Follow Me to… Toronto
Last week was my spring break and somehow my boyfriend and his friends convinced me to go North haha. When planning we wanted to keep it cheap, but we still wanted to have fun and be able to explore a new place. There were many ideas thrown out like Florida (mine), Washington D.C., South Carolina, etc., but after a long debate we decided on the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Fast forward a month and a long drive through several patches of snow storms, we arrive!
We rented an entire home about 20 minutes away from downtown Toronto through Airbnb. It was a nice size home and very clean. The only downside was that it wasn’t right in the city so we had to either Uber or drive into the city, but we got a great deal on the house (about $170 per person for seven days) so I wasn’t complaining.
The week was a good mix of your typical spring break fun, exploring the city, and relaxing on our week off from school.
Day 1:
When we arrived we unpacked our stuff and hit the ground running. One of our friends, Ben, put our names on the guest lists for one of the best clubs in Toronto called Rebel nightclub for the night we arrived. So after unpacking, Trevor and I made pesto encrusted salmon for dinner and we got dressed to go to the night club. We got there pretty early so we wouldn’t have to stand in line forever and stayed a little after midnight. When we got back, we passed out from a long day spent in the car and a night out of dancing.
Day 2:
We didn’t do much on day 2 waking up late to catch up on some well-needed sleep. We found a restaurant in downtown called Eggception. The waiting list was pretty long, but we really wanted to try it so we walked around the city for a half hour and stumbled upon the Eaton Centre, which is this giant mall downtown. It was heaven for me, but unfortunately we didn’t get to spend much time here. We finally got a table and the food was absolutely delicious. I would honestly go back to Toronto just to eat here!
Day 3:
On day 3 we traveled back into downtown and decided to go hit the tourist spots. We started at the CN tower, which is the tallest free standing building in Toronto! It was a great view of the city and had a glass floor where you could look down below your feet. Trevor was terrified, but eventually I got him to walk over it 🙂 Then we headed right next to the tower to Ripley’s Aquarium. It was your typical aquarium besides the full enclosed glass display, which made it seem like you were underwater with the fish. It was a neat idea that allowed you to see the fish from every angle! After the aquarium we were looking for a place to eat and saw “The Steam Whistle Brewing Co.” in big lettering across the street. We thought it was a pub and stumbled in. When we got there we found out it was actually the largest independent brewer in Canada. We decided to take a beer tour! It was pretty interesting that they followed the Bavaria Law, which basically says you can only have four ingredients in your beer. A very European take on beer and also screams quality. Steam Whistle Brewery also prides themselves in creating green packaging, which was also pretty cool. After the brewery tour we headed home, cooked dinner, and hung out.
Day 4:
On day 4 we didn’t do much because the city was supposed to get hit with some snow. We decided we would just spend the day inside. Catch up on some sleep and relaxation. The boys watched basketball and the girls kind of all did their own thing. I decided I would brainstorm some ideas for the blog and catch up on some emails. I think everyone kind of needed a day off to just sit and hang out even if no one wanted to admit it.
Day 5:
On day 5 we did A LOT! We started our day off early in the morning around 9 a.m. and headed downtown to the Royal Ontario Museum. This museum was more about history and natural sciences. It was really interesting and packed due to March Break in Canada. After we headed to Chinatown and decided to grab lunch. We got these amazing fried dumplings (Trevor and I were already planning the next time we would come back to grab more). We walked around a little more checking out an asian market filled with fresh meats, fish, and asian vegetables. Kensington Market was close by so we decided to walk down the open market and check it out. It had a hipster vibe similar to the nice part of Brooklyn. I wish we had more time to check out the restaurants and shops, but we were determined to get on to the next thing. We moved from Kensington Market to the Art Museum of Ontario. The first thing you see when you walk in is this gorgeous stair case carved out of wood with a glass ceiling. We climbed the stairs out of curiosity and found it had a great view of the city. Then we checked out some of their modern art my favorite was the sailboats representing the ships kids make when trying to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar. After the art museum we headed to another part of town to the Drake Hotel for some of the best trivia in downtown. We didn’t win, but had a lot of fun! Jack, Trevor, and I headed home while the rest went bar hopping.
Day 6:
On day 6 we visited the coveted Casa Loma a house built by a great investor and then ran into financial issues deciding to abandon the house, but it’s really this gigantic castle. A wealthy family took over the house continuing the renovation of the castle. After we had the rest of the afternoon left so we decided to head to the distillery district. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but found out it was a lovely area of downtown that was renovated from the days it used to be a distillery with artwork and signs to indicate the history of the area. There were lots of little restaurants and small shops that were so much fun. If there was any part that I would live in in Toronto it would’ve been by the distillery district. We grabbed dinner at a pub and then headed back home.
Day 7:
On day 7 we got up early and actually spend the entire day at the Toronto Zoo. It was probably the largest zoo I’ve been to and one of the best. My favorite part was the giant pandas, but seeing the red panda and the tiger were in close seconds. The zoo was broken up into parts of the world and each had a pavilion that put you right into the environment which I thought was pretty cool. After the zoo we headed home. Trevor and I cooked mac and cheese for everyone as our last meal together. We did a little cleaning, packed up our stuff, and like that, spring break was over!
