Where I come from…

Almost one month ago exactly, I moved myself and all my worldly possessions to London… (Thank you British Airways for your generous baggage allowance).
I’m really enjoying it here, but it doesn’t quite feel like home yet. Home for me, has always been Canada. Toronto, to be more specific.

Toronto is not known for its beautiful architecture, exciting nightlife or cutting-edge fashion, but rather for the fact that it’s clean and safe with a lot of parks with trees. Truthfully, compared to vibrant London, it’s a bit boring, but very different all the same.

Toronto is situated on the shore of Lake Ontario. It is the largest city in Canada, and contrary to what people believe, it is not the capital province. Ottawa is. Toronto is however, the capital of the province of Ontario.

The population of Toronto is 2.5 million, but the Greater Toronto area is about 5 million, most of whom work in Toronto. We have a few commuter trains and a good subway system for everyone to and from the city, but still, this is nothing close to as sophisticated as the train system here. I often hear people complaining about the trains, but I think they’re great. I’m obviously still new to it all…

Just like London, Canada is an ethnically diverse city with lots of restaurants and grocery stores, where exotic cuisines can be bought and sampled. Canadians like to eat.

Winter’s are very cold and can get as low as -20 degrees, but the summers in comparison are quite hot and humid. Temperatures can easily soar into the mid 30s. We don’t get as much snow as many people think, but this year has apparently been particularly frosty. Fortunately for me, I have missed most of it.

Because of Toronto’s proximity to Canada’s lovely lakes and forested areas, many residents own cottages 2 or 3 hours drive north of the city. You can see wildlife in the city, too, though. Raccoons, foxes, rabbits, skunks and very lost deer have all been spotted by me at one time or another. It’s a nice place to grow up, a nice place to live, and from what I have been told, a nice place to visit for a holiday.

In spite of all this, I’m glad to be here in London, working at The Rembrandt Hotel, and I wouldn’t change it for anything. In fact, I bet that in a month or two, I’ll be writing a Blog about London being home.

Written by Heather O'Halloran, Head Receptionist at The Rembrandt Hotel