On Saturday, I had a nice uneventful flight up to Toronto Pearson International Airport on Air Canada. I got through customs without a hitch and headed to the baggage carousel to wait for my bag. I spotted an ATM machine by the Currency Exchange kiosk and inserted my card to get some Canadian funds. It was rejected. [Realize I had called my bank earlier in the week to make sure my card wouldn�t be rejected.] I talked to the person in the kiosk and she was unable to help me at all. I retrieved my bag and headed out into the main terminal to find one of the many ATMs supplied by a local bank. I was rejected a second time. I found a pay phone and called my bank to speak to a customer service representative to find out what the problem was. She assured me the problem was not with my bank and to try another machine. So I tried 2 more machines and was rejected 2 more times! ARGH! I was trying not to panic and was wondering how the hell I was to spend 4 days in a country without that country�s currency. Then, I figured I would just get myself to the hotel and they�d be able to help me one way or another. Fortunately, I was able to use a credit card to buy my round-trip ticket for the Airport Express shuttle bus to my hotel. I had the 45-minute ride to calm down and to view the city.

I arrived at the Delta Chelsea and checked in. I asked the woman where the nearest ATM was located and she directed me to one that was in the lobby. I immediately walked over to it and was finally able to get Canadian currency! Whew.

After I dropped off my bag in my room and changed into sneakers, I immediately jumped on the subway and headed to the CN Tower since I had a few hours to kill before the evening festivities (more on that in a moment). I had an ear-popping quick elevator ride up to the Observation Deck (1,136 feet). There were terrific 360-degree views of the city and Lake Ontario from up on that perch. It was crowded, of course, but the views were pretty spectacular. A quick flight of stairs down from the Observation Deck was the Glass Floor and the Outdoor Observation Deck. This was at an elevation of 1,122 feet that allowed you to look down, through the glass floor to the ground far far far below! It made many of us dizzy just looking down. Quite a few people were afraid to step onto the glass floor at all. Can you blame them? My guidebook says the glass floor is strong enough to support 14 hippos. I didn�t see even one hippo, so I�m not so sure! I lasted just long enough to take a picture and had to step off. It was a weird feeling. The Outdoor Observation Deck was very windy and views were obstructed by heavy screening/netting and the like to prevent people from falling/jumping.

After a quick dinner in the hotel, I got back on the subway and rode up to the Toronto Centre for the Arts for a Brad Mehldau Trio concert in the Recital Hall. The concert was terrific! It lasted 2 hours and included two encores. The guys put on a fabulous show!

Sunday morning I took the subway over to the Casa Loma. It is a castle up on a hill overlooking the city that was built for a rich financier back in 1911. An audio tour revealed that Sir Henry Pellatt spent $10,000 on his specially-designed bathroom at a time when many in Toronto didn�t even have running water! I had the chance to climb the narrow spiral staircases up into one of the towers which allowed me to look out over the city from all angles. I ran into a man coming down as I was on my way up and had asked him if the climb was worth it and he assured me it was. He was right.

From there, I walked over to the Bata Shoe Museum. What a cool museum it is! Shoes everywhere! Old shoes and famous shoes! Shoes of the stars! Shoes, shoes, shoes and more shoes! I had fun looking at all the exhibits of shoes.

Sunday night I had dinner at Barberian�s Steak House. I had a delicious House Salad and Bacon-Wrapped Filet Mignon. It was an enjoyable meal in a nice quiet setting.

Monday morning I was back on the subway and headed for the Hockey Hall of Fame. I�m not that big a fan of the sport, but I did enjoy walking around and looking at the exhibits. I saw a 30-minute film about the history of the Stanley Cup that was interesting. One cool display honored Wayne Gretzky�s record-setting 802 goals. In the display case was the actual goal/net into which he shot the 802nd goal with a pile of hockey pucks that �spelled out� 802. And I wouldn�t be surprised there were eight-hundred-and-two hockey pucks in that display case!!

Afterwards, I headed down to the Harbourfront to get a good view of Lake Ontario. After lunch, and since I was tired, I headed back to the hotel to rest up and pack up my things. For dinner, I decided to eat in the hotel�s bistro and had an absolutely terrific and delicious dinner. Fortunately for me, there were having a shrimp and crab festival, two of my favorite food items! For my appetizer, I had the Dungeness Crab and Roasted Paprika Bisque. Yum! My main course was Applewood Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp that came with garlic mashed potatoes and a sweet red pepper sauce. Yum! For dessert, yes I had room, I had the Belgian Chocolate Tower filled with Chocolate Mousse, with Mixed Berries and White Chocolate and Dark Chocolate Sauces. Triple Yum!

I came home yesterday tired and broke. All in all, it was a terrific trip. The people of Toronto were friendly. I had a great time and would definitely go back to the city and other cities in Canada. I highly recommend that you all go, too.

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