Oh Canada....
The other weekend I embarked on my very first international travel. Decided and booked only 4 days in advance, William (my boyfriend) and I, joined my friend Zach and his sister Christy for a weekend in Toronto. This was my maiden journey outside "the states" (as referred to by the Canadians) and it was one not to forget.
William and I flew up together very early Friday morning and I received my very first stamp in my passport. We met up with Z and Christy who were staying in the same hotel as us and we went to grab some lunch. We found this cute quaint little pub and after 4 min of not being attended to, we sat ourselves. Now this could be because I have worked in the service industry and am aware of the quality of service demanded in America to obtain a decent tip, but service in Canada SUCKS! I am not exaggerating, it took 10+ min for anyone to come greet us and the only reason someone did so was because William went and asked them to. Then we ordered drinks. Don't even get me started on the iced tea..... so apparently the southern USA is the only place where people brew their iced tea. You know that instant tea crystals, like Lipton in a can... that you mix with cold water and it foams up, well that is ALL they serve in Canada. I had to resort to water (which isn't so bad)
We then walked around town and bought some tickets for the musical "Urinetown" for later that night. I have wanted to see this show for sometime now, following its success on broadway. I was not disappointed. Its a very cute show, and despite the very unhappy unmusical ending, the show gets away with it for some reason. Walking out of the theater, everyone was handed one of those new removable head toilet brush cleaners that are currently being advertised. (that was fun explaining to customs on the way home)
That night we ate dinner on this huge boat, and yes that does imply that it was a seafood joint, and no I did not eat seafood. I got this rubbery inconsistent chicken that I didn't eat nor pay for. However I did have a glorious cocktail! (Did I mention the drinking age in Canada is 19!) We then ventured via taxi to our first club of the trip. A place called 5ive. We met up with Bill who used to live in Dallas for a short stint and his friend Mark. They lived about 4 hours away, but came up to see us while we were in town. The club was not very crowded. we did however drink to get drunk and we succeeded. A lot of dancing was had, and after we left the club William went back to the hotel to sleep, and us other 4 boys roamed the streets of Toronto. We met a cracked out (literally) man from Sweden how was going to have sex with a she-male prostitute, then run out because he didn't have any money. Classy. Then to make a long story short, we ran into this guy named Galen who we learned owned a nightclub in Toronto called Fly. (If you have ever watched queer as folk, the club that they always go to called "Babylon" in the show, it is filmed at Fly) Galen liked us and told us if we came the next night he would give us free drinks.
Saturday was full of more eating and more shopping. We basically walked the streets (I know that sounds bad) and went up to the top of the CN tower, For those who don't know, the CN tower is the tallest building in the world. At the top they have this glass floor that you can stand on and see straight down. VERY cool... besides William being a bit scared at first (which was so cute) We took lots of pictures, and they should be posted on my photo site soon. That evening William and I took to ourselves. We took a nap and ordered room service dinner. We met up with the boys later to head over to Fly. This club is by far the coolest club that I have ever been in. 3 stories tall, very dark, awesome lighting, lots of bars (did I mention the drinking age is 19?) , and little rooms to like go talk of cool off or whatever. Galen (the aforementioned owner) was good to his word and gave us a round or drinks on the house.
So a shot in Canada is 1 oz. 1 oz is smaller than a thimble, and they all have computerized measuring devices, so you get exactly 1 oz. This does not get a Dallas boy drunk. The cure? Order doubles EVERYTIME you order a drink, and consume 2 oz of alcohol with every drink. I had consumed 3 double Jack and cokes (called JD and cola in Canada) and I still felt nothing. Z being the friend that he is, offered to go get William and myself another round of drinks. Mine was a TRIPLE Jack in a small glass with a splash of coke. I felt it after that! (did I mention the drinking age is 19 in Canada? ;-)
Sunday morning William had to leave for the airport early to be in court on Monday (no he was not on trial) And Z, Christy and I bought tickets for the Sunday matinee of Hairspray. It was fabulous. The lead role of Tracy was played by none other than American Idol season 2 finalist Vanessa Olivarez (www.vanessaolivarez.org) And those of you who know me, know that I love me some American Idol so this was exciting. After the very cute show, Z and I found the stage door in the back and waited to get Vanessa's autograph. She came out and signed our things and actually had a conversation with us. Then it happened... she invited us out for drinks with her and her friends that night! (did I mention the drinking age?) Z and I had dinner at Hooters took a nap then took a taxi to Slack Alice or Slack Alley or Tack Alums or I didn't know the name then, and I certainly don't now, to meet Vanessa and her friends. This turned out to be a lesbian bar featuring karaoke, and the American Idol girl turned out to be a lesbian with a hot ass girlfriend. We got shit faced with them, and Vanessa sang Karaoke to us (fabulous) Z and I stole 2 of the glasses that she was drinking out of as souvenirs :)
We went to after hours at 5ive, and bought 4 HUGE killer koolaids (the drink of the trip pretty much) and sucked them down in a hurry and danced the night away. Some people weren't used to the way "you texan boys dance" as one guy from Montreal put it. But it was a lot of fun, and I had to keep telling myself, "Dude, you are clubbing in another country" it was exciting for me.
