TRAVEL: Toronto, Canada - high-rises, Hornblowers and home runs

 Unlike a lot of big cities, Toronto doesn’t seem to scary at night, which was good for us, arriving from the UK at around 10pm local time and taking the UP Express and Subway from Toronto Pearson airport to our hotel, the Marriott Bloor-Younge. A relatively painless journey which is exactly what you need after having spent 7 hours on a plane!

The Marriott was a perfectly pleasant hotel to stay in – large, modern rooms and really decent breakfast options if you choose to have that included in your room cost though. Be warned though, if you veer off menu (and we weren’t told exactly what options were included by our servers) you will be charged the ‘extra’ over the allotted monetary value that each guest is given for breakfast. But very nice and big breakfasts, making the perfect way to start the day, and meaning you can probably get through the day with just a coffee break until dinner. Plus, I discovered they allow dogs in the hotel for a small extra fee, so might be one for any dog owners out there!

Our first day in Toronto involved a self-guided walking tour by my brother, who’s been living in the city for almost a year now. Our first stop was Tim Hortons, of course, given that it is a true Canadian staple and part of my aim for our trip to Toronto was to try as many Canadian delicacies as I could! We had a box of 10 Timbits (donut holes) to share – ask the server to give you one of each flavour if you can. Admittedly, they were a bit dry, but that may just have been at the franchise we tried, but it was interesting to try different flavours like sour cream, or salted caramel. I heard the coffee was good too.

 

Following this, we walked down to the Waterfront, where I stopped for my second Canadian delicacy of the day – a ‘beaver tail’ at the aptly named BeaverTails, apparently the place to visit for these stretched out pieces of dough with a plethora of different toppings for you to choose from. I decided to go as Canadian as I could with the maple topping which was then drizzled with chocolate syrup. Really really delicious – but make sure you eat it quickly as it tastes best warm! I also found out (sadly after I’d paid) that you can go for half and half on toppings, meaning you get two for the price of one, which I would definitely recommend.

Our next stop was the Distillery District, what seemed to be the hipster area of the city with a bunch of independent shops and restaurants. Get there quickly if you plan to eat, because the queues get really big around lunchtime, but there are plenty of places to eat so you won’t be stuck for choice.

I would absolutely recommend taking a long walk round the lake where you can get a spectacular view of the city skyline and watch the planes fly in to the tiny Billy Bishop airport. It’s a popular place for wedding photos as well which is always nice to see. Definitely worth the walk.

Shopping-wise, check out the Hudson Bay Company department store, where you should be able to get pretty much whatever you need. They also have a nice Canadian section if you’re looking for souvenirs without the hassle of checking out all of the souvenir shops across town.

That evening, we headed over to the most notable building in Toronto, the CN Tower, for one of the coolest things I’ve ever done – the EdgeWalk. This involves walking around the circumference of the CN Tower roof, 1168ft above Toronto. It’s pretty high up. It begins by getting kitted up in a special Walk suit (very stylish), putting on a variety of harnesses and getting safety briefed before heading up in a special elevator up to the top. Your guide then attaches you to two ropes which tie into a rail that runs around the EdgeWalk and then you’re off to gaze down hundreds of metres over the city. Probably not an activity for anyone with vertigo. 

As we walked around, our guide told us the different areas of Toronto we could see, and encouraged us to do a number of activities, including ‘Toes Over Toronto’, where you stand with you feet hanging off the edge; a leaning backwards over the edge with the rope holding your weight, and finally leaning forwards with basically nothing between you and the city. The experience comes with a reasonably hefty pricetag for your 30 minutes EdgeWalk, but it truly is a once in a lifetime experience, and the photos turn out pretty cool. If you can, I would recommend doing it.

I then joined my family at the 360 Restaurant a bit below where I’d been doing my EdgeWalk. In my opinion, the food was quite mediocre, but I guess you’re paying for the view, which is pretty spectacular as the Sun starts to set. I set up a timelapse which was great as we revolved, giving views of the entire city.

The following day was road trip day. Our first spot was Niagara-on-the-Lake, a quaint town about an hours drive away with a beautiful main street with some lovely shops and places to eat. We stopped at Cows for ice cream, apparently Canada’s best ice cream shop (according to Cows) which also sold cute novelty t-shirts with logos for things like ‘Doctor Moo’, ‘Cownton Abbey’ and ‘Moonions’.

We walked down to the edge of the lake, where on a clear day you can see the Toronto skyline, but we were blessed with a very drizzly and grey day without much of a view. We then drove to Niagara itself. What you don’t see in the pictures of the falls is what’s opposite the falls – massive high rise casinos and quirky shops in the shape of upside down houses, the Empire State Building, or with giant chocolate bars outside. Some might call it tacky, but it’s worth a look anyway, purely for its audacity. Keep driving along by the edge of the Falls and you’ll pass all of the extortionately priced car parks and find one right at the end where you can park for free and save yourself $18.

