I'm dying of heat exhaustion and sleep deprivation in Toronto, but at least i'm recovering my tan that Vancouver wiped off of me. BC weather will do that to you, so i'm told.

I've heard many unflattering things about Toronto - all from Canadians who aren't Torontonians surprisingly enough. So i had low expectations about the 'New York wannabe.' So i'm pretty surprised to admit that i like it. Really like it. Yes i see what people are getting at. It is no New York, but it is definitely east coast, definitely has an American flavour but it still retains something unique that makes it pretty cool. It has gorgeous 3 storey terraces dotted around where most other cities would rip them down and sprout some skyscrapers. It actually has good bookstores rather than the usual chain ones that only sell classics and best sellers. It is a mecca for all Tim Horton fans and is home to the refinery that happily transports sugar around the highest sugar consuming country in the world - 2 facts that appear to go hand in hand. It isn't blessed with Vancouver's environment, but it tries to make things pretty on the harbourfront, so i'll give it a pat on the back for trying.

I've done the usual tourist activities so far - a ride up to the top of the CN tower, a boat ride round the islands and a tour of the Skydome stadium. Today i took a bus trip to Niagara Falls. I've looked forward to this for so long and hyped it up so much that, to be honest, it was a little underwhelming (but this might have something to do with running on 3 hours sleep, mind). I didn't really get a sense of the scale until i was down in the boat and then the sheer power becomes obvious as you feel the boat straining to take you further forward into the mist against the flow of the water. They give you ponchos to wear to keep dry but it was so hot that i declined and thoroughly enjoyed my temporary drowning. As for the towns (plural, one is on the US side and the other on the Canadian side of the border) it seems that the Niagara Falls are competing with each other on who can cram the most number of attractions into one space. The Canadian side definitely wins. Think Margate on speed and you get an idea of the gaudiness. It thoroughly distracts from the natural beauty of the area. The American side appears rather more sedate and in tune to its surroundings. Perhaps i will come back someday to inspect it.

Other notable events of the day include my introduction to Toronto's home grown version of hip hop, called T-dot. Think of a keyboard drums demo sped up to rave speeds, add the sound of popping corn, Nintendo's Super Mario soundtrack and an array of noise clips from every Disney and Hanna Barbera character invented and you get an idea of the hideous sound. After 5 hours of it on a bus i was ready to slit my wrists. This was endured on an American style school bus with zero suspension so you get a chiropractor thrown in. I don't know how i survived with my spine intact.

Tomorrow i blitz Toronto with all that remains on my to do list as i realise i could probably do with another day to scratch the surface of this city. I'm planning on a 'museum crawl' so i can hop from air-con to air-con. Then its a train to Ottawa to pay homage to my hockey team, the Sens, and check out a few mounties outside parliament.