New Year's in Toronto

The border police guy serving the ungrateful New Year's Eve shift was obviously baffled to learn that yes, the two of us came all the way from Buffalo to spend New Year's in Toronto. Yes, just one night. Shaking his head in disbelieve but with a smile on his face he stamped our passports and waved us through.

Toronto welcomed us with fog and drizzle. We didn't care much. We checked into the Hilton to spend an overpriced short night there. Coming straight from the ski slopes of Holiday Valley our first destination was the shower. We had little time to enjoy the hot water. Glenn had bought tickets for "The Second City", the Canadian version of "Saturday Night".

Nestled in the heart of Toronto, the comedy club was walking distance from our hotel. We got there just on time! We found our table which we shared with a young Canadian couple. Both of them were amazed to learn both of us live in the Philippines. And, of course, the lady had a Filipino colleague.

The next two hours were filled with witty jokes about human prejudices, the social media phenomenon, the overdone security measures to fight "international terrorism" (Canada seems to be as bad as the US), and the country's negligible economic imprint on the world (especially when compared with it's south-border neighbor).

We laughed good and hard. At midnight we welcomed 2011 with strangers and stand-up comedians. It was great! We didn't see a single firework but that was fine, too.

Released into the streets of Toronto we looked for a nice restaurant for a midnight snack. To our surprise most places were already closed or only served drinks. The only place open serving food was... Subway! The first food of the new year was a healthy foot-long tuna sandwich, devoured in the posh atmosphere of a fast food chain. The homeless guy next table smiled over at us.

After a drink in a bar we went back to the hotel to drop our exhausted bodies into the fancy bed. Entering the lobby we found a group of nicely dressed and completely stoned teenagers, security officers, police and ambulance... I guess some party went out of place there.

Yes, it might sound crazy to drive all the way to Toronto to welcome the new year. After our past week's itinerary however, what defines crazy?

Happy New Year!!!