A message from the WEST side

Hello Torontonians (:P

Its that time again; I'm on another coop term and once again away from the great ;) city of Toronto and you are getting another mass email from me :)

So, I've been here 3 weeks now and I must say this city is vantastic! Apparently the summer here was amazing; practically dry, however it all changed when I got here :) and I was told this by no less than 5 people! Nonetheless 6 out of every 10 days have been sunny here and the rain is not that big a deal. Of course there was a rain forest where the city stands now and it is still standing as close as within 20 mins from the downtown.

There are some nice beaches in the city and absolutely incredible ocean shore lines and views. They seem to be quite caring about nature here and things are very organized in parks. In fact Stanley Park is the most incredible park I've ever seen. It has it all: various animals, humongous trees, and huge plant leaves from which you could easily make a dress! There are separate pathways for cyclists and pedestrians, and the people here seem to be actively filling up these great destinations.

The city itself has a bit of a European feel to it and in that sense is a lot like Montreal with lots of local restaurants and pubs and very few fast-food chains. Maybe that's why there are quite a few Europeans here. As an example of the great quality of food, you should know that I disliked sushi until I came over here, now I love it! The Japanese and Mediterranean restaurants here are fantastic and usually you see many people line up on the streets, for these, waiting to get in. In general there are a lot of foreigners here: mostly from Europe and Asia, some Aussies too. In terms of the Russian community, it is not very big (about 50,000) and mostly spread out.

There are several islands nearby, tons of mountains very close and unimaginable forests; every camper's and traveler's dream :). No wonder there are so many tourists here.

Oh and I should mention that it snows at most 3 times a year here :) and the beautiful part is that if you want snow you can be in 20 mins at the mountains where there will be plenty of it.

I've now settled in, all thanks to my friend Eugene K. who let me stay for the first week at his place and showed me around the city ^_^

So boys and girls I wish you all the best wherever you are.

Another little note: Here is where I will be posting my Vancouver/BC photographs and you can already find some of the pictures I took there.

Mr. Pilchinski over and out.