We got tickets for the Hornblower cruise, Canada’s equivalent of the Maid of the Mist (give yourself enough time to queue for tickets, especially during high season) and managed to get a space at the side of the boat at the top. If you don’t mind getting wet, this is probably the best place to stand. And yes, you will get wet. Very wet. The delightful pink ponchos did a pretty good job at keeping us dry, but I had my hand up to take photos and ended up with a river flowing down my sleeve, leaving me pretty saturated! The boat takes you right up to the falls so you will get drenched by the spray, but it is an incredible experience, and up that close you can really feel the force of the falls.  

We walked back along the side of the Falls to dry off, which was particularly nice as a rainbow came out. It was very busy so you couldn’t get too close to the edge at a lot of points due to tourists, and this wasn’t even the high season. At the edge, it almost didn’t look real as the water flowed so smoothly over the edge into the violent depths below. Ethereal.

We then took the scenic route to Port Colborne, which involved driving past some of the largest houses I’ve ever seen – I’m talking 13 bedroom, 4 garage houses with enough yard space to build seven more same size houses. Interesting to see how the other half live! Dinner was at Smokin’ Buddha, a very unassuming place in a town I don’t see many people visiting – we were only going because a colleague of my brothers had recommended this restaurant. I certainly am glad we did – it was quite possibly the best meal I’ve ever had, or at least in recent memory. I started with a delicious spinach and artichoke dip (why don’t we get these in the UK?) followed by a Thai yellow curry. Well worth the drive. Then, the long drive back to Toronto.

The next day we were up early to walk over to the other side of town to Mildred’s Temple for brunch where we had been recommended to try the blueberry pancakes, although probably not the best idea after the massive breakfasts we were treated to in the hotel. One mildly exciting fact about the restaurant is that the Air Canada flight safety announcements are played in each of the bathrooms. Interesting to say the least.

It was then time for what I was perhaps most excited for – a baseball game! This took place in the Rogers Centre just next to the CN Tower, with the Toronto Blue Jays playing the Baltimore Orioles. I absolutely loved it – the game itself was thrilling to watch, with balls being pitched at over 90mph, a few homeruns, and a lot of foul balls which were always cool to watch as they soared into the crowd with everyone trying to catch them.  

There was no time to be bored either, as during the pitching changes they had little gameshow type things broadcast on the screen like Deal or No Deal where spectators could win prizes. Unlike a lot of sports, it was also very civilised. Whilst the home crowd didn’t necessary cheer for the other team, they didn’t boo them either even when it became clear the Blue Jays weren’t going to win. The final score was 11-4 to the Orioles – a really great way to spend an afternoon.

I then took the opportunity to head up the CN Tower, as my EdgeWalk ticket gave me a free trip up the tower to be used once on the 3 days following my walk as well as going to the highest viewing point, the SkyPod which would ordinally cost an extra $12. 33 flights up from the normal observation deck, you could actually feel the wind moving the tower – very disconcerting! The windows up here were slanted so you could look more directly down at the city, and I stuck around to watch some of the EdgeWalkers heading round, who waved up to SkyPod. However, I’m not sure that I would suggest paying the extra to head up – the view is only slightly higher up so you might as well save your money.

Dinner was at Momofuku, a hip noodle bar on University Street, where I had a delicious ginger scallion noodle bowl followed by a cereal milk ice cream from the upstairs ice cream bar Milk. Personally not my cup of tea, but if you like the taste of the milk left at the bottom of your cereal bowl, this one might be for you.

Our final day in Toronto was a trip out to the Toronto Islands. As it was off season, the ferry wasn’t too busy and a lot of the attractions on the island weren’t open. I imagine it would be a bit like Coney Island during summer. Still, it was nice to spend about 4 hours walking the 11km around all of the islands which are all interconnected and offer some great views of the city skyline. There are also a few small beaches dotted around where you can stare off into the distant and enjoy the solitude of being away from the city, albeit not that far!

Back on the mainland, we headed for my final Canadian delicacy – poutine (chips, gravy and cheese curds) at Smoke’s, the best place in the city for this particular dish. If you’ve got time, stroll along Queen Street which has some super cool shops and murals to enjoy – a bit like London’s Brick Lane. I picked up an official Blue Jays jersey from one of the sports shops along the street. Ladies, if it fits, I recommend choosing a L or XL kid’s shirt as it’s about half the price of an adults! Then hotel, subway, UP Express, airport, and home.

My advice regarding Toronto: head in off-season, particularly if you’re planning to visit Niagara. Sure, it might be a bit colder, but you’re in Canada, what do you expect? Organise your movement around the city – whilst spread out, it is walkable so try and plan what you’re going to visit depending on the district you’re in. We didn’t quite have this down and ended up doing some back and forth, which takes it’s toll on the legs!

Did you enjoy this blog? Make sure to follow me on Twitter @CiarasCountry - I'm spending the whole summer traveling so they'll be lots more like this coming soon! Also be sure to let me know in the comments if there's anything I missed in Toronto, and I'll be sure to check it out next time I'm there!