Sunday, 18 August 2013

Toronto & Niagara Falls, July 2013


Toronto was definitely different than quaint little Quebec! We landed extremely early in the morning and noticed right away how HUGE of a city it was! It also was the first time we actually felt like we were in Canada, “aye”! We only had a few days left in Canada so we tried to make the most of it. We dropped off our bags at the hotel and went exploring right away. It was hot, humid, and raining so we weren't really sure what to do. When I say humid, I mean dripping in sweat humid! It was just awful, but we made the most of it by dipping into a Tim Horton’s for a bit, enjoying donuts and coffee. It still just seems so crazy to me how obsessed Canadians are with Tim Horton’s! It is instant coffee out of machine, I don’t see what the obsession is other than it is cheap, but everyone drank it. I personally prefer fresh coffee and not instant, but the place had air conditioning and caffeine while we waited out the rain.   

Once it cleared up we made our way to the boardwalk to walk around and take in the city views. We went to The Power Plant Contemporary Art Museum, which was very interesting! They had a lot of interactive displays, which helped a lot as sometimes I don’t quite get the whole “modern art” thing. We also went the Historical District in The Distillery and had some of the best ice cream at Gregs! We went inside to attempt to cool down and the guy let us taste all the ice cream! He made it all from scratch with unique flavors such as Anises & Oreo; which sounds horrible together but was actually quite awesome! I didn't get anything too adventurous, just coffee & cinnamon. It was such a treat after our hour long, hot, walk from the Museum to the Distillery; our map was unfortunately quite deceiving. 

We ended up seeing  most of the sites in the two full days we had before going to Niagara Falls: The Waterfront, Tim Horton’s, Eaton Mall, Power Plant Contemporary Art Museum, the downtown architecture walking tour, Toronto Island, St. Lawrence Market & the CN Tower. The two full days we had there I thoroughly enjoyed Toronto as it is a very clean, huge city, filled with friendly people. Just like Montreal, it is also a very multi-cultural place. First impression: Toronto was a clean New York City, and like any metropolitan city we had similar experiences.






As it was a very multi-cultural city, we took full advantage of Little India and gorged in Indian curry. We went to this AMAZING little Indian restaurant called, ironically, Little India and had a curry feast. One thing I truly miss about England is all the curry houses we used to eat at. Curry does exist in California, but we have been completely disappointed in the quality. However, in Toronto we didn't let this opportunity pass us by. We ordered all of our favorite things we used to eat in the UK, plus a huge glass of Kingfisher each; you cannot eat curry without a big glass of Indian beer to really wash it down! It was an amazing treat for us and completely delicious! Eating curry at Little India probably was my favorite thing I did in Toronto. I LOVE food and sitting in the restaurant, conversing, eating and drinking until I was about to throw up was one of the most enjoyable experiences I had in the city.

tasting "ice wine"
The second, maybe a tied for first, best thing about our trip was the fact that we made new friends. We booked a trip to Niagara Falls, which was the real gem of Toronto for us. We were picked up in this super tiny, non-air-conditioned van and made the hot 2-ish hour journey to Wine Country for wine tasting; at 10 am! We tried the famous "ice wine" and it actually was pretty good! It was extremely sweet and I recommend only drinking it in small quantities, but it was not bad at all. I heard from my mother in law that it was horrible, but I actually quite enjoyed it. 

I had a nice time at the winery, but I do LOVE wine. The wine connoisseur did a great job getting to know everyone and made the connection that Jayda and I, currently residing in California, were the same age as the Austrian couple on our tour. They were on their honeymoon and were going to make their way to California on a road trip. He didn't really introduce as so much as demand us to meet… “Hey you!!! You California people!!! This couple is going to California. Talk!” Well, I was very thankful for his bluntness as it was nice meeting another young married couple. 

wine tasting

With our forced meet and greet, the four of us decided we would venture Niagara Falls together. As soon as we got there, I have to admit, I honestly thought that the Falls were going to be a lot bigger! Don’t get me wrong, they are HUGE, but as being one of the “wonders of the world”, I thought they were going to be more awe-inspiring. While my first glimpse was slightly disappointing, once we got onto the “Maid of the Mist” I realized what was so unique about Niagara Falls; its sheer force. The flow of the waterfall and its power was amazing. We were getting drenched and could barely look up to see the falls as the power of the water was consuming us everywhere.  




                     on the Maid of the Mist


We didn't get a good look of the falls on the Maid of the Mist, but it was so much fun! You cannot go to Niagara Falls and not go on the Maid of the Mist. Otherwise, you won’t get to experience its overpowering force because even though we couldn't see anything, we felt it.  
      
 It wasn't until we were on top (still misty and wet) walking towards the drop off, where we actually got to see the power. We were looking down below at the tiny little ships that dared to get close to the falls and at the same time watching the “water fall” down; it was something!




While exploring the falls with our new friends, one thing led to another and it was discovered that the husband’s are both OBSESSED with airplanes. Needless to say they hit it off instantly (and the wives hit it off making fun of their geeky-ness)! We made plans to hang out that night in a part of Toronto we actually hadn't been to yet; The Annex. We took the subway there and the few small hours we were in The Annex, it became my favorite neighborhood of Toronto. It was so cute and filled with local shops, boutiques, bars, and restaurants. We went to a pub and enjoyed beers on the rooftop talking about our crazy tour driver of the day and exchanging stories of all the different experiences we had travelling abroad as couples. At the end of the night we exchanged numbers and email addresses making plans to reunite when they visited San Diego. A few weeks later we all made good to that promise.


What I love about travelling is that you meet people you never would have met while staying at home. You make incredible friends while becoming even more inspired to travel in order to go visit them in a different part of the world. Our new friends came to visit us in San Diego and we plan on visiting them in Beijing; where they will be living for the next few years. While travelling I have met my husband, two of my best friends, and now plan on going to a different country to visit new friends next year. When we went to Toronto we didn't plan on making new friends, but we did. Friendship is just one of the many beautiful and fun parts of the adventure!