Canadiana Backpackers Blog

Canadiana Backpackers Hostel, Toronto.

I like tours. I like to drink. We have a Brewery Tour! So why not? The tour normally costs $8 and it’s a bargain at that price. But you can buy a discounted ticket at the hostel for $6 - an even better deal!

The brewery is called the Steam Whistle because it is housed in a converted railway roundhouse at the foot of the CN Tower about 3 blocks from the hostel. This is very convenient because it is a short stagger home after the tour is over.

As far as the tour goes…I don’t remember much…

Just kidding. It was really informative and actually quite interesting. You get to try some barley which is pretty gross tasting! Do not taste the other ingredient! Here’s my first tip to you. ALWAYS ask to blow the whistle and DO NOT put the green pellets in your mouth! (or you will regret it!)

You get to learn about the brewing process and history of “3FG”. Anyone who goes on the tour will be able to use that bit of trivia to make themselves look and feel smarter than they are! You also learn to appreciate the life cycle of a bottle.

As if the beer refills, cheap price, awesome staff wasn’t enough…you get to take ho,me a Steam Whistle Brewery Souvenier after the tour is over. I know it might seem too good to be true; but, believe me - I kid you not!

Now here’s a REALLY BIG tip! Conveniently show up just AFTER a tour has already started. You reap the benefits by sipping free beer until the next tour begins! (That’s what we did!)

Get an early start to a super-duper night in the city! Did I just say, “super-duper”? Well, I really don’t care because the tour was just that good! My rating is two huge thumbs up! Thanks Steam Whistle Guys!

(Do you think it will look strange if I go every week? I wonder if there’s a limit to the number of visits?) Hmmmm…. Have fun on the tour and Cheers!

Collette

(Canadiana Staff).

Collette on a visit to Steam Whistle Brewery. Collette’s from Nova Scotia and Rob is a guest from? Melbourne, Australia.

These lads? enjoyed their trip and wrote this:? ? ?

We went to tour the Steam Whistle brewery upon the advice of the friendly Canadiana staff. I highly recommend the tour! The tour guide was very informative and there is great beer to sample! It is a very short walk from the hostel and the price is great! The ticket price includes all the samples you care for and a souvinir to take home. In addition to the tour and samples the brewery offers great prices on freshly brewed beer. In the waiting area there was a great exhibit about the history of beer in Canada. Go check it out you’ll be glad you did

In the Canadiana Hostel’s very own in-house cinema.?

Today is Superbowl Sunday! As most hostel guests are from foreign countries, the game will mean little to them. The Australians and British, in particular, ? are wont to state that it is a sport where the players are all “padded up” making it inferior to their beloved Rugby and “Footie”.? I don’t know if that’s the case because I’m not a fan of any of those games. I do know that, for whatever it’s worth, American Football kills more players that any other sport. I don’t even want to think of how many are crippled and maimed!

Today’s game (Superbowl XLI) is between the? Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears. Now here’s your inside tip for those who wish to wager on the game! And it’s? from a real expert!? ME! It so simple that if you can’t figure it out I don’t even know why I should bother telling you!? ? ? I mean, a Bear versus a Colt! Duh!?

The funny thing is that a lot of non-fans (myself included) will be glued to the TV set during the game! Why? Well, for the half-time show of course and the multi-million dollar commercials! The half-time show will feature “The Artist Again Known as Prince” (a Toronto resident I might add).? The National Anthem will be sung by Billy Joel! If you need me later today, I’ll be in our in-house cinema!?

The Canadiana, voted best hostel in? Toronto.?
“Toronto” translated from the aboriginal Huron language means “Meeting Place”. If this hostel - or hostels in general, I suppose - are examples of that; the city was well named. We met a guest from the UK today who came to Canada to “meet” a half-sister whom he has never seen. Lie is his name. (I know what it looks like but it’s actually pronounced “Lee” but this program lacks a grave accent mark to put over the “e”.)

Lie (pronounced Lee) Moutimba is British born from Gabonese parents. He has a strong north London accent and claims he can “get by” in French. I hope he can. You see, his younger half-sister was born in Gabon; her first language is French and she lives in Quebec city!

