quote:

Originally posted by TCB you may think im nuts! but ive been over there 5 times before during winter to have christmas with my family (dads side) and im a citizen so im gonna be living there for atleast a year.

Me too!!!

hahaha that's farkin' hilarious, i'm in the exact same situation as you.

kewl AJ! nice to see another aussie-canadian aroud the place!! so which part of canada is your family from??

Vancouver

Although all of my dad's siblings are kinda spread out around B.C. now.

My Aunty & Uncle live in Whistler though, which is pretty sweet when we go stay with them.

If I could visit ONE city in Canada for five days (probably wednesday through Sunday) during January, which would be best? Montreal or Toronto or Vancouver?
I'm looking for the best touristy sorta stuff, and the best clubbing. At the moment I'm thinking Montreal from a recommendation from a cousin and it is the easiest for me to travel in and out of.

___________________
**Man I'm Pretty**

Yeah clubbing-wise it would probably be better to go to Montreal or Toronto.

However, Vancouver has loads of awesome stuff to do, and it has lots of awesome outdoors stuff. The scenery around there is amazing. The weather is a lot milder in Vancouver than Toronto or Montreal as well. It's usually aroun 2-10C there during the day, so it's not too cold at all.

Some things to do in Vancouver

Go snowboarding/skiing up at Cyprus or Grouse Mountain
Stanley Park
Capilano Suspension Bridge ---> AWESOME place to visit and walk around in the woods and by the river
Visit Capilano Damn
Visit The Trout Hatchery **all of the above three are right near each other**
Go for a walk along Ambleside (right on the harbour)
Go shopping at Cosco (fuck that place is awesome! )
Check out Old Gas Town or Little Italy or Chinatown
Visit the big science museum, complete with an Imax inside this huge sphere (It's very similar to Canberra's Questacon)
Shopping
Go to Whistler
Watch an Ice Hockey match - Vancouver Canucks play at GM Place
Go to an Ice Rink and go ice skating
Go to the themepark (can't remember the name)

Last edited by A.J. on Jan-30-2005 at 14:43

^^^^
Your use of the language hints at the fact you've been out of the country far too long.
'ice hockey match' = hockey game, or if you're in a bar, it's just simply known as 'the game'. Too bad the NHL is on strike right now, and you won't be able to enjoy any of that this year.

Things to do in Toronto:
Skate. Outdoors, like it's suppost to be done, as vancouver is so damn mild, I doubt they can have outdoor rinks that don't turn into slush puddles. Toronto has the highest number of outdoor and indoor rinks per person and in general of all cities in the world. If you're looking just to skate, I'd recommend Nathan Phillips Square downtown, right in front of city hall, cuz it's a really cool place. The Eaton center is like 2 blocks away and is a huge mall, and you can sightsee both metro hall and the old city hall.

CN tower. The world's tallest freestanding structure and the stereotypical skyline view of the city. Kinda cool for like 15 minutes, then you realize the revolving resaurant serves nauseating food and the rotation sickens you further.

Skydome. Might wanna see it before it gets bulldozed, it can't find a decent source of rent for it's pricey downtown location. Still a cool building, but nothing special.

Air Canada Center. Where out beloved Leafs play their hockey, and come heartbreakingly close to the stanley cup year after year and never win. 30+ years and counting, and when we win, the whole city will riot, and cease to exsist. The Raptors also play basketball in the same building, and if you're here this year, I'd recommend going to see a game, the tickets are relatively cheap, and getting a ticket to the Leafs is damn near impossible. [I've lived here 22 years, and I've been to 2 leaf games]

Shows n' stuff. Isn't my thing, but if you're big on theatre n' stuff, apparently we have a vibrant live theatre scene. Who knew?

Parties. Toronto's musical and clubbing scene has been on a huge upswing recently, and we're finally getting back to the place we were at before the government cracked down on our rave scene. Good events are happening weekly, and new clubs are popping up all over the place. Plus coming to toronto will let you party with me, and the rest of the TOTAs, and we'll take good care of you. Clubs of note:
the Guvernment: Toronto's first 'superclub', bringing in international headliners about once a week, covers all genres of music, but it can get rediculously packed, and the crowds aren't always the best quality if people in the 'k' hole and shirtless sweaty men with plastic trophey women aren't your thing. Open from 10pm~7,8am
Boa Redux: The club that single handedly revived our scene last year. Brings in lessor known talent, but REALLY good acts. Less of a headliner's club and more of just a crazy time. They do bring in big name headliners occasionally, but tend to focus their effor on up and coming talent. Primarily good dirty grunge toronto house music, the crowds and the parties every week are off the hook. One of the 2 best sound systems in north america. But if lasers and lightshows are your thing, this club won't scratch your itch. It's a dark and moody club. Open 1am~???? [Depends on when the DJ decides to leave]
System Soundbar: Older club which focuses on progressive and house, good locals, good headliner bookings, but recently the crowd has changed a bit and isn't what it used to be. Open 10pm~6,7am
Republik: New club which hasn't opened yet but is being billed as another Toronto Superclub. Seems like it'll be well run, international residents of Johan Gielan and J00F make me think this one will focus on the trance crowd.
the Docks: Another toronto superclub, recently redone and added a sound system on the same make as boa's to compete with the guv and republik. Have some good nights when the 'industry' crew, or destiny throw parties. Times open depends more on the night than anything else.

