This vacation to Canada was inspired by one of my Smootents, Skylar who went to Niagra Falls for Memorial Day Weekend with her Girl Scouts Troop.
An important decision for my trip to Toronto was deciding where to stay. I had a wonderful experience with my first time using Airbnb.
I was hosted in a million dollar condo in the Entertainment District. The fully stocked, 2-bedroom split floor plan was a nice place to call home for two nights.
Toronto City Pass Attractions
The Toronto City pass was an opportunity to see the top six attractions in the city. With less than 48 hours, I did not waste any time getting to the CN Tower and Aquarium which were only two blocks away from the condo.
Neither attractions were crowded. Canada Day had just passed, so I missed all of those crowds. For the sake of time, I had to skip the Toronto Zoo and Ontario Science Centre.
The CN Tower
“Nothing Can Stop Me, I’m All The Way Up!”
Music: Views
Musician: @iksonofficial
Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada
Entertainment District
By this time, I had worked up an appetite. The open air lounge of e11even was very inviting with the Scotiabank Arena over my shoulder. This freshly ground burger did not disappoint.
Nathan Phillips Square
Queen’s Park
Royal Ontario Museum
The ROM was included with the City Pass. My favorite world culture exhibits were the Asian and Africa collections.
Casa Loma
There was a 1.5 mile walk from the Royal Ontario Museum to Casa Loma.
I passed through the posh area of Yorkville that had this unique, jewelry store front. It was right across the street from a Ferrari dealership.
The decor of the Casa Loma reminded me a lot of the Biltmore Estate.
Chinatown
With directions from a local, I was able to ride a street car to Chinatown. I was not impressed with this area compared to Chinatown’s in the U.S.A. There was mostly Dollar Store like merchandise for sale.
Kensington Market
This was a fun area. There were a lot of specialty stores and cafes. After all the walking it was time for a cold beverage.
Toronto Island
Toronto Island reminded me a lot of Detroit’s Belle Isle. A local told me that Toronto went from winter to summer during the end of June. It rained for a week straight, which caused a lot of flooding on the island. A 10 minute ride on the fery gave me this view:
Recreation
Recreational marijuana is legal throughout Canada. I was smelling herbal essences on every corner I turned. Either people were smoking or had just finished smoking.
Toronto has done a great job with having a cycling infrastructure in the core of the city. During rush hour, it looked like a race was taking place.
“Views”
The CN Tower view from the condo at night.
Toronto was absolutely breathtaking. It is a shame that I never taken the four hour drive from Michigan when I lived there. I don’t think I could deal with the wintertime regardless of the underground city and heated parking garages.
Overall, I am blessed to have experienced this city, and I encourage others to do the same.
My next post will include all photos from Graffiti Alley. This post is long enough 🙂
Kelsie Lou
Kelsie Lou's Blog 
Thorough summation! I have a number of friends from Toronto, but I’ve never visited. Looking forward to your graffiti post!
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I had so many photos to go through for this post. I hope you get a chance to visit one day. It’s to navigate and the cleanest city I’ve been to.
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Maybe, next summer. I can escape some of this southern heat. Lawd!
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That’s what I thought too, but it was in the 90s. Montreal was even warmer and more humid. Someone told me their weather just broke the end of June. There were so many people out and about. You can tell they appreciate the summertime.
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90’s?! I guess, I’ll head to Alaska then. LOL!
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Lovely photos and great post! Maybe I should give Toronto a chance though. Might be easier to get than Vancouver (what I’ve holding out for)
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Vancouver sounds nice! I need to get out west more. A few days in Seattle and Vancouver would be great!
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You have the best adventures and trips. Looks like a great time.
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I totally winged the full day. Smart phones help tremendously. I knew the farthest attraction was Casa Loma and made random stops there and back. There was a lot of walking, but that was the best way to see the off the beaten path things. I walked about 17 miles the 2nd day.
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This is so pretty and not too far from me. I really want to see it!
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I was thinking about Toronto the other day with all the pretty architecture. The only city near me coming close to it would be Chicago.
Maybe you could plan a Spring trip, unless you like a lot of snow. 😄
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Lol you’re right, I’ll probably have to wait till the spring now 🙂 Haha!
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