Travel // Back to Toronto

"Why don't we go Downtown today?"

Sunday & Monday (8th & 9th of October)

On Sunday, H.'s Cousin left with his wife and their dog in the morning. 
After that, we went for a Little walk and waited for H.'s dad to come up from Toronto. The plan was, that they'd bring some Mexican food with them, spent the night and we'd all drive back to Toronto the next day.
Said and done.
We spent the rest of Sunday with eating great Enchiladas, Rice and more pie. In Addition to that, we spent literally 3 hours or something like that with playing "Jok-R-Ummy" which is a great Card game, that can also drive you insane and be very frustrating.
Recommended for all ages.
As the morning came, we were packed and apparently ready to go, but we had such a great time at H.'s uncle with his wife and we loved the lake and the quiet of it all, so it was not so easy to say goodbye as well.
In case they are reading this (which you hopefully are, H. set it up on your Tablet), thank you again for giving us a bit of home and spending time with us. And also thank you for the great Food and the activities that made our stay so special.
The drive back to Toronto was pretty exhausting. Thanksgiving weekend was over and every one returned from their relatives back home. 
We left at 11 am and made it home about 15:45pm, which was ok. But we were all very tired and honestly, I'm the least charming, when I want to sleep (yet still very charming), so we didn't end up doing anything else that day except eating dinner at an Indian Restaurant. 


Wednesday, October 11th

T O R O N T O

Right Ladies and Gents, the Moment we've all been waiting for: the Tourism starts here. But with baby steps, I may need to say.
We simply thought, that we could head Downtown and get an image of the City that is Toronto. 
Before we went there, we had to get Tokens for the Bus, which is a strange concept in itself. You go to the nearest Convenience Store and buy some Tokens, you Need one for the way there and one for the way back. One Token is about 3$.
After we got some, we went to the nearest Bus station. Remember when I said, the bus Driver in Ottawa didn't talk to us? Yeah, happened again. I don't know why, but we slipped our Tokens in the booth and got a PoP (Prove of Payment) so that we can take the subway without any Problems. After about an hour, we made it to Yonge Street, which is right in the heart of Downtown. 
It was overwhelming. The past weeks, we were used to the quietness of Barry's Bay and we realized suddenly, that we were in Downtown Toronto, a big living City with enough Stories for a lifetime. It was great. We firstly went to the Eaton Center, which started of with one store, 150 years ago and now there are 230 stores. It is the third biggest mall in Canada, just so you can get a picture of it. 
We just walked around and ourselves some lunch in the Food court, which is huge as well. I love to have a choice, but too much of a good thing, can't be good for long. After we checked out the Microsoft Store (H.'s wish) and the Disney Store (Me), we decided to continue our Adventure and head towards the St. Lawrence Market. It is similar to the market in Ottawa, but is is stationed inside and has more stands to offer. H. and I really liked it, because there was so much to see and different things to drool over. The bakeries had amazing goodies and we ended up buying some Sweets each. Because we wanted a break from the big City, we decided, we would settle in a Café and just relax a bit.
At this Point I tried all the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Canada's Major Coffee Providers, which are "Tim Hortons", "Second Cup" and "Starbucks". I can wholeheartedly say, that Tim's was the best for my say. Just a fun fact aside.
The last Thing we did that first day Donwtown, was checking out the old distillery district. Now, because Canada is a very young Country, with 150 years, most of the Buildings are more modern. Since I'm a sucker for a good old Victorian architecture, the old distillery district was right up my alley. With red brick Buildings, some history Facts, some small art galleries and some Cafés, you can spend a nice afternoon in the district. We saw two photoshoots happening, which was funny, but not surprising, due to the nice Buildings and the creative vibe you feel there.
We took about 18.000 steps that day, according to H.' watch, which is... a lot. So to say, we were knackered, was an understatement. But we were happy, that we got to see Downtown for the first time. Even though it is loud and busy, it is a beautiful City, where you can do many amazing things.
Well, that was the first day Downtown. What do you think? Do you feel the itch to see it for yourself?

With best regards,

Alice