So I'm in Toronto for my first film festival!!
I haven't seen a film yet, but I've got a lot of good ones coming up, including Air Doll by Kore-eda and my personal favorite Kamui Gaiden.

I got to the box office early in the morning and there was hardly a line on this first day of the festival. Later in the afternoon, the line was snaking out into the plaza. I'm really glad I went early. I noticed that they pack the shows into the final 2 days, which I will be missing because I decided to come on the front end to get good tickets. If you can be here starting a day before the festival and leave a day after the festival, I highly reccomend that.

I took a double decker bus tour. It was really nice to feel the wind in my hair, but I think I got some mild sunburn and turned a little pink. I bought sunscreen for the rest of the festival. (Oh, if you ever come to Toronto and want to go on a bus tour, take Bus and Boat, they're spiffy, fast, on time, a boat ride is included for the same price of the company I'm using, and you get to use it for a whole week instead of three days.) It's a real deal I'll make it to Chinatown one of the days during the festival, and I also want to go to Little India. I'm DVD hunting.

I think if you can do it, and cheaply enough, it's probably worth getting a hotel in the TIFF area or a hotel near the TCC subway lines. It will make your whole TIFF weekend a breeze.

Now Toronto--is the most awesome metropolitan city I've *ever* been in. The diversity is astonishing, a real breath of fresh air. "Mixed couple" is practically an oxymoron here: it's so common that it's not worth having a term to point it out. Toronto is what I imagine a Sci-Fi city to be like, where there are no discernable minorities because of the nature of diaspora. There are so many white people where I went to college that it's like "white glare," so this diversity is relaxing to see.

And Toronto's restaurants! There are so many and so many different kinds! I could live here and really like it. It's a big city with a smaller town vibe.

I'm liking my journey to Toronto. I can't wait to see some films!