I toured the micro-brewery before the Blue Jays game, called Steam Whistle. I liked getting a bottle opener as a souvenir, it is green. We got a sample of the product as well that we drank during the tour. There was plenty of art on the wall in the waiting room before the tour, where many were having a drink, on the lower level. We went to the upper level to start the tour.
I liked how I had enough time to get to the game after the tour, the Blue Jays played the Tampa Bay Rays. Toronto won 4-0, aided by home runs. It was 2-run shots in the 5th and 8th. I was sitting next to a British man and he asked me to explain the rules of the game. I guess it isn't close enough to cricket. After the game I did get more souvenirs besides the game program, as I like keeping score. I liked finding some trading cards in vending machines, reminding me of the Montreal Expos game I saw in 2002. I got some decals as well. All were cheap, a dollar or even less. I walked around for a while after the game, wanting the correct change for it so I tried to find what was cheap at a souvenir stand and it meant getting a Blue Jays pen. I am thankful nobody said anything, but maybe it was due to moving the entire time or I hadn't been at it all that long. I am a brisk walker. Once I bought what I wanted I left the stadium right away.
I knew I had plenty of time before the comedy show I would be attending in the evening, so I walked over to Fort York and Exhibition Place. There is a historic part of Fort York, an arch, but it is still an active military outpost so I got a picture of it and moved on. I got a photo of the Princes Gate once I reached Exhibition Place. It looks like it was being used as a Pan-Am venue as well since there was plenty of security around it. This is the site of the Canadian National Exhibition, it sounds like a state fair in America but a national one.
I did perform at the comedy show I attended, there was church pews in the room. I kept the sign up list as it was left behind after the show ended. I was told by the MC I had a name like a Las Vegas lounge singer. I was a pretty big deal at this show once they heard I came from the Twin Cities to perform there, and what else I was in town for. One comic referred to it in his set, how the Pan-Ams scared away all of the Americans, except me. Since many of the people on his tours happen to be from Spanish-speaking countries during the Games. Another comic spoke about taking public transport to jobs, but didn't get the reference right. The dictator that made the trains run on time wasn't Hitler, but Mussolini. I mainly did a set about Toronto from an outsider's perspective, not necessarily about the events I attended but the things related to it. I didn't get many laughs but when I spoke with the MC after the show he said I was going fast. I tend to do this when I am not as sure of myself, and I hadn't performed outside of the Twin Cities much yet. I spoke at length about various subjects with another comic after the show. I like how one can find common ground if looking hard enough. Comedians will understand each other fairly well no matter where they go, the need to do comedy especially.
I found a pizza place nearby after signing up, and an older woman was interested in how I was attending the Pan-Am Games. She asked about ticket prices, I said most tickets were very affordable. She told me of some events going for over a hundred dollars, I had to ask which ones and who was selling them, most likely the black market. I think she was confused or not paying attention to me as she spoke of a nearby retail building becoming condos soon. I said it doesn't affect me as I am not from Toronto. I thought I stated it clearly early on how I was in town for the Games. I wanted to make it to Chinatown but ran out of time. I have a postcard of it though, bought at a shop a few blocks from my hotel. This was the same one where I found a can of Coca-Cola which had some art on it about the Women's World Cup in Montreal, depicting the Olympic Stadium where the Expos once played. This was why I wanted the drink, another nice souvenir. It has been busy but fun here in Toronto. Well worth it to have made the journey as I have made memories that will last a lifetime.
I liked how I had enough time to get to the game after the tour, the Blue Jays played the Tampa Bay Rays. Toronto won 4-0, aided by home runs. It was 2-run shots in the 5th and 8th. I was sitting next to a British man and he asked me to explain the rules of the game. I guess it isn't close enough to cricket. After the game I did get more souvenirs besides the game program, as I like keeping score. I liked finding some trading cards in vending machines, reminding me of the Montreal Expos game I saw in 2002. I got some decals as well. All were cheap, a dollar or even less. I walked around for a while after the game, wanting the correct change for it so I tried to find what was cheap at a souvenir stand and it meant getting a Blue Jays pen. I am thankful nobody said anything, but maybe it was due to moving the entire time or I hadn't been at it all that long. I am a brisk walker. Once I bought what I wanted I left the stadium right away.
I knew I had plenty of time before the comedy show I would be attending in the evening, so I walked over to Fort York and Exhibition Place. There is a historic part of Fort York, an arch, but it is still an active military outpost so I got a picture of it and moved on. I got a photo of the Princes Gate once I reached Exhibition Place. It looks like it was being used as a Pan-Am venue as well since there was plenty of security around it. This is the site of the Canadian National Exhibition, it sounds like a state fair in America but a national one.
I did perform at the comedy show I attended, there was church pews in the room. I kept the sign up list as it was left behind after the show ended. I was told by the MC I had a name like a Las Vegas lounge singer. I was a pretty big deal at this show once they heard I came from the Twin Cities to perform there, and what else I was in town for. One comic referred to it in his set, how the Pan-Ams scared away all of the Americans, except me. Since many of the people on his tours happen to be from Spanish-speaking countries during the Games. Another comic spoke about taking public transport to jobs, but didn't get the reference right. The dictator that made the trains run on time wasn't Hitler, but Mussolini. I mainly did a set about Toronto from an outsider's perspective, not necessarily about the events I attended but the things related to it. I didn't get many laughs but when I spoke with the MC after the show he said I was going fast. I tend to do this when I am not as sure of myself, and I hadn't performed outside of the Twin Cities much yet. I spoke at length about various subjects with another comic after the show. I like how one can find common ground if looking hard enough. Comedians will understand each other fairly well no matter where they go, the need to do comedy especially.
I found a pizza place nearby after signing up, and an older woman was interested in how I was attending the Pan-Am Games. She asked about ticket prices, I said most tickets were very affordable. She told me of some events going for over a hundred dollars, I had to ask which ones and who was selling them, most likely the black market. I think she was confused or not paying attention to me as she spoke of a nearby retail building becoming condos soon. I said it doesn't affect me as I am not from Toronto. I thought I stated it clearly early on how I was in town for the Games. I wanted to make it to Chinatown but ran out of time. I have a postcard of it though, bought at a shop a few blocks from my hotel. This was the same one where I found a can of Coca-Cola which had some art on it about the Women's World Cup in Montreal, depicting the Olympic Stadium where the Expos once played. This was why I wanted the drink, another nice souvenir. It has been busy but fun here in Toronto. Well worth it to have made the journey as I have made memories that will last a lifetime.
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