Coming back to Dallas sucked as it always does, the good people of US customs totally tore me apart as I was 20 and traveling alone, with no good reason to do so. And they discovered a pocket knife about 2.5 inches long in my backpack (I had totally forgotten it was in my little bag with my nail clippers and what not) So it was nice to know that it is possible to carry such an item all the way to Canada on 2 separate aircrafts, looks like homeland security is working nicely. :)
pics of my journey to Canada: Pictures
William and I flew up together very early Friday morning and I received my very first stamp in my passport. We met up with Z and Christy who were staying in the same hotel as us and we went to grab some lunch. We found this cute quaint little pub and after 4 min of not being attended to, we sat ourselves. Now this could be because I have worked in the service industry and am aware of the quality of service demanded in America to obtain a decent tip, but service in Canada SUCKS! I am not exaggerating, it took 10+ min for anyone to come greet us and the only reason someone did so was because William went and asked them to. Then we ordered drinks. Don't even get me started on the iced tea..... so apparently the southern USA is the only place where people brew their iced tea. You know that instant tea crystals, like Lipton in a can... that you mix with cold water and it foams up, well that is ALL they serve in Canada. I had to resort to water (which isn't so bad)
We then walked around town and bought some tickets for the musical "Urinetown" for later that night. I have wanted to see this show for sometime now, following its success on broadway. I was not disappointed. Its a very cute show, and despite the very unhappy unmusical ending, the show gets away with it for some reason. Walking out of the theater, everyone was handed one of those new removable head toilet brush cleaners that are currently being advertised. (that was fun explaining to customs on the way home)
That night we ate dinner on this huge boat, and yes that does imply that it was a seafood joint, and no I did not eat seafood. I got this rubbery inconsistent chicken that I didn't eat nor pay for. However I did have a glorious cocktail! (Did I mention the drinking age in Canada is 19!) We then ventured via taxi to our first club of the trip. A place called 5ive. We met up with Bill who used to live in Dallas for a short stint and his friend Mark. They lived about 4 hours away, but came up to see us while we were in town. The club was not very crowded. we did however drink to get drunk and we succeeded. A lot of dancing was had, and after we left the club William went back to the hotel to sleep, and us other 4 boys roamed the streets of Toronto. We met a cracked out (literally) man from Sweden how was going to have sex with a she-male prostitute, then run out because he didn't have any money. Classy. Then to make a long story short, we ran into this guy named Galen who we learned owned a nightclub in Toronto called Fly. (If you have ever watched queer as folk, the club that they always go to called "Babylon" in the show, it is filmed at Fly) Galen liked us and told us if we came the next night he would give us free drinks.
Saturday was full of more eating and more shopping. We basically walked the streets (I know that sounds bad) and went up to the top of the CN tower, For those who don't know, the CN tower is the tallest building in the world. At the top they have this glass floor that you can stand on and see straight down. VERY cool... besides William being a bit scared at first (which was so cute) We took lots of pictures, and they should be posted on my photo site soon. That evening William and I took to ourselves. We took a nap and ordered room service dinner. We met up with the boys later to head over to Fly. This club is by far the coolest club that I have ever been in. 3 stories tall, very dark, awesome lighting, lots of bars (did I mention the drinking age is 19?) , and little rooms to like go talk of cool off or whatever. Galen (the aforementioned owner) was good to his word and gave us a round or drinks on the house.
So a shot in Canada is 1 oz. 1 oz is smaller than a thimble, and they all have computerized measuring devices, so you get exactly 1 oz. This does not get a Dallas boy drunk. The cure? Order doubles EVERYTIME you order a drink, and consume 2 oz of alcohol with every drink. I had consumed 3 double Jack and cokes (called JD and cola in Canada) and I still felt nothing. Z being the friend that he is, offered to go get William and myself another round of drinks. Mine was a TRIPLE Jack in a small glass with a splash of coke. I felt it after that! (did I mention the drinking age is 19 in Canada? ;-)
Sunday morning William had to leave for the airport early to be in court on Monday (no he was not on trial) And Z, Christy and I bought tickets for the Sunday matinee of Hairspray. It was fabulous. The lead role of Tracy was played by none other than American Idol season 2 finalist Vanessa Olivarez (www.vanessaolivarez.org) And those of you who know me, know that I love me some American Idol so this was exciting. After the very cute show, Z and I found the stage door in the back and waited to get Vanessa's autograph. She came out and signed our things and actually had a conversation with us. Then it happened... she invited us out for drinks with her and her friends that night! (did I mention the drinking age?) Z and I had dinner at Hooters took a nap then took a taxi to Slack Alice or Slack Alley or Tack Alums or I didn't know the name then, and I certainly don't now, to meet Vanessa and her friends. This turned out to be a lesbian bar featuring karaoke, and the American Idol girl turned out to be a lesbian with a hot ass girlfriend. We got shit faced with them, and Vanessa sang Karaoke to us (fabulous) Z and I stole 2 of the glasses that she was drinking out of as souvenirs :)
We went to after hours at 5ive, and bought 4 HUGE killer koolaids (the drink of the trip pretty much) and sucked them down in a hurry and danced the night away. Some people weren't used to the way "you texan boys dance" as one guy from Montreal put it. But it was a lot of fun, and I had to keep telling myself, "Dude, you are clubbing in another country" it was exciting for me.
Coming back to Dallas sucked as it always does, the good people of US customs totally tore me apart as I was 20 and traveling alone, with no good reason to do so. And they discovered a pocket knife about 2.5 inches long in my backpack (I had totally forgotten it was in my little bag with my nail clippers and what not) So it was nice to know that it is possible to carry such an item all the way to Canada on 2 separate aircrafts, looks like homeland security is working nicely. :)
pics of my journey to Canada: Pictures