I think it’s interesting that two children of the same father can have such diverse upbringings. Separate cultures; seperate languages; seperate continents! Thier life journeys have brought them both thousands of miles from home to meet, at last, in yet another continent. We’re standing by Lie! Good luck and et us know how it goes!

We’ve asked Lie to keep in touch with us and let us know how everything worked out. For the next chapter of story, keep your eye on this site. We’ve gotten to know Lie a little and he’s a rather decent chap; that’s why we’re betting all will go well.

The Canadiana Backpackers voted best of all hostels in North America.?

I’ve got a nice story for today’s entry.? I heard from a? long term resident named Ron who? likes to stay in hostels while travelling. Ron lives in British Columbia. We had him as a guest here for several months last summer while he was in Toronto taking care of some family business.

He? went for a visit to Holland after he left our hostel to participate in what might be the last celebration of the Canadian liberation of the Netherlands in 1945. You see, his older brother is buried there among thousands of other young Canadian soldiers who? died in that bitter struggle. Ron is a retired electrician and never got to know his older brother. It was an emotional journey for him.

What made his? trip a happy one was the way the Dutch people have not forgotten the sacrifices of so many young men. Returning veterans - survivors of those bloody battles? - were? treated like Royalty from the moment their feet? touched Dutch soil. “It was difficult for a veteran to buy a drink in a bar,” he said. Drinks were? usually bought by either other patrons or by the management.? But even more touching was the way his brothers’ grave had been so respectfully kept and carefully tended for six decades.

Dutch? gratitude can best be seen in a single incident he experienced upon arrval at the airport in Holland. An elderly veteran, dressed in his legion jacket? (complete with ribbons) and beret with regimental cap badge, was ahead of him in line. He presented his passport to the customs officer and the document was returned to him unopened and unstamped. The officer said to the returning vet, “You came in 1944 without a passport. You don’t need one now. Welcome back.”

The Dutch, indeed, have not forgotten and have proven to so many veterans to be such worthy recipients of their of their noble sacrifice.

The Canadiana Backpackers Inn, Toronto?

Nilesh (our computer whiz) just returned from Japan - from the wilds of Hokkaido actually! He’s been there for a little over two months and we are looking forward to having our internet connections working properly again.

He was visiting a lovely young lady whom he met right here at the hostel in Toronto. But he isn’t the only one! While there, he contacted Albain (from France) who is now living in Kyoto with Nori, another young lass he also met right here at the Canadiana! He also contacted Kohei and Yuri - yet another couple who met at our hostel. Of all the Toronto Hostels, we are certain that the Canadiana is the one that fosters romance (see previous entry; “Our Third Married Couple”).

We’re pretty sure that these are serious relationships. Albain has taken a job in Kyoto teaching French and English. And Kohei is a young Japanese man who had to come all the way to our hostel in Toronto to find a beautiful Japanese girl.

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Canadiana Backpackers, voted best hostel in Toronto?

We often, very often, have guests staying at our hostel who are travelling with a purpose. They are usually socially committed, environmentally conscious and? focused individuals. We had a young lady named Shawna with us for a week. She was here for her “orientation week” with a social service agency that sends young, educated volunteers to third world countries.

She is off to Tanzania to work on a program to promote AIDS awareness. As a former resident of Southern Africa for almost three decades, I’m quite certain that it will be a project that will be, at once,? frustrating, daunting and at times, maddening; but ultimately, rewarding.

If you have? the opportunity? to experience staying in hostels, you will meet young (an old) travellers in search of adventure. You? may also find that they? gain? a cultural awareness by seeing how people live in different countries. But individuals like Shawna have an opportunity to see and learn much more. Travellers (tourists) normally see, even third world countries, at their “best”. On the other hand,? Shawna will contend with a deadly serious “pandemic” that afflicts? virtually all of sub-Saharan Africa.

It has long been established that the poorer nations of the world can ill afford the drugs needed to combat the deadly AIDS menace. So it is? singularly important? to foster an understanding of the causes of the disease and thereby prevent further infections.? ?

Shawna will both live and work among? the local residents and we look forward to hearing from her (and others) of the experiences and successes? they might have in this all important struggle. ?