to 1:30AM
Sunday: 9AM to 1:30AM.
.......9?!
....The thought occurred to me around then that maybe I should've thought of a back-up plan of transportation. Well. I didn't bring my laptop, and my phone...well, let's just say it's pretty old school. (So. Useless.)
I was still standing there by the subway entrance, looking like a bum, (or more likely like a n00b foreigner who didn't realize the intricacies involved in the Toronto subway system) when an older gentleman happened by and noticed my plight.
"The subways don't run at this time," he said. "Not until 9."
Well, yes. I gathered. I said instead, "...Would you happen to know how I can get to the airport?"
And he suggested that I go across the street and try to catch a bus, and ask the conductor how to get there. I didn't have any other ideas at the time, so I thanked him and went back up the stairs.
*Cue montage of me frantically looking for the bus stop, because it turns out there are several at the square I was at* Then I also ambushed the information booth teller just as he was coming in to work for the day (haha Sorry, guy.)....and he gave me a little green card to the Ontario Travel Information Centre, conveniently located just less than a block away, and who could totally tell me how to get to the airport......if it weren't closed, too. ;____;
Just then, I saw a bus stopping by, back the way I'd come, so I ran for it. And luckily (so, luckily) the conductor waited for me, and also told me I could get to the airport by staying on that bus, getting off at Yonge-Bloor, and waiting for another bus to get to Kipling Station.
......Which is why I ended up at Yonge-Bloor again, near TCAF, waiting for the next bus, #300.
I like how they give the street name and number, here. In theory, it makes it easier to not get lost! In theory.
But apparently, there are #300 buses, and then there are 300S buses, and also 300A buses. I'll tell you now I got on like four of them and asked all the drivers if they knew how I could get to the airport. Two of them were not sure. Two of them told me I needed to get on a 300A to get to the airport, which stopped at the same bus stop. But there were other people trying to get to the airport too, so when a 300S came along.....I got on one. =/
Well, it was going in the right direction, anyway....
If I ever come back here, hopefully I'll have time to visit the art store(s?)...but this one looked pretty good, judging from the table they had at TCAF. I think it's like Kinokuniya, but with more art supplies and less books. Kind of? Maybe?
Well, then I asked the 300S driver how to get to the airport from here....and he was said to wait for a 300A, at the same bus stop..........so then I got off the bus. And waited for a 300A, but apparently those are kind of mythical, because I stood waiting at that particular bus stop, and there was a 300, and another 300S, and another 300S that came after that. haha Eventually, I guess it was enough that the buses stopped at Kipling station, because I figured if I could just get there, I'd find the 192 Airport Rocket and get to the airport that way.
I-it was like 9AM by the time I got to Kipling. OTL
(I took more pictures after I stopped panicking about how to get to the airport.)
Canadian gas stations
It's a bit hard to see, but these stations are called "Husky"....asdffgh
I got to the airport around 9:40, and was waiting on the line for customs around 9:50.....and then I got to my gate 20 minutes before the boarding call. ha haha ha....win?
I missed the train ride back though, so I just waited for the next one....it was only an hour difference anyway, so it was okay! ;D
(image heavy)
And that was my adventure in Toronto. It was....very memorable. hahaha And amazing in so many ways!
Given more time, I'd want to visit the Beguiling and Midoco...plus I wish I ate more delicious foods there. I think I missed out on a lot of that. :T But wow. Woooooow that weekend. Moral of the story: if you're flying anywhere from Toronto on a Sunday morning, DON'T RELY ON THE SUBWAY. Or I suppose, more broadly, when you plan an itinerary have a back-up plan. Always have a back-up plan.
The end!