Entering Canada
On my way to Toronto I definitely wanted to stop at the Falls, but now problems started to ensue on many fronts. First, my GPS stopped working and I was following directions just by signs on the interstates, which I´m pretty inexperienced with in Germany because I ALWAYS drive with navigation, but here in the US it was pretty OK once I just decided on trusting the signs and instinct. Secondly, I had problems paying at a rest area which put me slightly at unease but I thought it was merely a hiccup in the system and just wanted to continue to Toronto, where it would all work out. At least that´s what I was hoping for.
The Falls were a real spectacle, unfortunately the Maid of the Mist was not opened due to the winter season, I think to witness the pouring waterfalls standing directly in front of them is even more impressive.
But after 10 minutes, there is not much more to see and I drove to Toronto, starving because I just had breakfast, which was 7 hours ago at that day. No money to buy anything and no groceries or snacks on board, that was rough.
The
first night in Toronto I stayed at another couchsurfer's spot, this
time it was Amy, who, despite of barely having time and being busy, made
sure I had a great stay at her place. She even introduced me to Ken,
who I contacted earlier on CS and who accidentally was a friend of hers
but wasn´t able to host me.
We
were having a great time in a bar, meeting a couple of other Germans
who had just been to the Falls, too, on that very day. What are the
chances. Ken is a great guy with many faces, sadly I couldn´t make a
photo because all my electronic devices were failing me and needed some
recharging.
Thanks Amy and hopefully we´ll have the chance to meet in the future.
For the next days, I booked a place called "The only Backpacker´s Inn", which was the best decision in my life. So many great encounters and experiences made there.
But there still was the money issue...I wasn´t able to pay for the hostel but was extremely lucky that Dimitry, the hostel´s Maestro, was just all around helpful and made sure I would have a roof under my hat on New Year´s eve. We fixed the problem by using Pay Pal to make a direct transaction from my German account. That worked just fine.
The room was shared by 6 people, we were a great team and had a lot of fun. First of all Dai, a chinese girl who was making vacations in Canada, too, gave me some cash for a paypal transaction as well. That saved my day and finally I was able to get some food.
So later in the evening we decided to join up and Dai, her friend I forgot the name of, Flavio, a brazilian student, his mother, an italian sweetheart, and I went to the Toronto Town Hall to witness the fireworks.
It was amazing. I expected more of the fireworks themselves but the event was just unique. Crowded to the extend to not be able to move and it being extremely cold and wet, we hurried back to the hostel, tired, exhausted but feeling extremely happy to have made this experience.
On to the third day, where I continue the adventure with Matt to Montreal.
Before New Years Eve I had a full day in Toronto which was packed with dramatic events, extreme ups and downs in constant succession.
It all started out to be a great and relaxing second day in Toronto, finally with some daylight and again walking through the city. Because of the holidays it all seemed rather depopulated and empty and there is not much going on. Everything is big but feels just like another city. Again, it was the people I met that made all the difference.
I wanted to find a subway and asked a stranger on the street which led to a great conversation and a quick guided tour around downtown and personal insights about the local affairs. Jess was so helpful, even accompanying me on my ride in the subway to make sure I get the right exit.
Thank you Jess and I wish you all the best on your year in Thailand. You´ll find your way :)
After walking the city for a bit I had an appointment scheduled for lunch with Bobby Chiu, a personal hero of mine. He is an artist working on so many fields and projects I don´t even recall them all. But what certainly stands out is his activity on Youtube where he is inspiring thousands of people everyday with his podcasts. Aside from that he is a concept artist extraordinaire and illustrator for games, movies and toys, founder of schoolism.com, contributed his art for Tim Burton´s Alice in Wonderland and and and...
So it was great of him to offer a slice of his time and I was extremely looking forward meeting him and his wife Kei, who is an amazing and talented artist in her own rights.
But, alas, fate tested me hard this day. I had a pretty bad car accident on my way to the appointment and all the towing, filling out forms, waiting for the police, renting a new car, cancelling the former contract etc. ate away a great deal of time and nerves. All the while, luckily, Bobby and Kei waited for me and postponed our meeting until I could make it that day.
Finally, the very second I got my new car I hurried to the studio.
It turned out the be even better than I expected. Bobby gave me a tour through the sacred halls of Imaginism, showed me his latest and past projects, even the painting he is working on right now.
Both were just great and we had a great time drinking coffee and talking about art and life in general.
The greatest gift they made me was a real surprise. Bobby got one of their art books out of the shelves and he and Kei both made cute little sketches and signed them for me. WOW!!! Thanks so much the two of you, hope to see you in the near future and check your mail, I´ll send you the book I was telling you about.
On my way to Syracuse I was in contact with Michelle, whom I found on couchsurfing.com, and was curious to find out what´s it like to meet total strangers and stay with them for a day.
As it turned out, both of them were some of the kindest and most friendly people I ever met and we had a great time.
Both of them are used to traveling a lot and know the kind of problems you run into so they were really helpful in giving tips in general and specific, even making recommendations for my visits to San Francisco and LA. They are currently working hard on founding a start-up company for a personal coaching agency and have won a couple competitions that presented them a great deal of financing so they can realize and continue their dream project.
They were extremely generous with their time, toured me around Syracuse and showed me their working places. One of which was a large co working suite where many different entrepreneurial minded people from different fields worked alongside and shared their experiences, gave seminars, and just had a really constructive working environment they ca thrive in. It was a great experience and I met wonderful and inspiring people there, maybe even some potential business partners for future projects.
Michelle and Julian are planning to visit Germany next Year and I will be delighted to host them in return and show my favorite spots in my home city.
Thanks so much for your time and it was a pleasure meeting you two.
Next stop: Niagara Falls and Toronto
Welcome to my travel and experience journal.
This old blog of mine that was dedicated solely for oil painting is the perfect place for me to document my vacation to the US and Canada because eventually, at the time I´m writing this introductory post I´m still waiting for the semester to begin, it will be all about progressing as a painting at Watts Atelier under the guidance of Jeffrey Watts and his talented group of teachers.
So lets dust this old journal and breathe fresh life into it!
First days in Boston
Starting after the Christmas days, my first stop in the US is Boston. I rented a car so I would be flexible and could make detours whenever it seems worth it. Of course, I had a bit of trouble entering the States, Homeland Security made a triple-check on me at the airport, after that I was good to go.
I stayed at a hotel for two days and used my time exploring the city, walking across town. I quickly realized the difference in scale and distances when compared to Europe. Everything is enormous and just walking around a block takes a long time. So I didn't see everything but most of downtown, chinatown and the harbor district.
The architecture in Boston is quite impressive, towering banks and charming little brick houses that have seen better days layered on top of one another makes for a great visual impression.
But spending all the time walking and then resting in a hotel, I had barely any contact with locals which I wanted to change for the rest of my trip and circumstances forced it rather quickly on me, too. So my traveling behavior changed dramatically for the rest of my trip.
I
planned to visit Harvard University and MIT in Cambridge on my last day but the
weather was just so bad, snow mixed with rain and a chilly wind, that my
stay was very short and I mainly sat in a cozy Starbucks to have wi-fi and
download all the maps I need to drive to my next city, Syracuse.
