TUESDAY:
WOW…..WOW…..WOW!!!!!!! We left about 9:15 this morning from Jellystone RV Park in Niagara Falls…..and drove up the QEW(Queen Elizabeth Way) and with a few twists and various turns we arrived at Milton Heights Campground, west of Milton…..which, in turn, is west of Toronto about 30 miles!! It took only about 65 minutes to get here……and after TheHowserHouse was settled in with all of it’s umbilical cords hooked up (except the sewer which was to far for the hose to reach), we had a bite to eat and then prepared to go into Toronto.
After a conversation with the nice young lady at the cg office about the best way to get into the city center, we took off for the city..…..and following her advice we stopped at a HUGE mall where the subway makes a stop....about 30 miles from the cg. Sooooo, with free parking in the mall parking lot..…we bought our subway tickets, boarded the subway....and we were whisked away into the tubes below the MASSIVE city of Toronto!!!!!
AHHHH……when we got off at Union Station in the center of the city, but actually close to the harbor.….and emerged from underground.……our mouths fell open with the sights of the beautiful VERY modern architecture of the TALL buildings downtown!!!!!! Sooooo many very, very tall buildings and most of them appear to be made with steel, glass, and more glass!! Just gorgeous!!!!! And, to top off all of this.….there are many new buildings being constructed...as there are large cranes climbing the structures of the new buildings, making them higher and higher……whew!!!!
Dominating the entire city center is the slender and beautiful CN Tower, which is listed as the tallest free-standing building in the world!!!! We elected to wait until tomorrow to spend some time up there.….and began to walk around with maps in hand. But…..we just kept enjoying the visual beauty of this tower from wherever we walked downtown. We can’t wait to go to the top……tomorrow!!
We found ourselves being drawn down to the waterfront…..and the harbor which is there. There are ferries plying their way back and forth across from the mainland over to an island where there a some residents and also an amusement center…….as well as many charter pleasure “boats”/yachts which take groups out for sight-seeing and/or dinner. We found the boardwalk that ran along the edge of the inlets and then around the entire front of this beautiful area…..and we strolled along enjoying the sights, the ice cream, the people, and just gawked at what a marvelous waterfront area this city enjoys. There are soooo many very tall condos along this waterfront..….and many of their residents were enjoying the middle of the afternoon sun and the water, laying and sitting on the very dark green grass napping, reading, having an afternoon drink, and just relaxing. WHAT a way to live.…….am I jealous???? Hmmmm, yep…I believe I could live here BUT only in the summers.……NOT during their horrendous winters.
We stopped in at a local brewery.….the Steam Whistle Brewery….and had a free sample of their Pilsner beer..….not toooo bad, but as it is rather pale, it just doesn’t satisfy my desire for a dark beer which has a much better deeper and richer taste..…like some of the great German beers. Hmmmmm, brings back memories of the really great beer in Munich at the Hofbrau Haus!!!!! Now, the 1st Lady really enjoyed hers…..she is always a lover of the “lite” taste in beers!
Then we decided to walk some more.….and headed up to the “Entertainment District”….where there are many theaters, cafes, restaurants, clubs, bars, etc., etc. And……LUCKY FOR US…..we found John Street which has a couple of blocks of sidewalk cafes, each separated by only an iron fence..…..such a memory evoking place……sooooo much like Ocean Blvd. in Miami Beach which she and I have such a strong love for!!! And, just like there on/in Miami Beach….the people watching is just outstanding!!!!!
So, after walking a block and checking out each menu of each little café….and checking to see which places had lots of people(a good indication of the “in” places to eat)……we finally selected the KitKat Café. Well, this place has some huge awards for their meals and so we grabbed a table outside to enjoy the ambience and energy of this great area of Toronto!
