Shibani's 7'th Birthday..

Well.. I should say she had been waiting for this day immediately after her 6'th birthday previous year.. To add to that, I had told her that I would return before her birthday from Toronto made it still special.. She was counting every day and the first thing she did everyday after waking up is to find out when I would return and how many less days for her birthday..
There was nothing special and it was usual family get-together.. Shibani's friends Mahima, Arjun, Gowri etc had joined us to wish her happy birthday.. I was extremely happy to invite Pach-Arch and Saanvi too.. It was the first time they were visiting our house and it made more special for them to join us on this ocassion.. Shibani cut the cake and was happy to look and play with all the gifts she had received. In the morning too, she had been to school which happened to be the last working day for this academic year. She had distributed the chocs which I had got from Zurich and I believe everyone liked them since they were different..
End of the day, she was the most happiest and cheerful girl ;)

Goodbye Toronto

It was now my turn to bid goodbye to Toronto on March 23, 2007. one & half years of stay finally coming to an end when I decided to go back for personal reasons. I liked the city very much and I should stay the stay has been very memorable and special to me. Some of the things which I liked in Toronto & Canada in general are :

1) Excellent planning & infrastructure.. The city is planned in grid form and we can see roads criss-crossing from North-south and east-west of the city.. The buses (TTC-Viva) ply on the complete length on these big streets. In addition to that, the metro(subway) train services on critical artery of the city provide the much needed mass rapid transport system. One can reach any corner of the city easily without a car !
2) Clean drinking water and electricity available throughout.. I didn't see a single minute of power-cut any time. Also, easy availability of hot-cold water everytime.
3) Experience the vagaries of nature : One can experience all the weather conditions - spring, summer, fall, winter.. The winters especially the snow is a great experience. I really enjoyed it a lot.. The fall colors provide a great sight throughout the country side.
4) Great shopping - easy access to shopping malls and internet shopping makes it easier to order any product of choice
5) Easy access to internet - High speed internet available easily which makes everyone connect to the web, download anything of our choice easily.
6) Large Indian/sub-continent community - Being multi-ethnic city we do not feel out of place.. We have numerous south-indian restaurants, movie theatres, temples etc..
7) Great road network - I loved driving on those highways.. I know it is quite monotonous and boring but the great road network cuts down the travel time and we are able to travel almost of 100 of KMs in quick time.. Since, I loved driving long distances it was pretty nice experience however it lacks the challenge and the varied landscape as in India..

At the end of it, we still would miss the social environment and the great tropical weather of India.. I'm heading home now after close to 1.5 years being away from my family..

My birthday in Toronto..

It was just one day before I was suppose to depart Toronto.. I was overwhelmed by the surprise gesture bestowed upon me by my team members.. After returing from the Sun sponsored farewell lunch in afternoon, we gathered for the cake cutting and later played TT for the last time..

Parents visit to Toronto..

I was very happy to invite my parents to visit Toronto. [Feb 02 - Mar 23] It was also a dream come true for them too and everything right from boarding plane to visiting Walmart, highway driving, Niagara falls was a great experience for them. They thoroughly enjoyed every bit of the stay and wished that they could have stayed longer. We visited all the places in and around Toronto namely the CN Tower, Niagara falls, Malls - Eaton, Fairview, Subway/Street car experience etc.
I had a good company at home and great mom's food for two months of their stay here. It was really most memorable time in my lifetime.