I got my G1 Drivers Licence!

Finally, today I got my driver's licence! I had the day off for Canada's day (although I have to work tomorrow) so decided to get my driver's licence. I already had the letter from the embassy that said all the years I had been driving in Venezuela and my venezuelan driver's licence translated, from a few months ago.

What is my surprise that after waiting for more than an hour at Services Ontario, the girl tells me that the letter from the embassy and the translation of the licence are only valid for 6 months :S The letter from the embassy was just ok, it would expire TOMORROW :S but the translation was already expired :'(

I had 3 options, just take the knowledge test without that and having to wait the regulatory times to take the road test, find a valid translation before 5pm and come back, or get everything again and come back. I don't like going to the embassy, and having to do everything again would be really annoying, so I started calling translators I already used at some point or other.

I finally got one to do the translation before 3pm (it was already 11am) but Igor had to send him the scan of the licence as soon as possible. I got home at 12:30pm and he just says "I forgot!" sh*t!! I sent the email and called him, he wasn't home, so I left a message in the answering machine with no idea if he could make it.

At 2pm I call again and he tells me that he is just going in :( but he can try to have it by 3, so at 3pm I'm standing at his front door and thank God he has it ready :D Off I go to Service Ontario again.

I didn't have to wait in line again since the girl told me that if I made it before 5pm, I just had to look for her and she would help me. I paid my $85, took the eye test, they took my picture and told me they would give me full experience. So then I went to take the knowledge test, which I don't remember how many questions had, but I had 2 wrong, ouch, not to worry, I still passed the test! :D

So, after all that adventure I have my temporary driver's licence and waiting for the G1 to get in the mail in 4 to 6 weeks ;) My recommendation for this test? The Ontario driver's book and this web page: Ontario G1 Driver’s License Free Online Practice Test Questions . It has 125 questions to help you prepare for the test and was amazing for me! All the questions in today's test were there ;)

Toronto Island

Continuing what has become my series of "Knowing Toronto" we went to Toronto Island! :)

To go to Toronto Island we need to take the ferry in the ferry docks near Union Station. You can walk from Union Station or take the streetcar to Exhibition and go down at the first stop.
There you'll have to pay $6.5 per adult to go to the Central Island (round trip, cash) and wait along all these people to get on the ferry :D

The island is beautiful, there are bridges everywhere of all kind! Like this one, which was my favourite!

You can also rent a bike, tandem (2 in a bike), quadricycle for 2 and a kid, or quadricycle for 4 adults and 2 kids. Or you can walk all the way, which is a LOT xD

At Toronto Island you can also find CentreVille, which is an amusement park for kids with rides and a little farm.

Or you can go to the beach and have fun in the water :D

So, there is a lot to do at the park and that was just half of it! Since we didn't have time to see everything in the island xD But we still have time to go back this year or some other year to see the other half ;)

Do I miss Venezuela?

A lot of people in Venezuela love to ask me the same question "Don't you miss...?" and my answer is always: NO, and it's really hard for them to understand that. Well, I should specify something first, family is not included in this package, I obviously miss my family, that it's something that I shouldn't even have to mention.

They always ask:
Do you miss the beach?: No, I never was a beach person, I prefered mountains ;) and I'm ok enough with a pool from time to time. Did I go to the beach? Yeah, it was fun, but not something that I actually miss.

Do you miss arepas?: No, because we have them here! In Toronto we have access to a LOT of the ingredients we use in Venezuela so we can make a lot of things here and just a few are missed. Enough to come back? Not even close to visit!

Do you miss the music?: No, who said that we can't have latin american music here? Do you miss Venezuelan TV?: I hated Venezuelan tv in Venezuela, why should I miss it here?

Really, not everyone can think like that, but a lot of people has the misconception that we are moving to a place where you won't have anything from your country and that it's not true, specially if you move to a multicultural city like this one.

My perfect example was last weekend, a Venezuelan picnic en Toronto!

They had typical venezuelan food and drinks that we enjoyed so much! So many venezuelans together having a great time takes you to your home country really fast, and we had venezuelan music too:

Did I miss Venezuela more with that picnic? Again, sorry but no, I just thought, what a great event! I hope to keep going to this kind of event here in Toronto so I can have the best of this world and part of the best of my home land :D

Luminato

Last week we went to the Luminato festival, which is a festival to celebrate water as something that gives life and to celebrate the diversity in our wonderful city. The festival lasted a week but we went only to the saturday part in the Harbourfront.

They had everything, from places to eat and buy, magic acts, every form of art expression to concerts of different type of music in different areas.

At night, they had a lot of people all over the place playing with fire in different forms.

And had the opportunity of seeing the Fire Rescue boat in action, which we think was one of the best parts! :D

We love this kind of festivals since you can see a lot of things in one place so you can enjoy all the different cultures we have. If you want to see a few more pictures of the festival, feel free to visit my picasa album ;)

Football!

Hi everyone!! My new laptop arrived yesterday so I'm back and better than ever! Well, don't know about the better than ever, but I'm definitely back :D

A lot of things have happened since the last time I posted, so I'll try to talk about all of them in order so you can know what we've been living and the places we've gone ;)

One of the things I wanted to tell you about are that companies here like to have activities out of the place of work so we can integrate, have fun and know each other better! I really think it's fantastic and hope that all canadians companies do the same.

My first activity with them was football!!

We went to a football field and play for 3 hours! xD And in case you are wondering, we went in working hours ;) which makes it even better! hahaha

I had a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to our next activity :D

Wonderland!

We've been to Wonderland twice already, so I think it's time that I say something about it ^^ . First of all, the park is fantastic! I don't like rollercoasters but either way I think the park is REALLY fun and I had a great time :D

You can get there using the TTC, the GO or your car, among others! The first time we went using the TTC and takes 1 hour in bus! They don't accept the metropass so you have to pay your complete fare. In car it took around 20 minutes from Yonge & Eglinton and you have to pay $10 for parking; We'll use the GO next time, so wait for that one :)

There are a LOT of rides and you have to pay extra for just a few rides, just be very patient with the waiting times in line, since they can go to up to 90 minutes.

Less posts for a while

Really fast and short post to let you know that I'll be posting much less for a while since I sold my computer this week, and although I already bought the new one, the shipping estimate is next month!

I'll also be less in your blogs but I won't leave you! And I hope to continue seeing you here :)

Doors Open Toronto - Casa Loma Stables

Our last stop in Doors Open Toronto was the Stables at Casa Loma. Casa Loma is a castle built in 1914 and can be visited anytime after paying $17 per adult ;) But in Doors Open Toronto you could visit the stables for free :)




Hope you enjoyed our tour of Doors Open Toronto! You can look more photos of all the places here: Picassa Album

Doors Open Toronto - Bay Lower Subway Station

Another stop in Doors Open Toronto was Bay Lower station! This one is an old subway station that was used by the public before but after they built the new line, this one is not used anymore.


Except for filming movies!! :D Or train the TTC personnel ;)

If you just look at the subway station as another subway station, it doesn't look really impressive but if you read the history and think about it like that, then is more fun!