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A late post.. but nonetheless, here it is, Toronto, Canada's hotspot.
Since my flight out was from Toronto's Pearson airport when planning my travels East, I made another mini reunion out of it. I decided to reunite with two friends I bonded with during my student tour in Taiwan two summers ago. One friend resided in Toronto, but I didn't know if the other one, who resided in Vancouver could fly in. Well, turns out, everything worked out perfectly and this Canadian friendship was able to reunite, and not just us trio, but a few other girls in town as well.
Day 1
Our first night in town was spent at Toronto's annual Greek food festival, Taste of Danforth. Danforth, the name of the street, extended for blocks upon blocks of various Greek restaurants with a booth right outside selling a few of their popular eats. Despite the terrible down pour at one point, many Torontonians stuck around in long line ups awaiting for their taste buds to be satisfied. The price points were fairly decent and cheaper than if you were to dine in. Portions were filling, especially this donair we had that was loaded with meat, cheese, fries (yes fries!), and tzatziki sauce- we shared and could barely finish. Among the great food was familiar company and we ended the night chilling at one of our friend's apartment over pets, Olympics, and boardgames.
Day 2
My friend hosting us in town planned a road trip to Niagara Falls and a friend I met through another friend in Korea was able to join us too. The world is so small I must say and you definitely can test that cliche through traveling.
As this was a two day, one night trip, we started the first day doing everything Niagara. I didn't think there was so many activities here, but you can actually get a Adventure pass to do the four popular activities here for $50: Maid of the Mist boat ride (which brings you up close to the falls (so worth it, if you don't get the pass at least do this activity)), Journey Behind the Falls (a 4D Niagara short film experience), an exploration beside and behind the falls, and this area where you can see the super fast rapids (not worth going).
We had lunch in between at one of the many outdoor patios near the falls and it was great timing as we were able to be covered from the grey clouds which had been creeping upon us earlier. Expect food around this area to cost more as it caters to tourists. That night, we dressed up and had dinner at an Italian restaurant and went to a lounge after to end off our night, both which were at the Hilton, where we stayed at.
Day 3
Started the day at Ihop for brunch and headed to Clifton Hill a walking distance away. Since our Niagara Adventure pass included two days of shuttle bus provided in the area known as "People-movers", we hopped on to save the walk. Clifton hill is full of activities for the young and old-mini golf, a ferris wheel, wax museum, chocolate factory, etc. My friend and I decided to check out this new "upside down" house, which is exactly what the name says it is. However, it wasn't worth the $9 admission we paid for each, as it felt like a story book's show home-only upside down, and nothing was exciting about it at all, and... it only lasted a minute or two to walk through the place. Though, I would really recommend the Dinosaur mini golf the four of us played afterwards as it was worth every penny and lots of fun!
Leaving Niagara, we headed to wine tasting at Niagara on the Lake. Stopped at one place on the way where we got a mini wine lesson and wine tasting for $1 for 1 oz, and later to a fancier place where we had a complimentary tasting at Peller Estates. I never delighted in wine, but after this experience, I find myself enriched in the different types of wine and how much there was to know about wine. Before heading back home, we went to a district of shopping with line ups of local boutiques selling clothing, wine, cheese, household goods, and restaurants. It was nice to walk around and enjoy this pleasant area, though, there isn't much to buy or see.
Day 4
Called it an easier day after being on the road and started shortly after noon at Lawrence market downtown. This place was more of an indoors Farmers market and had lots of local sellers selling homemade and home grown food. There was one vendor that was called Honey World which sold honey from around the world, and even pro-biotic honey with health benefits from New Zealand. The owner was generous with his samples and would let you taste one after another non stop until you told him not to give you any more. Next we headed to Kensington market, which is near Chinatown. This was a very hipster/artsy area with bakeries and small food stores, local shops selling unique products, unique coffee shops, and random people loitering around the area. We found a place known as The Blue Banana that killed a lot of time. This was one of those places that rent out space to local sellers selling everything from kitchen ware to souvenirs to paintings to jewelery. The selection was endless and I ended up buying a sentimental gift for a friend here.
We had pho for dinner in Chinatown that night at a Toronto chain store, Xe Lua (nickname Train Pho because of their logo). This place is actually the best pho I've had since a very long time. The menu was abundant in choices and they had three sizes of noodle bowls for you to choose from, though the small was sufficient for me. The prices were cheap and I would love to go back when I visit Toronto again to try other delicious eats on their menu!
One of my friends play on a volleyball league and she invited us to play beach volley ball indoors for leisure. I haven't played volleyball since mandatory gym classes ceased in high school and I didn't know how I felt about beach volleyball either. Upon arriving, it was so neat, because the courts were on sand and the interiors were decorated as if we were on an actual beach. Verdict: it's much harder to run in sand when playing, and though my skills were lacking, I enjoyed it a lot with my friends and this may be ambitious... but it really encouraged me to take up sports again when I got back home.
