McCarthy in Canada

My eighth week in Canada started with yet another visit to the Skydome, this time with Iain and another chap called Nick. It was a 1.07pm start today, which saw a horrendous case of sun burn given the fact it was another boiling day in Toronto. The game finished in another Jays victory, this time 7-3 over the Washington Nationals. After the game had finished, the afternoon was spent at the hostel, before myself, Iain and Nick were joined by Austrian Alex, famous for the near-brawl we became involved in in Ottawa, and Helen who we also met in Ottawa, for a minor pub crawl of the city. We began in Hooters, where the women on offer were disapointingly poor by Hooters normal high standards. I then managed to convince the happy clan that the place to be was the Embassy, so we visited her for several pints of Magners. This quiet and relaxing evening ended soon after, as we trooped back to the hostel and I enjoyed watching some WWE Smackdown on the television

An early start was in order for todays trip to the soccerball game against FC Dallas. Hostel owner Desmond soon informed me that the transport he was on laying on would be that of a limousine, which I instantly scoffed at. However, a black limo did soon arrive, and we were whisked off to the BMO Field in style. I managed to befriend two chaps from Exeter University for the game, and despite strict rules about not taking your own food into the ground, they managed to smuggle a bag of Doritos in. Despite Dallas' lofty position in the MLS, Toronto shocked everyone by winning 4-0, with Danny Dichio, Maurice Edu, Carl Robinson and Jeff Cunningham scoring. Another boiling hot day in Toronto saw sunburn levels increase. Myself and my new compatriots then enjoyed the 45 minute walk back to the hostel. The evening saw myself, Iain and Helen once again head out to the Embassy for a few pints, followed by the viewing of Hitch, another film that confirms the theory anything starring Will Smith is good, before taking an early night ahead of tomorrows visit to Niagara Falls

Monday began with wonderful news, as despite tickets going for upwards of $700, I was able to purchase my pass to see Toronto v LA Galaxy for a mere $45 thanks to Desmond bulk buying a load for the hostel, and then selling me one at a discount rate. It also meant I was finally able to confirm my flight home for the 8th August. Myself and Iain headed off to Niagara, and instantly made friends with probably the nicest girl seen so far, who as a significant bonus turned out to be English. An hour on the bus and we had arrived, and our first point of girl was the whirlpool just down from the falls themselves. We soon arrived at the world famous site, and the beauty of it instantly bought the Japanese tourist out in me as I began taking pictures as though my life depended on it. A trip on the Maid of the Mist was soon taken, allowing us to get moist in the presence of Niagara and get up close and personal with the falls themselves. An over-zealous Chinese women then attempted to throw myself and Iain overboard in an attempt to clear an entire area so she could have a photo with the background of the falls on the boat, and this lead to much amusement and pointing from us and a few Australian chaps. After this ride, we had the chance to explore the tourist attraction of Niagara, and the fit girl soon enquired as to what we were intending to do, and if it included going for a drink. Myself and Iain informed her we were infact going to the WWE Shop, the only official one in the world apparently. Surprisingly, the girls did not seem impressed with this and decided against coming with us, so we headed off on our own. After some merchandise purchasing, we enjoyed two pints in an expensive, touristy bar. Deciding that we would be ripped off in the posh part of the town, we moved into the more pikie part, and found a grotty little corner pub that was cheap and surprisingly cheerful. Here, we enjoyed 3 pitches of beer, and got talking to a couple who had come to Niagara from American solely to get married in a Vegas-style drive-through wedding. At 9.20, we realised that we had to get the bus in 10 minutes, with a 20 minute walk to go. We bid a quick farewell, and with approximately eight pints in us headed back to the bus. Somehow, we made it, and invited the fit girl to join us for a drink back in Toronto. After sleeping for the journey back and being promptly awoken, I managed to add another item to the list of things lost thus far - my mobile, before Iain and I headed out for 3 pints at the Embassy. On leaving, we met two prostitutes who offered us all kinds of deals and seemed desperate for our custom, but ultimately the desire for Pizza Pizza and McCarthy telling them: "I can't stop thinking about Paul Gascoigne" was enough to put them off. This stemmed from our previous discussion about his fine goal against Scotland in Euro 96, and after this meeting we headed back to the hostel, via Pizza Pizza, which Iain promptly dropped, for a pleasant nights sleep


The whirlpool, just down from Niagara	The water just about to tumble over the Horseshoe Falls

Horseshoe Falls complete with regulation rainbow	The Maid of the Mist ventures into the falls

