TRAVEL // Toronto, Ontario

Welcome to the first of my posts recording my trip in North America. I started my journey at 10am with a flight fro Vancouver to Toronto where I met my sister. It wasn't too long a flight, although was not particularly interesting. I just didn't want to leave Van I think. Either way, we spent three nights in Toronto, including a day at Niagara falls (post coming soon) and spent some time exploring the city.

The first thing I noticed as I walked around was the amount of street art. I'd call it graffiti but it was more like art. Does it even count as graffiti when it's this good? That's a fine line I'd say.

My hotel was up by the train station and we managed to wander all the way down to the CN tower and Rogers Arena (via Chinatown and the University of Toronto which is just stunning!) I was going to go up the tower but at $30 something I thought I'd give it a miss. Maybe if I came back I'd treat myself but there was no way my sister would be doing it and I didn't particularly want to go alone (or y'know - pay $30 something)

Somewhere down the line we bumped into the Steam Whistle brewery on the waterfront. For just $10 we had a tour of the brewery and got at least 2 pints of beer free and a souvenir glass. What a bargain! The tour guide was very enthusiastic with fact after fact about the brewery. It was 100% an informative experience. They have the most stunning ballroom that they rent out for parties, weddings, charity events etc. and I now want to rent it out. Think abandoned warehouse but clean and they give you chairs and tables. I know right - how perfect!

After our little pitstop in the brewery, which we may or may not have spent 3 hours in, we continued towards the Waterfront. It wasn't the most built up area I had seen and we got lost for a little while because everything looked like an abandoned warehouse but we eventually made our way to the inside market for some lunch. We ate at a greek place which covered everything in cheese and looked at all of the pretty deserts I desperately wanted. I managed to pull myself away from the deserts before making our way closer towards our hotel after walking for 8+ hours. 

If I could say anything about Toronto, I would say the streets were very....decorated. There was graffiti and posters and street art absolutely everywhere. Whilst I appreciated it and loved looking at the university, my sister declared the city as underwhelming and ugly and vowed never to go back again. Well, I wouldn't say that! It's a very laid back city with plenty of bars and restaurants to go and I very probably would visit again. Sure, it's no London but it's still a place I'd visit again for a couple of days if I was doing a tour. 

I haven't been to New York before but the subway and some of the streets really felt like they had that hip, NY vibe that I would expect to feel around the Soho area. I can imagine that the gig scene is big in Toronto and I'd definitely see a gig or two if I was in the area.

Eventually I did have to leave via a train to Montreal but I took my last day to admire the architecture . The city is quite small (in my opinion - although I have been told otherwise) but there are so many tall buildings towering over you. As a city, I quite like Toronto. There's plenty to do and see and places to drink a variety of fancy coloured drinks. It was sad to leave Toronto but hey, I was just 4 short hours away from Montreal!

Have you ever been to Toronto? What are your favourite spots in the city? Let me know!