The next stop on my little round the world adventure thing I’ve got going on right now was Canada, and right away the differences between Canada and Iceland (or at the very least between Toronto and Reykjavik) became apparent the moment I set foot off the plane.
Temperature Toronto = 2.5 x Temperature Reykjavik
My god but was it hot! I’d gotten used to temperatures of ten to fourteen degrees Celsius and (save for a few times) wearing a coat. No coat needed in Toronto at the end of June. In fact, if you don’t want to die from heat exhaustion leave the coat at home (or in the travel bag in my case). When I arrived it was around 30 degrees Celsius. I remember thinking that I’d finally found true summer weather!
Second difference, Toronto is BIG. The city has been called the New York City of Canada and I agree with that assessment. Tall skyscrapers and fifty story condominiums everywhere. And every once in a while, completely incongruous, an old style building in the mix. After small town-ish Reykjavik it felt nice being in a big city again.
Third difference, which took a few hours to show itself, was the presence of night. Yes, after a week of nonstop sunlight the sun finally went down for real. Interestingly I did find myself missing the never-ending daytime. There’s something about having sunlight all the time that just makes you want to keep going, sleep be damned (which explains the last few nights in Iceland).
Going through customs as well as baggage claim was pretty fast and easy. After that it was a short trip, of about twenty minutes if I remember correctly, with the train to Union station in downtown Toronto. Once there it was a five minute walk to a Starbucks at the waterside where I was going to meet up with Jennie, whom I’d met in the hostel in Reykjavik. The first night in Toronto I stayed at her place in one of the condos that line the waterfront. I could see why there were so many condos there, the waterfront became one of my favorite locations in Toronto and the apartment exemplified that impression. You can’t beat that view from up there. Expensive though, and getting more so.
In the morning we went to have breakfast in one of the restaurants at the waterfront, the Amsterdam Brewery, looking out over lake Ontario. It was there that the need to wear sunscreen became clear as we sat on the patio and my right arm was in direct sunlight for a while. I didn’t burn, but it did become a bit red. Jennie introduced me to a typical Canadian drink, a Caesar’s, which is a tasty cocktail made from clamato juice. I don’t usually start the day with alcohol but there’s an exception for everything, and that exception is that I always try local stuff.
One of the really nice things about condos is that they are equipped with a lot of facilities, including a swimming pool. There’s nothing quite like going out for a little swim on a hot day. Great start of my stay in the beautiful country of Canada, thanks Jennie.
Late in the afternoon I went to the hostel, which was pretty close to the St. Laurence Market. This is a farmer’s market and a great place to get some good food, though I must admit I did most of my grocery shopping in the evenings at the supermarket next door instead, when the St. Laurence Market was already closed.
There is a lot to do in Toronto, including walking around the lake Ontario waterfront, which is something that I did a lot and not just in Toronto. For some reason I keep finding myself near the waterfront when there are large bodies of water around. Apparently I love walking along boardwalks. Who knew?
From Toronto I did a day trip to Niagara Falls, which also went to the quaint town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. There are some tour guides you won’t soon forget, like Jerry in New York a few years back, and this guy Alex I’ll remember for quite a while. He talked a lot. In fact he talked mostly non-stop, going on about life in Canada, Toronto, housing prices, oh look a bird over there, guys! He also introduced the term condo-dogs that I will forever remember when I see a small dog.
A lot of people live in condos in Toronto and when they move in together, instead of having a kid, they often take a dog. Now, since apartments aren’t that big they buy small dogs. And, according to Alex, they treat these dogs like their kids, including dressing them up, for instance when there is snow. Whenever we drove by someone walking a dog he’d say ‘that person is from Toronto’ or, when it was a big dog, ‘that guy is from here, since he has a big dog’. Hence, condo-dog.
It was quite a hilarious trip thanks to Alex.
And Niagara Falls is quite spectacular, but it would have been more so I think if I hadn’t already seen so many other waterfalls in Iceland. You want to see spectacular waterfalls? Iceland! An optional part of the tour was to go on a boat close to the falls. Dressed in a bright red poncho the boat took us into the spray of the falls. I stuck around for a bit, but since I had my expensive camera with me I quickly went inside the boat to protect it. Tip, if you want good photos, you don’t need the boat. There is a walkway that runs along the waterfalls where you can take great photos of both the American side of the falls and the Canadian side, and this walkway is free.
On this tour we didn’t have much free time, which is always the downside of doing an organized tour with a strict schedule. After the half an hour boat ride I ate a hotdog from a stand, so I could explore more of the falls area, and this was very much worth it. Exploration beats restaurant food for me, every time, even if it means going for junk food. I can always compensate later with salads. I have also eaten a lot of salads so far, let me tell you.
After the falls we went to the village Niagara-on-the-Lake. Lots of old style houses here that were quite pretty, but make no mistake this is a tourist town, with a lot of shops and some good ice cream. The town is situated at the point where the Niagara river empties into lake Ontario and you can walk to the lakeside to see this. The river itself is quite impressive, with rapids of the highest class so no tour company will offer rafting there because there is no insurance company that will cover it. There is apparently a walkway that goes alongside teh rapids that you can follow, which should be quite impressive. That wasn’t part of the tour though, but if I ever come back in the area I think I will check that walkway out.
A good thing about Toronto is that you don’t need to go far, like Niagara Falls, to see some nature. One of the true hidden (well, hidden in a sense) gems of the city are the Toronto Islands just off the bay area. A ferry can take you to one of three connected islands, Ward, Centre, and Hanlan’s Point. I took the ferry to Ward Island, and from there walked to Centre, then on to Hanlan’s Point, and then back to Centre. The Ward Island side of things is more quiet, with some small homes and quiet beaches. Here I shared lunch with a visiting family. The atmosphere in Canada, with locals and tourists alike, is very friendly. And they had some good salads with them, which complemented the baguette I had with me.
The islands are great for walking and relaxing on the beaches. There is also a clothing optional beach, located next to the airport of Hanlan’s Point, for some reason. That does make for an interesting flight into the islands I imagine. There isn’t much to Hanlan’s Point, especially coming from Ward and Centre. Centre Island is the biggest of the lot and the most developed, including a theme park for kids. My tip here, start in Ward, walk to Centre and go back from there. If you take your time you can spend hours here for only a couple dollars. The ride back to Toronto is included in the ferry ticket to the islands.
I could have spent more time in Toronto, which is a feeling I have with most places. Even if I’m there for several days it is never enough. I spent a day hanging out with Jennie, another just walking the city, a third on a day trip to Niagara and I spent a whole afternoon on the islands, and just like that all of a sudden my time in Toronto was up and I don’t regret a single second of it. I didn’t get to see and do all of what’s there, but that is all the more reason to come back one day.
I did go for one big finale. One of the landmarks of Toronto is the CN Tower. Going up there is expensive, and doubly so if you decide to eat at the 360 restaurant at the top. This restaurant spins around slowly so while you eat you have a great view of the city around you. I decided to treat myself to something special on my last night in Toronto and ate up there. Not something I’ll do often, since it’s a strain on the old wallet, but it was very much worth it. The food was good and the view better (or is that the other way around?) and as a finisher for Toronto there’s nothing quite like it.