Canada Pt1

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Hi,
I am well. I got to Canada safe and well, and am enjoying my trip so far.
I arrived in San Fransisco 3 mintues before I left Melbourne, including the 2 hour stopover in Auckland. I had a three hour wait, so I figured I would get something to eat. I was looking around everywhere for something small just to snack on, but apparently Americans don't have small snackfood, so I finally decided on a grilled cheese sandwich, figuring it was pretty safe. Well I was wrong. It was quite possibly the worst thing I had ever tasted. I had two bites and threw it out. The cheese was all rubbery and gross. So then I just got something to drink. There seem to be a lot of "Snapple" around so I got a bottle of that. It was so nice. It's kind of like juice, but weaker because it is mixed with water.
I arrived in Canada at about 1am, but that is about 3pm in Melbourne. Once again my thoughts were on my stomach. We went to Wendy's on the way home. At Wendy's, unlike Australian Wendy's, they sell burgers, similiar to Maccas. Their burgers, as in the patties, are square. Very Strange, not a lot of flavour but gets rid of the hunger.
We went home and slept unitl midday local time and just chilled out in Kim and Umberto's apartment as they had to work. The rehearsal was that night, so we met the main people in the wedding and saw the church. Afterwards we went out for Kim's Hen's night. Kim got so drunk!! It was hilarious. I tried all different kinds of cocktails, which they call Martini's, so even a Sex on the Beach was considered a Martini.
Friday was time to set up the hall for the reception and do the final organising of the wedding. On thing we didn't count on was Kim throwing her guts up, due to the night before. So we went to work on the hall and she joined us around 6 or 7pm. She was really really sick. We had Swiss Chalet for dinner which is like Nando's but with this really nice sauce. I also tried Root Beer, which kind of taste like Dr Pepper, But not quite as strong, I like it a lot. By the time Kat and I had finished with the hall, it like absolutely gorgeous. The colours of the wedding were white and purple and the room was decorated primarily with tulle, so it was soft subtle decorations. It was beautiful.
That night Kat (Australian friend), Kim, Amanda, Laura (both Kim's sisters) and I stayed at Kim's parents house. Their house is HUGE!!! There are effectively 6 or 7 bedrooms, though they are used for different things. There are 3 bathrooms. And everytime I turn around someone is coming out of a room that I didn't realise was there. The room are bigger than Australian ones, and the ceilings are really high. At the front door instead of having a mesh security door, they have a glass one, because of the winter. The showers are so strange. There is only one tap and you don't turn it. Instead to start the shower you have to pull the tap, then water comes out of a tap at the bottom that looks like a bath tap, you wait for it to get warm, then you pull a little knob on the tap that redirects the water to the shower head. Then you can turn the tap a little each way to adjust the temperature. The the directions are opposite to Australia, and often unlabelled. The have everything automated. You go to a public toilet and the toilet flushes when you stand, the soap dispenses when you put your hand under and the tap turns on when your hand comes, even the paper towel comes out automatically with a sensor. And they have so much water in their toilet. It looks like about 5 cms between the water and your butt. Their powerpoints don't have switches, you just plug it in and it is always on.
So back on to what I am up to. Saturday was the wedding. It was beautiful. Kim looked wonderful, and despite the priest forgettting the rings, everything went well. There was a little reception in the hall, then photos at this gorgeous park, where I saw 3 squirrels. I also saw a skunk, but thankfully didn't smell it. Kim and Umberto spent the night in what they tell us to be a gorgeous suite in a hotel. We went back to Kim's parents where we had a barbeque. The meat here is so tasty. There is flavour in the burgers, not just mince its really nice. Lots of the family were talking to Kat and I asking us lots about Australia, like animals and weather.
Today (Sunday) we went to Walmart, after taking Kim and Umberto to the airport (they are honeymooning in Cuba). Stephen (Kim's step dad) did tell us this was a big Walmart, but the basic shops are about the same size, just without beauty salon or the photography studio. I bought Pop Tarts, some of them were S'more's flavour. S'mores are Graham Crackers, with melted marshmallows and chocolate in between. They have them when they are camping. But the Pop Tarts were so nice, they taste like the ones we used to have just heaps more variety. And I have tried different chocolate bars. So far I have had an "Oh Henry" which is like a Snickers (but they have those here too) and a "Pep" which is like a Mint Patty, both of which are just bigger.
Everything here is the same as Australia just bigger and more variety. The cars are huge. Most people drive an SUV or minvan, both of which make Dad's old Patrol look small. They have strange road rules. For example when you are driving along a suburban street and there is a four way intersection, where Australia might have a roundabout, or the smaller road road would give way, they have Stop signs for all four directions. But most people don't actually stop. I had finally got the hang of the wrong side of the road, until some inconsiderate person decided to park outside of Kim and Umberto's apartment on the left side, which completely messed up my perception again. Although I am getting used to it. Left hand turns are strange, but I wouldn't be able to drive for a little while. I am still getting used to it.
On Monday we are going to Niagara Falls and seeing what Lake Ontario looks like. Then Tuesday Laura (Kim's sister) is taking us up the CN Tower and Wednesday we are going to a Provincial Park called Algonquin, where I am sure to see a moose.
I will let you know how everything is and will send some pictures of my travels soon,
lots of love
Cassi

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