We returned to Kentucky yesterday evening and it seems as though we have been gone for years! Luckily the grass in our front lawn did not look that way! Toronto was magnificent! We fell in love with the people and the all of the wonderful activities that are available there!
The highlights of our trip:
1. Art Gallery of Ontario- the facade was done by the famous architect Frank Gehry. We were both deliriously happy as we were able to walk through the hallways and stair rails that Mr. Gehry had designed. Gorgeous!
2. Toronto Islands- we rode the ferry from the Harbourfront to Center Island. We took our bikes along and rode across the entire island! Ward's Island was our favorite part with the residential cottages and private walking lanes that extended to each one. Beautiful, beautiful island! It is an artist's haven!
3. Ontario's School of Art and Design- very unique architecture and extremely design oriented facility. The hallways are lined with fascinating artwork.
4. Roger's Center- the building was SOO clean and the view of the city was spectacular. Plus they trampled all over the Minnesota Twins with a win of like 9-1.
5. Kew Beach/Woodbine Park and Beach- the park and beach were directly across from our apartment we stayed in and it made for an excellent place to take Matson for some exercise.
6. Scarborough Bluffs- these giant cliffs with jagged peaks were remarkable. The lake looked like the Caribbean on the day we went to explore this area. Torontonians seem to really like to spend time with their families here and get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
7. The Historic Distillery District- Awesome area! Great shops, amazing artist studios, and interesting architecture. This wound up being a wonderful place to walk around and explore. The artists in their studios are super friendly and offer great advice on activities to see in the city. We talked to two photographers for about thirty minutes about Canadian history and funny anecdotes of boy scouts.
8. St. James Cathedral- this historic church has a lot of European appeal! It was so peaceful inside the sanctuary and proved to be a great photo friendly adventure for us.
9. Casa Loma- very expensive, but it was worth the jaunt to this part of the city just to see the grandeur of the castle. We did not get to tour the gardens, because we were there in the morning and it was free at 4 o'clock. I'm sure they were lovely.
10. Kensington Street/Market- we absolutely loved this street! So many retro and vintage shops line this area and we were able to purchase a lot great stuff here for completely reasonable prices.
11. The villages and cultures: Portugal, Italy, Greece, India, China, etc.. the list goes on. We were able to eat so many different foods. We ate at a Portuguese Restaurant and had fresh cheese.. amazing. Then we ate a French Creperie and about died and went to heaven with each bite of our chosen crepes. (I tried this combination: cinnamon, sugar, fresh strawberries, and chestnut cream.. ever heard of it? If you haven't.. I suggest you try some before you die.)
12. Queens Street- we put some major damage in our bank account on this street. Every store imaginable could be found on this street: Urban Outfitters, American Apparel, Zara, H&M and any boutique imaginable. It rained on the Friday that we were there, so we took advantage of the shopping!
13. Art Metropole- Toby was almost out of luck being able to go in, but he knocked until someone answered. They are closed now to the public while they do some inventory and prepare for their next shows. This is a high end art book/gallery venue. They have some of the most obscure art books around and hand-bound editions of unique artists.
14. Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (Mocca)- great building and really nice exhibit of current artistic trends with mediums and films.
15. The rail cars or public transits- so easy to get around on these and they are only $3 a person. We got a kick out of the drivers stopping at a random intersection and getting off only to have a new driver get on and begin their shift. Drivers are super friendly and helpful to strangers with direction questions and they helped numerous people carry stuff on the rail- strollers, suitcases, etc.
16. Niagara Falls- it is only 45 min. away from the city and the Canadian side is gorgeous! We loved the mist spraying us as we walked by the horseshoe falls on the sidewalk. Matson became a spectacle as well.. it seemed as though most people had never seen a Goldendoodle before.
Places of interest that we did not make it to:
1. Royal Ontario Museum: they had the chinese emporer's terracotta army on exhibit. We drove by and were surprised by the building's contemporary architecture. We did not make it in, however.
2. Baja Shoe Museum: looked like it would have some interesting findings!
3. St. Lawrence Market: it was closed when we went and we did not make it back unfortunately.
4. The Power Plant: was closed as well and looked like it had a great show up in their gallery.
5. Elora and Stratford- quaint towns outside of Toronto that we did not make the trek to. Maybe next time.
6. The Drake Hotel- supposedly a grand place to stay and it has one of the hippest indie music venues in the city.
Overall- we had a fantastic stay and hope to be back in the future.. but this time we will be heading further east hopefully to Montreal, Quebec, and Nova Scotia area.
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