Canadiana Backpackers Blog

Well, spring has finally arrived! We are now experiencing double digit temperatures and can sit outside without freezing to death!

The warmer weather also signals a time for Barbeques. We had our first one last week.

We had some new guests in the hostel who became good friends in a very short time. We thought their impending departure on their year-long world tour a pretty good excuse for the first outdoor meal of the year!

We did it up pretty well too! We made a special trip to St. Lawrence Market to purchase some excellent prime rib steaks and chicken. We marinated chicken kebabs overnight with tandoori spices.

A huge tossed salad was added to this combination along with the requisite wine and beer.

Out English friends Sarah and Angela from Stoke-on-Trent, U.K. have left for B.C. then on to the Yukon and Alaska.

But we’ve left them with something to remember us by because we think they will have to travel far to find a better barbeque than the one they had here.

We miss them both already!

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We got a bit of a surprise a week or so ago. A pretty and familiar face turned up at the hostel unannounced!

Analise returned to Canada! She’s a young girl from the U.K. who stayed with us last year when she was in the country on a Working-Holiday Visa.

She worked in Northern Ontario and out west in resorts returning to our hostel before going home to England.

Anyhow, it is such a pleasure when old friends return to the hostel. It seems that they can’t get enough of Canada in general; Toronto in particular; and the Canadiana - especially!

Welcome home Analise!

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We get a real cross-section of society staying here at the hostel.

We get Doctors, Lawyers and, yes, even the occasional Indian Chief.

We also get our fair share of soldiers, mercenaries and cops!

And the police officers who travel and stay in hostels are usually the adventurous types whose job descriptions normally involves the cerebral side of police work.

We’ve hosted Forensic Specialists, Crime Scene Co-ordinators and even a pair of detectives on their way home to the U.K. after spending time identifying the remains of British Tsunami victims in Thailand. (see Blog entry: Cops)

The latest man with a badge is Peter and his daughter Dani from Cambridge, U.K. He actually trains police officers.

He joined the force later in life after serving with the British Army (A Falklands veteran) and then working twenty years in management.

Pete and Dani have a strong connection with Canada. His sister emigrated to Lethbridge, Alberta some three decades ago and his parents joined her there about eight years ago. Apparently, they love it!

But what’s not to like? The mountains in western Canada are magnificent!

His daughter Dani is at University and Peter plans to take her to New Zealand during the summer school break. Lucky girl!

You have to have a certain “look” to be a high-fashion runway model. And just about everybody knows what that look is!

First of all, the model must be tall; secondly, very slim; high cheekbones also help. Suffice to say, she has to be good looking. (It’s a notoriously shallow industry!)

Naro is from Kenya and works in a bakery shop. She once brought a very large plate of brownies she had baked. Delicious!

Naro was working in her shop one day when a lady came in who looked oddly familiar. It turned out that the woman was host of a popular syndicated Canadian Television program “Fashion Television”.

She recognized immediately that Naro had the “look” for high-fashion modeling. She gave Naro her business card and asked her to give her a call and she would introduce her to the right people in the industry.

It was a golden opportunity.

Unfortunately, Naro has not made that call even though her frriends have all told her that she should - without delay!

It is a very lucrative opportunity and the career of a high-fashion model very brief. We are still hoping she’ll make the call!

The AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) is a remarkable institution especially because it is a Provincial Gallery. It is world class.

It is also an important piece of? Toronto’s architecture having? just undergone a massive expansion designed by world renowned architect Frank Gehry. ( A Toronto native by the way.)

The Gallery also boasts the world’s largest collection of sculptures by the British master Sir Henry Moore. Because of his affection for Toronto, the artist bequeathed his entire personal collection to the AGO.

One of the most important cultural events we conduct at our hostel is a visit to the Gallery.? On certain evenings, entrance is free (regular admission about $20) and we take a group on these nights.

The Gallery is located a mere three blocks from our front door and easy walk - especially for backpackers!

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At the frrint doors of the AGO.

Easter is without a doubt the most important date on the Christian calendar.

On Good Friday, Teresa (our head of housekeeping) prepared a staff dinner of Red Snapper, salad and vegetarian lasagna.

The meal was washed down with a few bottles of wine and included a taste? of sweet ice wine for dessert.

We’ve always maintained that the hostel “feels like home!” And home sometimes features a family gathering for a home-cooked meal.

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Monday nights is “Karaoke Night” here at the hostel. We head over to our “local” pub, The Fox and Fiddle that is exactly one block from the hostels front door!

The singing begins at? ten o’clock in the evening; however, as lot of would be singers head over a lot earlier to stock up on some “liquid courage” before taking to the stage.

Most performers of Karaoke aren’t too bad as far as singer go (but it is still a lucky thing that they have day jobs.)

Others (a minority) can be seriously delusional.? Still it is all in good fun.

The pics below, show a some backpackers from the hostel getting a head start on the evening/

And the best part about Karaoke Night at the Fox are the ten dollar large pitchers of beer (3 pints!) and the delicious chicken wings on for half-price!

Oh yes, and the singing too!

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Most hostels (including ours) maintain excellent kitchen facilities so backpackers can save money by cooking for themselves.

Cooking for yourself is obviously a lot less expensive than eating out. Surprisingly, a lot of your travelers are quite competent chefs.

It the cleanup part a lot of them have to work on!

Too many backpackers leave their dirty dishes and pots and pans unwashed in the sink. Then, of course, it falls on hostel staff members to clean up after them.

The bottom line is that such behaviour shows a lack of? character.It is also very inconsiderate to the next pperson who wants to use the pots, pans, dishes and sink!

Quite often, you will find a hostel guests who will wash his or her dishes then wash the dishes left by someone far less considerate. As soon as you see them do just that, you think how well their parents raised them!

We get people from a lot of exotic locales here at our hostel in Toronto. Andrea is a young lady who hails from the exotic town of Smithers, B.C.

This town of 5000 souls is located in the mountains about 16 hours drive north of Vancouver.

Her parents are both scientists doing research on the relative health of our forests - an important part of Canada’s heritage and industry.

Andrea is still in school but will spend this summer planting trees in northern B.C. as part of the reforestation program.

Growing up in a town like Smithers, is a place for hockey, hiking, hunting, fishing and skiing. But fashionable Andrea is equally at home in the wilds of New York City.

She stayed with us on her way back to her summer job in the northern bush.

So she’ll have to change her mode of dress.

As you can imagine, the Canadiana has seen its fair share of young travelers who have hit the road hoping to gather worldly wisdom or find their direction in life. There’s no doubt that nineteen year old Robyn is ahead of the pack on both counts.

She may not have a goatee or a shark tooth necklace but she has a sharp eye for the peculiarities of human behavior, and a razor wit to match. More precisely, Robyn has a sharp eye for body language and hopes to someday become an expert on the subject, honing her skills day by day with the wide variety of characters that pass through the Canadiana.

In addition to her Jedi like powers, Robyn is fluent in French and English, and her calm professionalism makes her an indispensable part of our team. It’ll be a sad day when she eventually leaves us to fulfill her destiny and restore balance to the force.