A rather cruddy photo of our Couchsurfers gathering, but the only one I took, in the end. A bunch had just departed for the evening, so this is around two-thirds of our total turnout at the outside patio of the Sicilian Cafe. About seven or so of us diehards that were left closed the place down around 12:40am, but there were probably at least 20 people coming and going from 8 o’clock.

The meetup was arranged by a couchsurfer from Serbia who wanted to meet locals (of all stripes, such as we are). The arrangement itself was merely a matter of finding a place, choosing a time, posting it in the forum, and seeing who would show up.

And show up we did, to the point where we took over a series of tables so long I didn’t even get a chance to see who everyone was at the other end. As per usual the crowd was diverse, with travellers and locals mixed together, from new couchsurfers to seasoned surfers, from the newly-expatriated to the multi-expatriated several times over. The conversations are always lively, with lots of stories and information-sharing. Oh, and of course, food — after all, I couldn’t very well visit the Sicilian Cafe without ordering some antipasto…

For more about Couchsurfing, there happens to be an article published in today’s issue of the Toronto Sun online:

Toronto Sun, August 7, 2008: New era of ‘trusting’ travellers open up doors: Social networkers wake up to opportunities to see new places, people on their own turf