What to buy in Canada

angel

You really should go to West Edmonton Mall. It's the worlds largest entertainment and shopping center and it's all inside in the warm!

As for the weather. I would expect it to vary from possibly +10 during the day to -10 at night. I'm going back on the 17th and am just taking the normal winter jumpers and jacket that I'd wear here. Then again I'm not going to be outside for too long, just hopping into the car and hopping back indoors!

We're also going to Radium Hot Springs, my boyfriend say's that it's really cool when the ice forms on your nose and hair while your in the water, nice eh?

http://www.westedmall.com/home/default.asp

MegS

BenL When buying clothes for your girlfriend, remember that Canadian sizes are one size down than the UK so if she's a size 12 here she'll only be a 10 over there. Shoes are different as well.

vsumouse

im sure that all xbox 360 games are now pal. so where ever they from they will play ok uk consoles, so maybe buy a few of the new titles from over there and sell back here.

LondonCanuck

BenL wrote:

Our office is in Edmonton, been told there is not a great deal to do/see there.

Edmonton is not the life and soul of Canada BUT the world's largest shopping mall is there.... I'm sure you can kill some time there (there's even an amusement park in it!)!

http://www.westedmall.com/home/default.asp

LondonCanuck

A good place to start your price comparison for techie stuff is The Future Shop http://www.futureshop.ca/. Remember, DVDs are Region 1 in Canada (UK Region 2) and if you don't have a multi-region DVD player, it won't work here.

LondonCanuck

MegS wrote:

BenL When buying clothes for your girlfriend, remember that Canadian sizes are one size down than the UK so if she's a size 12 here she'll only be a 10 over there. Shoes are different as well.

This is not a hard and fast rule though... In Canada I'm usually a 3/4 and in the UK I can either be a 6 or and 8. Unless it's a jumper or something, I wouldn't buy clothes for your girlfriend. Jeans and stuff are pretty personal as there are so many cuts and you could end up wasting your money.

If your girlfriend wears make up, MAC Cosmetics are a fraction of the price of the UK (it's a Canadian company) so is a good purchase when in Canada. Your girlfriend can tell you what colours/products she wears and you can go with a shopping list to the counter. http://www.maccosmetics.com/ If she doesn't own any MAC, as it can be quite expensive here, go to your local department store and she can pick what she'd like. :cool:

When claiming your tax back, don't use the CTR forms (Canada Tax Refund). Make sure you use the official Government of Canada tax refund forms (from the Canada Revenue Agency). CTR forms are a lot more bold looking (lots of bold red and black ink) and easy to pick up over it's quieter looking friend BUT they come with a catch... CTR is an outside agency who take a slice of your refund as a processing fee. They also tend not to process items properly such as hotel bills and they are notorious to send you your refund cheque in US Dollars which takes ages to get corrected so you either give up or take the USD Cheque to your bank here who takes another slice off your cheque for converting it to GBP.

Here's a link to the form you want. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/gf/gst176/gst176-06e.pdf You can either use this form or pick one up at most shopping malls and airports.

You can claim the GST (Goods and Services Tax) on all goods that total $50 BEFORE TAX. If you're in a shop, keep this in mind as it may be worth topping up your bill with a pair of socks to tip you over the $50 mark. You can also claim back the GST on hotels if the bill is over $200 BEFORE TAX.

When you are at the airport, go to customs first. Do not check in and drop your bags off as the customs official can ask to see the goods to prove you are taking them out of the country. If you cannot show the goods, they will not validate/stamp your receipt. Sometimes they are chilled, sometimes they are not. Better be safe than sorry and not play the "but I didn't know" story.

You cannot claim tax on restaurants or site-seeing so just chuck these receipts and not hold up the queue or frustrate the customs person. Goods of (before tax) $50 or more, hotels of (before tax) $200 or more. That's it, nothing else.

Hope that helps! Have a great trip!
:hello:

Jem8472

trets77 wrote:

Toronto too 1st vist. have swotted up with travel guide but tips on good gift, clothing shopping would be welcomed. i have already pencilled in this

http://www.oneofakindshow.com/xmas06/theshow.php?pname=thecontent/about.php


colder the better for me .....i,m no sun fan ....snow would be perfect

Dont worry I am sure it will be cold!!!!!

If you plan to go up the CN tower book a meal/lunch there. When I went (3 years ago) the food was great and you dont have to pay to go up the tower you get it included with your meal.
CN tower

Also a good forum I go on is the toronto forums. It has lots of local people on there which can be a great help with planning things. Also I am going to try and go round the rogers centre (formally the skydome) you can get a 1 hour guided tour, sounds good.

If you want the link to the other forums pm me.

LondonCanuck

For Toronto, pick up a copy of Toronto Life which is like getting a Time Out here http://www.torontolife.com/ and also check out http://www.toronto.com/

mrs2fat

mr 2f here, mrs 2f is from toronto so ill try and help you guys a bt

canada is great.

i only really know about toronto but you gotta do the touristy stuff, like cn tower for eg.
take in a maple leafs game, ticketmaster will prob be best bet
would suggest maid of the mist at niagara may be too cold at the moment.
for cheap clothes look for american eagle/old navy/roots and for nice but still cheaper than uk prices try club monaco.
electrical goods are also cheap, we bought a 500 pound camera there for 500 dollars.
booze and ciggies work out about the same as over here tho
for amazing food you gotta try jack astors!!

and dont forget, the tax ISNT included in the prices you see in ontario!!

Jem8472

I have heard that maid of the mist is good but last time I went it was March and as I said above very cold!!

This is what Niagra looked like:
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b70/Jem8472/Dcp_3790.jpg
I would put the image strait up but its a bit on the big side.

As it was a part escorted tour the rep said when we got there that as they had just had loads of snow she could set up dogsledding if people wanted to do it. Which we did! It was great!!! I would really love to do some dog sledding again.