Very soon the waiter brought us the menu.……and since they advertise as a “Fine Italian Café”……all of the choices for the Appetizers, Primo, and Secundo courses were of Italian recipes. For the Entrees, the prices were reasonable, ranging from $15.00 to $33.00 each.……a great price for this area and this café. We first ordered drinks…..mine was a glass of the house Cabernet….and the 1st Lady decided to just have water with lemon. I ordered for both of us an order of Bruschetta with cheese..…and when it arrived, it was perfectly prepared..…YUM, YUM. Those four little pieces of crunchy toasted and thick, bread slices were heavily covered with a mouth-watering tomato, onion, and basil with olive oil and a few other herbs “topping”. GREAT!!!! I ordered a four cheese Linguine Alberto and the 1st Lady ordered a Shrimp, Scallops, and Tilapia Fusilla. Mine was very good……and hers was just average, she said. Hmmmm……..wonder what happened to hers???? Did the Chef leave for a bathroom necessity???? Anyway……we consumed it all…..and then I ordered a cappuccino which was of the right proportions, however, the actual flavor of the coffee was a bit weak. The bill was only $64 and change, which wasn’t too bad for eating here in the city……and almost $8 of that bill were TAXES!!!!!! Yep….taxes in Canada are HIGH, HIGH, HIGH!
We strolled around some more, having to dodge people who were on their way to the theaters for the evening performances…..and soon found ourselves at a subway stop, so we plunged down into the nether world beneath the streets of the city, ambling by the musicians performing and the many shops down there and caught the next subway heading north. We arrived at the shopping mall, found the truck, and were back in TheHowserHouse in 45 minutes.
What can I say????? My first time here, and TORONTO IS TERRIFIC!!!!!
LIFE IS INCREDIBLY GREAT!!!!!…..And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!
WEDNESDAY:
We awoke to another stunning day this morning…..and it remained that way all day, even though a few big white clouds drifted in later this afternoon. Up around 80 degrees…..just perfect, again!
We went through our morning rituals, I had some French Roast coffee while the 1st Lady had her cup of tea with some breakfast cereal..….the Kashi brand. Then we put things together in the day pack…..and about 10am, we headed into the city..…about 30 miles. The traffic was very light and we were soon driving a bit east on the 401 highway, and we soon located a few of the neighborhoods that have been recommended to visit: Greek town, Indian/Pakistani neighborhood, and then to the Distillery.
The neighborhoods were a bit over-hyped in the tourist brochures..…either that or the action must begin during the evenings as we just didn’t see anything worth parking the truck for. Lots of markets hanging out on the sidewalks with lots of ethnics purchasing their fresh fruits/veggies for the day.
We then drove to the Distillery section..…..and old distillery has been rehabbed and there many sidewalk cafes, eclectic shops/boutiques, coffee houses, art galleries, etc., etc.. BUT, there weren’t any people there to enjoy the offerings……perhaps again it was the wrong time of the day to enjoy this great place. I hope that is the problem because lots of work has been done to get this area of the city into a great looking area!!!!!
From there we began an almost two hour ordeal to locate a parking lot that we could get our over-sized truck into.…..DAMN!!!! We should have known better because by this time it was the noon hour and there were thousands of people on the sidewalks taking their lunch ourside of the work place. And, they all gathered at the street corners just about the time I would try to turn right or left.….and so, I would have to wait for them to cross the streets FIRST before I could turn. After almost two hours of getting around the city center at a snail’s pace, we headed north....back to the shopping mall where we parked yesterday.
As soon as we made the trip north to the mall…..another 40 minute trip, we parked the truck and went straight to the subway station. After a 25 minute ride we were at Union Station….and soon we had walked the several city blocks to the CN Tower……which has the tallest observation deck in the world!!!! We purchased our tickets.,…….about $30 EACH…..and before very long we were ascending the tower in an elevator. We briefly looked around the deck there and then took another elevator up another 300+ feet to the top observation deck…..1465 feet high!!!! Almost a quarter of a mile!!!
The view was spectacular!!!!! And…..it was exciting to be up sooooo high overlooking the cityscapes. After seeing all we needed to see, we took the elevator back down to the first deck…..and this time we went down to see the part which has very thick glass as the floor....and you can see down to “earth” as you stand out on the observation deck. What a great place to spend an hour..…..the CN Tower in Toronto!!!!! Marvelous!!!
After that, we went back to Union Station and caught the subway back to the mall area..…and after getting the truck out of the lot, we were back at TheHowserHouse by 7pm. Another super day………this is a great city: Terrific Toronto!!!!!
Tomorrow we head to Cornwall, Ontario……where we will be able to visit our friends who live there. It is about 300 miles…..a good day’s drive when towing TheHowserHouse down the road. And sooooo.…as always.….
LIFE IS REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!……And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!
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