Canada is like a sorority I want to pledge desperately

So I'm just back from a business trip to Canada, and I'm completely jet lagged which is why I'm up at an ungodly hour...figured this would be the best time to gush about how great Canada is. Seriously. In all my time living in New England, I never bothered to venture up...sure I had friends who went over to Montreal the moment they turned 18 (some kind of rite of passage in the Northeast apparently, hehe) but for the most part, I was affected by the general American attitude of MEH to Canada...('The poor man's USA,' as one of my friends put so delicately). A hella lotta snow, hockey and strange accents was all that came to mind to be honest.

Anyway, I finally made it there from halfway across the world...and I am so glad I did! Canada is North America's best kept secret. I'm surprised at why nobody told how great of a place it is...sure there is a crapload of snow, but its gorgeous (especially to this former UMasser who lives in a desert now) and yes the Canadians have an unnatural obsession for hockey (which once again reminded me of UMass...lets go Minutemen) and pepper their convos with ehs, ouuuuts and abouuuuts but there is so much more to the country.

Toronto, my first stop, was among the cleanest, neatest, safest and most organized larger city that I've been too in ages. A fab combo of NY & Boston with its own unique flavor brought by masses of immigrants (the majority of whom I found to be extremely well integrated) made Tdot extremely likable and seemingly livable. Downtown kept me happy with the largest indoor shopping mall Eaton Center and a ton of cutesy boutiques around. Check out The Bottom Line, the classiest sports bar (its not a paradox, promise!) which, surprise, owned by a former NHL player. It is also THE place to go for sports celebrity sightings!

Halifax is a smaller town with stunning views...British style pub Elephant & Castle provided cheap food to kept me happy. Also, Nova Scotia is where a ton of Scottish and Irish immigrants settled - so its got a very similar vibe to Boston.

Edmonton was the best for famous Alberta steaks..LUX, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse (polish off your meal with Chocolate Sin cake, the name says it all!) and The Sawmill Steakhouse are worth checking out.

And Vancouver, consistently rated among the top most livable cities, was absolutely stunning (good news, it is also the warmest place to be in Canada, the only downside being its constantly rainy, like Seattle) With its extremely high Asian population, had sushi and sake at Tsunami Sushi one night and Indian food at Vij's the other...both were excellent.

And the people, oh the people, so great...Canadians are ridiculously friendly, super helpful and a great looking bunch.

Go on over the border if you're in the States now, I highly recommend it...and if you're halfway across the world like I am, start planning summer getaways...I know I am!