Sophie The Wonderdog, Las Vegas & Toronto, March 2012

Hey guys! Sorry I’ve been away for a while; I was in Cuba and unable to get access to the internet! I’m in the USA right now, about to start the big USA road trip, but it occurs to me that I still haven’t told you about the end of Vegas, or anything about Toronto, for that matter! As for Cuba, I’m dedicating a special page to it which I’ll update as I have the time… it might take a while to get through it all day by day, so feel free to check in every once in a while to see the updates. The page I created for Cuba can be found here, but be warned – there’s nothing much on it just yet! 🙂

So where were we? Ah yes, Vegas to Toronto. My apologies if it’s a bit perfunctory… I want to get working on Cuba ASAP! 😉

Friday 23 March – I woke up, packed and got ready before Karl and I drove to pick up Aunty C on the way to the airport. My checkin was superfast – quite the change to all the previous times I’ve been to Vegas airport, where I’ve spent hours rotting in a glacial queue praying for freedom! We went to a little place at the terminal called Alejandro’s, where we had a pretty good brekkie which was surprisingly cheap compared to Aussie airport standards. Once again: Aussies are being ripped off for every penny. I said a sad goodbye to Karl and Aunty C… geez, I love my family in Vegas! The security process was, again, quite painless (will wonders never cease), and the flight was nothing special – I basically watched crappy Entertainment Tonight-style shows and wished for it to be over!

On arrival in Toronto, I had to go to a special immigration area to get my working holiday visa cleared; there were a bunch of people all haggling with the immigration officers in broken English, which was a little sad – I’m glad I wasn’t in their position! The woman who processed my visa was actually very friendly, and before I knew it I was on my way out to baggage claim. A guy at the customs desk saw my entry ticket and yelped, “730 days? You’re going to be here for 730 days?!?” so I had to explain my situation; he looked pretty peeved and frowned maniacally but couldn’t really argue, I guess.

Frenda (my godmother) and her husband Adrian met me as I came through the doors. It’s always good to see them; I know they’re not blood relations but they do feel like family. The weather in Toronto was not as chilly as I had expected, and was actually warmer than Vegas – a balmy 14 degrees! We went straight back to Burlington as it was already getting late and it was a long drive; Frenda had made a delicious chicken with some roasted eggplant; she’s such a great cook. I was also happy to see Sophie, the house dog. Half Alsation and half sausage dog, she has tiny little legs on a big Alsation body. She is one of the most awesome, friendly dogs EVER, although she did seem less active than she was in 2007 when I last saw her; I guess age gets to everyone in the end!

After dinner I snuggled into bed and was out like a light before I knew it. And there began my time in Toronto.

Thanks for stopping by,

Tara.

Tags: food, las vegas, toronto, travel