Toronto, ON | Canada

This past October, Summer and I visited Toronto, Ontario and I’m so behind in sharing with you, but we did so many things, so here we go.

Day One

I took a half day off from work and then went to the airport to hang out at the gate (this is one of my favorite things to do–the anticipation of my trip rises and I people-watch and read things and it’s just very nice). My seat ended up getting changed, so I was placed in preferred seating, and then the guy next to me got moved, so I had this whole little section with extra leg room all to myself, so I journaled and dreamed about our Toronto visit and it was just beautiful. I met  up with Summer at the airport, went through customs where we were asked interrogating questions over why we were there, figured out the transit, and made it to our hostel.

We stayed at The Planet Traveler Hostel and the girl who checked us in was very friendly and showed us all around, including the great rooftop view. Once we got settled, we ventured out in the rain for Chinese food at Sichuan Garden. After dinner, we walked over to Kensington Market to try and find this hidden bar I had read about called Cold Tea. After a few wrong turns into some very dark and very scary alleyways, we found it. We ordered some Old Fashioneds and chatted with the bartenders. They were pretty cool, and told us about a taco place and some bars.

Day Two

We started Day Two off the Canadian way by getting Tim Horton’s. It was disgusting. We got on our bus to go to Niagara Falls, walked around the casino area for a bit, then went to get on our boat. We went through Niagara Horn Cruises and it was super fun. They gave us ponchos to wear, but we still got super soaked. Later I had to take my shirt off since it had gotten so wet. We had brought flip-flops and a change of pants to wear though, so that was good. Summer and I found an empty spot on the boat and were confused as to why it wasn’t filled with people, but we soon found out.

It was so bright and misty and you could barely see anything and you’re being pelted with water and it was just hilarious.

After the boat ride, we walked around some more. We went on the ferris wheel and then sat in Tim Horton’s then had lunch. We got some Starbucks then walked back to catch our bus.

Once back in Toronto, we went over to Dundas Square and walked through the mall. We had dinner at La Carnita, which was the taco place our bartenders had recommended the night before, and it was a great spot with even better tacos.

Day Three

The next day, we got up early and went over to the CN Tower. From there we had brunch at Fanny Chadwick’s, where I was pleasantly surprised to find a fellow Giants fan. You can see him pictured below because we’re creepers.

Our waiter was a little weird, which made for good entertainment, and our food wasn’t too bad either.

From there we walked over to Casa Loma, Toronto’s very own castle, and went on a self-guided audio tour. From there we headed to the Entertainment District and relaxed in The Roastery Coffee House for a bit. I ordered a homemade cranberry apple cider and it was very good and autumnal.

Then we had dinner at Khao San Road, hung in Starbucks for a bit, and went over to Second City. The show was very funny, and we sat with this very Canadian couple who kept saying “ay” after things, so that made things even better.

Day Four

We slept in, ate breakfast, and slowly made our way over to Steam Whistle Brewing. We went on the tour and learned that they re-use their bottles and only use four ingredients to make their one pilsner: spring-water, hops, barley, and yeast. Pretty cool. We got to drink lots of beer and it was very good. #daydrinking

From there we walked over to the Gooderham Building and sat in a little coffee house chain called Second Cup that was nearby. Then we walked around St. Lawrence Market. Once were done there, we walked to some book stores and saw Old City Hall and Osgoode Hall. By this point, we were starving, so we found a little sushi placed called Ho Su, and I don’t know if it was really that good or if we were just really that hungry, but it was some of the best sushi I’ve ever eaten.

We then walked over to the Princess Wales Theatre to enter the Book of Mormon lottery. My name ended up being called, so we won two front-and-center seats to that night’s show. We took some Book of Mormon jumping pictures in celebration. I hate my face in mine but it’s too hilarious not to share.

Entertainment District

I won’t share how long it took us to get these just right, though. Summer and I had both seen the show before, but this time was extra hilarious because we could see all the actors’ facial expressions perfectly, which really added to the comedy. We ended our day the way two girls on vacation should end their day–with McFlurry’s.

Day Five

For our last day in the city, we took the subway to High Park and walked around and watched lots of dogs play. It was a nice relaxing way to start the day. Then we stopped for brunch at Insomnia, which was very, very good, and worth the wait. We hung out in a bookstore for a bit, walked through Toronto University, went to Roots, which is a Canadian store that I would like to live in, then went back to the hostel to pick up our bags.

Then, sadly, it was time to head to the airport and depart from each other. And that was our wonderful trip to Toronto.