___________________
Not Everyone Understands House Music, It's a Spiritual Thing, a Body Thing, a Soul Thing

cheers sly guy for the info on toronto as i havent been there but since im a dj i really want to take a side trip there to see canadas biggest clubbing scene.

as for the language. i use hockey when im around ather people who are involved in hockey or play it. but in general i use ice hockey cause if you dont over here then people think that you play field hockey and i dont want them to get confused and think that. not enough contact in field hockey for my liking.

quote:

Originally posted by TCB not enough contact in field hockey for my liking.

You never saw me play.


Thanks for the info guys (especially Sly Guy)

___________________
**Man I'm Pretty**

Last edited by Trance Nutter on Jan-31-2005 at 03:47

lol! my step dad plays veterans field hockey! you wouldnt want to mess with him though as he is a big guy. havent seen him crack anybody though as he stays composed on the field. damn.

I'd give a review on montreal as well, but I only visit there occasionally and haven't been out to all their clubs. The short version:
Montreal is a arguably the best party city in north america. [Toronto quickly gaining ground]. Their afterhours venues have been the envy of other cities for years, and I've only been to two of them. [so far]

Aria Nightclub : Superclub lineups and variety with a much better crowd/vibe. However, the whole city of montreal is much more house/techno oriented, so it's rare to find trance at this venue. This club opens up at 1am, and goes until the DJ decides to leave. Last time I was there, it was usually about noon. A couple of their local residents, Preach and Mini, are really good techno acts, and are actually up n' coming guys to watch out for.

Stereo Afterhours : Always rated one of the top 5 clubs in the world, and so far, the only one from north america rated as such. Their sound system is rediculous. Purely anolog, and massive, it delivers the 'warmest' bass I've ever heard [boa's in toronto is completely digital, making treble on their system very crisp, but stereo's bass is better]. Stereo is exclusively house music, has a huge list of international residents [ie Satoshi, hector romero, david morales, superchumbo, frankie knuckles and many other house music pioneers] which make for an excellent party every week. This club has been known for marathon parties. Last time tenaglia played it, he was on the decks for 17 straight hours, until 7:30 on sunday evening. As a result, they've even designed their floor with a suspension system to be easier on the joints, and the plywood flooring looks cheap, but it absorbs a huge amount of sweat. One of the drawbacks a lot of people have with stereo is the reputation of it being a 'gay' club. Depending on the DJ playing you'll get a very large gay crowd, even on nights with morales, it's like 90% shirtless gay guys, so if you have a problem with that, make sure you go with a large group of people. DJs stay on till AT LEAST noon. Usually mid-afternoon.
A word on montreal massives:
They have lots of them. They may not be two tribes big with 200,000 people, but the city itself is limited by it's venues. Personally, when I visit the city, it's usually for one of them, and I'll hit up their clubs all weekend long. Just to give you an example of their massives, upcoming in march, the weekend of WMC montreal is throwing their 'bal en blanc' party, one of the coolest festivals out there. The confirmed lineup so far is Tiesto, Deep Dish, Rauhofer, and Morales, with Carl Cox, Steve Lawler, and Armin all being potentials. And usually they like to 'surprise' you with a couple extra guests in the last week. But the party isn't limited to the day, from what I hear, all the downtown shops decorate all in white, while all the party goers are obligated to dress in white and all the party decorations are white as well. If you want, I can post a link of a vieo of last year's bal en blanc as an example of how crazy montreal gets.
But massives aren't the only single events out there. In the summertime they have something they call 'piknik electronique' in a park which looks over the entire montreal skyline. Local DJs from the local afterhours clubs play these events from 1pm till after sunset on sundays, and the crowd and vibe the last time I was at for one of those was great. Don't be afraid in montreal about going to an event where you've never heard the name of the headliner.
I really can't post much more on montreal than that, as I never have the time to sightsee when I'm there. But one last thing....With all the partying, good eats are also essential. Schwartz's smoked meat is a famous deli, selling completely addictive food. You have no idea. It pains me when i leave the city. Also, there's a lebonese food place just outside of aria, I forget the name, but it make THE BEST chicken schwarmas. I know malek, [MLTA and promoter of aria] likes to take out the international DJs there for grub after their sets]

___________________
Not Everyone Understands House Music, It's a Spiritual Thing, a Body Thing, a Soul Thing

wow i might have to add a weekend in montreal!! sounds good! might have to check out this night club if its in the top 5 in the world like you say! the gay part does worry me though. as long as they leave me alone ill be happy.