Day5
Hello Canada's WONDERLAND! It was an amazing day of rides, especially life-threatening roller coasters. Having been to many amusement parks, I have to say this is at the top of my list and I don't think I need any sky-high-sharp-drops thrills for a long while. Wonderland's newest and most popular ride was the Leviathan, which has a crazy sharp drop that makes your heart skip a beat as you don't even see the tracks when you're dropping (I had my eyes closed though, my friend told me haha). Though line ups took up to an hour for most of the roller coasters, and there was a period of heavy rain shower, it was worth the nine rides we were able to go on. By the end of it, we were wiped out and we didn't even do any of the Waterpark related rides due to time and us being soaked from one of the rides. A popular snack here is funnel cake, which is deep fried dough topped with vanilla ice cream, strawberry sauce, and icing sugar... and so we had to let our sweet tooth try this.
Day 6
Checked out the CN tower for a view of this big city and its heavily building-populated downtown. We got the Observation package which included the regular CN tower view and the glass floor. The glass floor was less exciting as it sounded as it was just a few pieces of glass indoors where you can look all the way down (if you`re afraid of heights, beware). It was hard to linger longer here as all the tourists were crowding on this floor that if you were standing from a distant away, you wouldn`t even notice any glass here-only bodies with their heads looking down.
Next we headed to Waterfront, which is basically a port on one of Ontario`s Great Lakes. You can take boat tours here, travel to an island with some family friendly activities, or just take a stroll, take in the fresh air, and enjoy the area over a meal at one of the many outdoor restaurant patios. There are usually special summer events and festivals going on here, and if not, a outdoor market will be present. After an early dinner, we browsed stores on Queens Street for good finds. Unfortunately, there wasn`t much that was interesting, and most stores were chain clothing stores so we didn`t buy anything at all. Though, we did find Much Music`s headquarters here and had spotted a line up of girls patiently waiting for their celebrity`s arrival the next day- crazy fans if I must say so myself.
Day 7
Last day of our stay in Toronto and it happened to be the first day of the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition), basically a summer fair full of rides, fair foods, shows and shopping. I like it better then Edmonton`s Captial Ex as they had more engaging activities and shows, such as a figure skating and acrobat performance that included Canada`s figure skating gold medalist duo Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue! Amazing on screen, and amazing in person! Us three were being quite adventurous with our food choices as I tried the Colossal Onion, a deep fried whole onion in the shape of a flower, and my two friends shared a deep fried Mars bar wrappPed with bacon. To be honest, my onion was a waste of money and not like the onion ring taste I thought it would have-it was so greasy and had a very ugly onion after taste. I had a nibble of my friend`s Mars bar and it was alright, very sweet though as the chocolate had all melted and if it wasn`t for the saltiness of the bacon that balanced it out, its sweetness would`ve been too much.
Overall, my trip to Toronto was a blessed time with wonderful company. I liked exploring new places in and out of town and getting to know this largest city of Canada. Toronto does live up to its name of being a large city with its huge population, traffic jams and busy streets even when it`s not rush hour. And how are there plenty of locals out even after 11pm-its like no one works in this city! Well, I would come back to visit, but I definitely don`t see myself living here, too much highway driving for my liking and I feel different areas of the city are too far apart as well.
Day 1
Our first night in town was spent at Toronto's annual Greek food festival, Taste of Danforth. Danforth, the name of the street, extended for blocks upon blocks of various Greek restaurants with a booth right outside selling a few of their popular eats. Despite the terrible down pour at one point, many Torontonians stuck around in long line ups awaiting for their taste buds to be satisfied. The price points were fairly decent and cheaper than if you were to dine in. Portions were filling, especially this donair we had that was loaded with meat, cheese, fries (yes fries!), and tzatziki sauce- we shared and could barely finish. Among the great food was familiar company and we ended the night chilling at one of our friend's apartment over pets, Olympics, and boardgames.Day 2
As this was a two day, one night trip, we started the first day doing everything Niagara. I didn't think there was so many activities here, but you can actually get a Adventure pass to do the four popular activities here for $50: Maid of the Mist boat ride (which brings you up close to the falls (so worth it, if you don't get the pass at least do this activity)), Journey Behind the Falls (a 4D Niagara short film experience), an exploration beside and behind the falls, and this area where you can see the super fast rapids (not worth going). 
We had lunch in between at one of the many outdoor patios near the falls and it was great timing as we were able to be covered from the grey clouds which had been creeping upon us earlier. Expect food around this area to cost more as it caters to tourists. That night, we dressed up and had dinner at an Italian restaurant and went to a lounge after to end off our night, both which were at the Hilton, where we stayed at.