The Rainbow Falls on the American side	Right deserving of its tag of one of the Natural Wonders of the World

McCarthy and Niagara	The Maid of the Mist boat prepares to sail

Rainbow Falls	McCarthy on the boat

The Horseshoe Falls	WWE Shop - and McCarthys hand is a perfect fit for Mr Kennedy

A late rise today saw me phone the bus company to enquire as to the whereabouts of my phone. Luckily they had retrieved it, so I began the walk to their headquarters to collect it, and on my arrival there I was also able to pick up Iains book that was left, also as a result of alcohol-fuelled sleep. The excruciating heat outside was quickly becoming unbearable, so I sought refuge in the air-conditioned environment of the internet cafe, before spending the evening at the Sky Dome, where the Jays went down to a 10-1 defeat against the Los Angeles Dodgers, partly down to Dustin McGowan pitching like a jew. The defeat was made even worse thanks to a mechanical error ensuring that the roof was unable to be opened, making it absolutely roasting inside the Dome. I then returned to the hostel and spent the evening lounging about in front of the television while enjoying several episodes of King of the Hill

Wednesday was another early start in order to do some laundry, before myself and Iain headed off to the Embassy once again for some pre-ball game drinks. The highlights of another English sporting disappointment were on, as the under 21s crashed out in the semi-final to Holland to end their European Championship dreams. We then got talking to a Canadian chap who was desperate to show his Scottish roots, but the fact his accent was more of a cross between Jamaican and Irish, and he described football as soccer instantly gave away his imposturous nature. Luckily, we managed to lose him after being invited to the game with him, thanks to a pre-match McDonald. The Jays avenged last nights shocking performance with a 10-3 victory. After the game, we headed back for my consumption at the Embassy, before the now-traditional Pizza Pizza visit. As we ventured back to the hostel, we saw what I can only described as a transsexual. I asked Iain if it was a man of a women, and he informed me it was certainly a man dressed as a women, and more worryingly that he believed "it" was sleeping in our room. I realised I had had my first brush with the sort of people who would be arriving for this weekends Gay Pride festival - the largest of its kind in the world no less. We then discussed issues with the fit girl before I extended my stay in Toronto until Monday, and another night in front of the television was taken with South Park and King of the Hill for entertainment


Roy Halladay was on the mound today for the Jays	Aaron Hill steps up to the plate

Matt Stairs faces	Halladay tosses one out

The Jays high-five each other after the victory	The CN Tower is cleverly lit up

The first port of call for Thursday was the bus station, in order to find out how exactly I was going to get to Niagara Falls next week. This excursion proved to be as successful as the German invasion of Britain, and so I consoled myself with heading to the station to purchase a street dog. While I was here, I decided to investigate the possibility of getting a train to Niagara, and I was pleasantly surprised to book myself onto one, completely forgetting the experience I suffered last time at the hands of Via Rail. After a brief browse of the internet, I headed back to the hostel to say my goodbyes to Iain, who was off home after three weeks in the company of McCarthy, and after he left I made a vow to myself that I would not drink until my arrival in Woodstock next week for Canada Day.

Another early morning visit to the internet cafe was made today, and this soon turned into a longer than planned one due to a rare thunderstorm descending over the city. Any lingering home sickness doubts were soon washed away with my first sight of rain in a long long time. Once the weather had cleared, I returned to the hostel and cooked a pizza with surprising success, before heading off to the ball game, with the Colorado Rockies in town. My first impressions of the people I was sat next to was not good - they seemed to fit the description of "sickening patriotic towards America" down to a tee, complete with hands on heart for the national anthem. I soon began talking to them however, and they managed to keep me suitably entertained and soon rose in my estimation to the esteemed level of "bloody good people". It turned out the husband of this fine couple - who heralded from Salt Lake City, was infact a massive cricket fan, despite the fact he didn't understand any of the rules of the game, so I spent a large portion of time explaining to him how it was played, and in exchange he went through some of the finer points of baseball with me. I was genuinely upset when they had to leave, and they missed a cracker of a finish, as for the first time in my baseball career I viewed a match go into 'extra time' with the game tied at 5-5. The Rockies scored one in their extra innings, before the Blue Jays won the game by scoring three, one home run and two RBI's, to take the game 8-6. I completed the evening, which was refreshingly freezing, with a visit to Pizza Pizza and by watching Smackdown once again on the television


The earlier thunderstorm lead to this fine sun set over the city	The thrilling game against the Rockies

The CN Tower once again lit up	The open roof of the Rogers Centre as the fans depart


WEEK SEVEN	WEEK NINE