Arrived in Toronto

Here we are in Toronto, after taking the bus from Ithaca.  The bus ride was, well,  a long-distance bus ride. Steve was having a hard time over something that had been left behind, but Suzanne figured out how to handle it.  One creepy note was that in Rochester, two border patrol agents got on the bus and asked to see everyone's IDs.  They didn't take anyone away, but do a little googling and you'll see plenty of stories.

Our own border crossing into Canada was merely tedious.  There were 3 people who had gotten on the bus by mistake, and a lot of time was spent figuring out how best to get them back to the States.  Then we all had to get off the bus, get all our luggage, and go into a building where we waited in line to get checked.
Then back on the bus and we trundle on.

We are staying with Daphne and Charles, a couple we found via the Servas organization.  Their place is amazing - it's a dozen floors up in a high-rise in the middle of downtown Toronto.  Here's a view from their window shortly after sunset last night:

The interior is pretty unbelievable as well.  This is definitely sophisticated urban living!

On Thursday, we took a walk through the Chinatown and Kensington Market neighborhoods.  Kensington Market is quite the eclectic place, with zillions of small eateries (including Thai-Hungarian fusion!) and some interesting street decorations like these:

By the time we got back to the house, Suzanne was having a lot of trouble with her sore heel.  When she told Charles about it, he suggested trying "rocker sole" shoes.  He knew of a place that sold them, so the 4 of us went off on the subway to the Eglinton neighborhood to the north.  Suzanne, aided by a very helpful staff member, tried on many shoes and settled on one pair that she said reduced her heel pain a lot. (And while all this was going on, Daphne tried on a lot of pairs and bought three!)