Two days in Toronto

One of our favorite cities for an overnight visit is Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  Toronto is an easy city to visit. It is just two hours away from Buffalo, has an excellent public transportation system, and is very walk-able (when the weather is cooperative).   For years we have gone to visit Toronto strictly for the music scene.  But there's more to Toronto than concert halls, night clubs and music. Recently Toronto hosted a world-class marathon on October 16th.  It drew runners from all over the world to enjoy the city and sites.  The weekend featured a well staffed welcome expo, marathon flame lighting ceremony, international friendship run, and pasta dinner to kick off the big run. The marathon course followed the city's beautiful waterfront boulevard and featured festive cheering stations along the way.  The course is known for being "flat and fast" allowing many runners to get their personal best time on the course.

We posted ourselves just before the midway point and were treated to a festive Brazilian band and carnival dancers. From our cheer point, the runners looked awesome!  We were there to cheer on my brother Tom who was running his first marathon and my sister Robin, who has completed several marathon runs.  What struck me was how they both made the run look easy! I know, however, that their abilities to run 26+ miles comes from months of slow and consistent increased training that started back in May.  The training certainly paid off! Tom finished the race in just under 4 hours and Robin was around 4.5 hours. Wow!! I am so impressed and amazed by their hard work! It was a pleasure to be there and to cheer them on!

In the news yesterday!!

I read this article in the new yesterday and hope I am one of the 10,000! From ABC News by Akiko Fujita:

10,000 Free Round-Trip Tickets to Japan

"If you’ve ever wanted to visit Japan, this may be your chance.

In a desperate attempt to lure tourists back to a country plagued by radiation fears and constant earthquakes, the Japan Tourism Agency’s proposed an unprecedented campaign – 10,000 free roundtrip tickets.

The catch is, you need to publicize your trip on blogs and social media sites.

The number of foreign visitors to Japan has dropped drastically, since a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Power plant in March. Nearly 20,000 people have been confirmed dead, while more than 80,000 remain displaced because of radiation concerns. In the first three months following the triple disasters, the number of foreign visitors to Japan was cut in half, compared with the same time in 2010. The strong Japanese currency has made matters worse.

The tourism agency says it plans to open a website to solicit applicants interested in the free tickets. Would- be visitors will have to detail in writing their travel plans in Japan, and explain what they hope to get out of the trip. Successful applicants would pay for their own accommodation and meals. They would also be required to write a review their travel experiences, and post it online.

“We are hoping to get highly influential blogger-types, and others who can spread the word that Japan is a safe place to visit,” said Kazuyoshi Sato, with the agency.

The agency has requested more than a billion yen to pay for the tourism blitz. If lawmakers approve the funding, Sato says visitors could begin signing up as early as next April."

Dreams come true

Having a chance to go back to Japan for me would be a dream come true!

And I know that sometimes dreams do come true, but not always without some work and planning.  My first step? Create a travelogue to document my journey. It's called Travelogue Chris. Welcome!