Day 3
Leaving Niagara, we headed to wine tasting at Niagara on the Lake. Stopped at one place on the way where we got a mini wine lesson and wine tasting for $1 for 1 oz, and later to a fancier place where we had a complimentary tasting at Peller Estates. I never delighted in wine, but after this experience, I find myself enriched in the different types of wine and how much there was to know about wine. Before heading back home, we went to a district of shopping with line ups of local boutiques selling clothing, wine, cheese, household goods, and restaurants. It was nice to walk around and enjoy this pleasant area, though, there isn't much to buy or see.
Day 4
Called it an easier day after being on the road and started shortly after noon at Lawrence market downtown. This place was more of an indoors Farmers market and had lots of local sellers selling homemade and home grown food. There was one vendor that was called Honey World which sold honey from around the world, and even pro-biotic honey with health benefits from New Zealand. The owner was generous with his samples and would let you taste one after another non stop until you told him not to give you any more. Next we headed to Kensington market, which is near Chinatown. This was a very hipster/artsy area with bakeries and small food stores, local shops selling unique products, unique coffee shops, and random people loitering around the area. We found a place known as The Blue Banana that killed a lot of time. This was one of those places that rent out space to local sellers selling everything from kitchen ware to souvenirs to paintings to jewelery. The selection was endless and I ended up buying a sentimental gift for a friend here.We had pho for dinner in Chinatown that night at a Toronto chain store, Xe Lua (nickname Train Pho because of their logo). This place is actually the best pho I've had since a very long time. The menu was abundant in choices and they had three sizes of noodle bowls for you to choose from, though the small was sufficient for me. The prices were cheap and I would love to go back when I visit Toronto again to try other delicious eats on their menu!
One of my friends play on a volleyball league and she invited us to play beach volley ball indoors for leisure. I haven't played volleyball since mandatory gym classes ceased in high school and I didn't know how I felt about beach volleyball either. Upon arriving, it was so neat, because the courts were on sand and the interiors were decorated as if we were on an actual beach. Verdict: it's much harder to run in sand when playing, and though my skills were lacking, I enjoyed it a lot with my friends and this may be ambitious... but it really encouraged me to take up sports again when I got back home.
Day5
Hello Canada's WONDERLAND! It was an amazing day of rides, especially life-threatening roller coasters. Having been to many amusement parks, I have to say this is at the top of my list and I don't think I need any sky-high-sharp-drops thrills for a long while. Wonderland's newest and most popular ride was the Leviathan, which has a crazy sharp drop that makes your heart skip a beat as you don't even see the tracks when you're dropping (I had my eyes closed though, my friend told me haha). Though line ups took up to an hour for most of the roller coasters, and there was a period of heavy rain shower, it was worth the nine rides we were able to go on. By the end of it, we were wiped out and we didn't even do any of the Waterpark related rides due to time and us being soaked from one of the rides. A popular snack here is funnel cake, which is deep fried dough topped with vanilla ice cream, strawberry sauce, and icing sugar... and so we had to let our sweet tooth try this. Day 6
Checked out the CN tower for a view of this big city and its heavily building-populated downtown. We got the Observation package which included the regular CN tower view and the glass floor. The glass floor was less exciting as it sounded as it was just a few pieces of glass indoors where you can look all the way down (if you`re afraid of heights, beware). It was hard to linger longer here as all the tourists were crowding on this floor that if you were standing from a distant away, you wouldn`t even notice any glass here-only bodies with their heads looking down.
Next we headed to Waterfront, which is basically a port on one of Ontario`s Great Lakes. You can take boat tours here, travel to an island with some family friendly activities, or just take a stroll, take in the fresh air, and enjoy the area over a meal at one of the many outdoor restaurant patios. There are usually special summer events and festivals going on here, and if not, a outdoor market will be present. After an early dinner, we browsed stores on Queens Street for good finds. Unfortunately, there wasn`t much that was interesting, and most stores were chain clothing stores so we didn`t buy anything at all. Though, we did find Much Music`s headquarters here and had spotted a line up of girls patiently waiting for their celebrity`s arrival the next day- crazy fans if I must say so myself.Day 7
Last day of our stay in Toronto and it happened to be the first day of the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition), basically a summer fair full of rides, fair foods, shows and shopping. I like it better then Edmonton`s Captial Ex as they had more engaging activities and shows, such as a figure skating and acrobat performance that included Canada`s figure skating gold medalist duo Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue! Amazing on screen, and amazing in person! Us three were being quite adventurous with our food choices as I tried the Colossal Onion, a deep fried whole onion in the shape of a flower, and my two friends shared a deep fried Mars bar wrappPed with bacon. To be honest, my onion was a waste of money and not like the onion ring taste I thought it would have-it was so greasy and had a very ugly onion after taste. I had a nibble of my friend`s Mars bar and it was alright, very sweet though as the chocolate had all melted and if it wasn`t for the saltiness of the bacon that balanced it out, its sweetness would`ve been too much.
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