Toronto - Wow! What A Town

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

 

Wow, what a day!  We got up early, had coffee, checked our mail and headed out the door.  We took the Go bus to the Yorkdale subway station and then down to Union.   Toronto is huge, beautiful and bustling.   People are friendly but are in a hurry.   I asked a guy at the Go station down on the corner from the park about the service.  He was pretty savvy and we took his advice.  Two one-way tickets are $11 and some change.   We calculated the gas, park and ride and with parking at downtown at $18 to $30, it was the best deal. They have passes but a week pass is the best deal and we will only be here a few days.

I’ll keep the talk short and show where we went.  We got off the Go bus and walked through the skywalk to the subway.  Clean and efficient, we still think Monterrey has a better system, no offense.  The information, maps and directions are limited.   I have to admit, the trains are very long, in other words, lots of cars on each route.

 

First stop was off of Front and Bay St.  An office complex with covered gardens.  There we ate our breakfast of whole wheat crackers and hard-boiled eggs.  

 

Next stop was the old City Hall.  Built in 1899, it is a work of art.  We had to go through a security check and were then allowed to roam around the building although cameras were in every corner.  

 

Off we went to the central plaza in front of the “new” City Hall.  We had a special surprise there.   The information desk was very helpful and also gave us Toronto pins as souvenirs.  We were read the following exhibit and were surprised to see that Canada has a blackened history as well as the U.S. and many other nations.  We asked for more information and they sent us up to the office of protocol.  They were next to Rob Ford’s office.  There were lots of cameras, press, and nuts.   I caught a blurry pic of Rob’s brother. 

Here’s a test for Canadians.  See if you know the answers.

The information desk at city hall sent us off to 20 Dundas St. to find the Ontario Tourism Board.  Don’t bother, they knew very little and had next to no information.   We walked down to the food court to go over some maps and people were told they could only use the area if they were customers of the food court.  I went off to find something to snack on.  I found Kim Kim.  They sell Chinese pastry mainly but also have some lunch items.  A great torta we split made with an egg bun and curried beef with fresh tomatoes, lettuce and sauce.  Not bad for $2.49.   Enough to get us through the afternoon. 

 

We headed out for the CN Tower but were stopped along the way at the Osgood Hall.   They have tours starting today at 1:15.  We got there after 2 p.m. but they said we could go through security and then look around and even recommended we stop at the library.   Excellent visit and we truly enjoyed it.

Here we found this woman and her fur kid on the back of her motor scooter!

 

Getting tired and our pups were wearing out, we made the final trek to the CN Tower.   More of an amusement park than anything else but the tower was fascinating not to mention the people watching.  We took some pics and then headed back to the Yorkdale station and off to the Go bus which took us home.  

Tomorrow we are looking forward to the museum and China town.  We may meet up with Paula’s son Scott after he gets off work.   If not, when we return this way we may get together.