Day 23: Toronto – a big surprise, raising funds and meeting new friends

The morning after was a little rough. Aaron made Canadian-style breakfast with ham, hash browns, eggs and toast which brought a little life back into us.

He had prepared a full program for the day of which I only knew some elements. So we got ready and took an Uber to an exhibition called “Little Canada”. This was a miniature version of signature Canadian places like Niagara, Hamilton, Toronto, Ontario, Montreal, Quebec and St. John’s in Newfoundland. Matter of fact it was the perfect representation of this and next year’s fundraising tour.

I knew most of the places already from former travels. However, Ontario, the very British looking capital, and St. John’s, which reminded me of Norway or Iceland, I did not know at all yet.

We were discussing my tour for next year which would be Toronto – Ottawa – Montreal – Quebec – Fredericton – Halifax – St. John’s. One way 3,100km. What was still unclear at this point was how I would get back from St. John’s which is actually closer to Greenland than to Toronto.

After the exhibition we walked through the city and Aaron revealed his plan for lunch. He had reserved a table on top of the 553m high CN Tower, one of Toronto’s landmarks. The sky was clear with perfect visibility and the views were just amazing. The restaurant turned clockwise so we got to see all directions. The food was also very good. Wow! What a great surprise this had been.

After this highlight, we went to my favorite store in Canada: Mountain Equipment Corporation, an outdoor chain. Aaron was checking emails while I got myself some new gear.

After this, we took an Uber home and had a nap. At 6pm we were at the patio of a nice bar in Aaron’s neighborhood and were waiting for his friends to show up for a fundraising event. We were both a little excited who would eventually come and how the evening would unfold. Since I had to change the date for the event due to my earlier departure, it was less clear who would actually make it during the week.

At the end, Chris, Jacqueline, and Bob had come and we had a nice evening together. The conversations were lively and Aaron did a great job in weaving the fundraising project gracefully into the flow of the evening. It had been my first fundraising event but it was fun. At 10pm we said farewell until next year for the next fundraiser.