Toronto - Or is this heaven?

An updated version of this site can be found here

July 3-5, 2011

Sunday (July 3)
After checking out of our hotel in Buffalo, we headed to Niagara Falls.  We arrived in Toronto mid-afternoon on Sunday after spending the morning at Niagara Falls.  It took about 20 minutes from downtown Buffalo to reach the State Park.  We arrived about 9:30 AM and there was tons of parking left.  We got out of the car and started toward the river.  We stopped at what appeared to be a ticket booth only to find that we just needed to cross the river.  The views from the pedestrian bridge to Goat Island were great.

The view from the bridge to Goat Island

I stood in line in line to buy tickets for Cave of the Winds while Sarah and Liam waited in the line to get into Cave of the Winds ($11 per person, Liam was free (children under 6 are free).  It turns out that this was a good idea as it saved us 15-20 minutes.  We got to go down to the falls after about 45 minutes in line and Liam was loosing patience.  Once we got on the elevator he perked up though.

Niagara Falls from Goat Island

He liked the walk along the river, but LOVED when we began to get sprayed.  He was in heaven when we got drenched!  After the falls, we ate the salads that we had bought in Clarence as we sat on a bench on a hill under a grove of trees (Liam napped in his stroller).  It was cool, peaceful and relaxing.  By the time we finished lunch we were dry.  Now it was time for Canada!

The view of Canada as you exit the elevator

Canada behind us as we prepare for the Falls

The view of the Falls from below

It's pretty wet as you get closer

The happy family

Niagara Falls up close

Liam's nap, Mommy & Daddy's picnic

The border crossing was easy.  One mile after the border there was a Visitor's Center where we stopped.  I went in for the restroom and to get money from the ATM.  No luck with the ATM, but they did give us a wonderful, free map of Ontario.  The total trip to downtown Toronto took us less than two hours.

We checked into our hotel, The Cambridge Suites.  The staff were extremely helpful.  We tried the ATM in the hotel restaurant, but neither of our cards worked this time!  We sat out to find some money and a grocery store.  The first bank we came to (and every other other one we tried) took our cards.  Mission accomplished.  Now to the store.  We ended up at Metro on Front Street (thanks to the front desk), it's a nice big grocer with lots of selection.  We bought some organic fruit,milk, some snacks and some sandwich makings for supper. We ate our sandwiches, enjoyed our room and relaxed the rest of night.

Our bedroom

Our kitchenette

The view from our window

The living room

Our dining area

Monday (July 4)

Downtown has some cool architecture

We woke up and there was no question about our first stop in Canada:  Tim Horton's!  Tim, I haven't seen you since 2000!  After our traditional Canadian breakfast, we went for a walk to get our bearings.  Namely, to make sure we could find Eaton Centre.

Downtown

Welcome to Chinatown

On our way to Kensington Market, we walked through Chinatown and stumbled upon a toddler perfect park in front of the Grange.  The park has a large playground with two sets of equipment, one old, one new, a sandbox and a see-saw plus a city block of grass to run in.  After letting Liam out to play here, we went to Kensington Market.  It's a cool, fun, energetic neighborhood even at 10 AM and everything it's advertised to be.  Most of the stores don't open until 11, so we plan to return later this week.

I think they are messin' with us

Grange Park

Tai Chi class in the Park

Creepy/funny sign in Grange Park

Kensington Market

By the time we got close to our hotel, we wanted to eat lunch.  We ended up at Paddington's Pump in the St. Lawrence Market.  The food was good.  We ordered a burger, chicken sandwich and a Mill St. Organic Lager.  After lunch we walked to the Eaton Centre for my wife to take a shopping break.  It's  another wrinkle to Toronto, kind of like a tamer, cleaner Times Square.  After this we all went back to the hotel for a nap.

Eaton Centre

When we woke we were hungry and decided on Pizzaiola off King Street.  We got slices of cheese (1/4 pizza) and a veggie pizza to take back to the hotel.  The pizza was wonderful (even the next day).

Tuesday (July 5)

Post-Independence Day Breakfast at Sunset Grille

We opted for breakfast at the Sunset Grill on Richmond St. (less than a block from the hotel & next to Tim Horton's).  They have a good, affordable breakfast all day (beginning at 7 AM).

After breakfast we walked down to the Harbourfront.  There is a nice boardwalk that stretches the length of the development on the shore of the lake.

2nd Cup Coffeehouse

We stopped at 2nd Cup and each got something: coffee for Sarah, cappuccino for me, and a "Canada" cookie for Liam.  Everyone was satisfied.

Downtown Toronto with the CN Tower (or the Space Needle as Sarah calls it)

A few weeks before Buck Showalter began to work his magic, we received this omen...

Downstairs in St. Lawrence Market (South)

After we got to the end of the boardwalk we went to St. Lawrence Market for food shopping.  We came away with some delicious organic produce and organic milk for Liam.  Next to the market we got some wine and beer at the LCBO on Front Street.  At this point Liam had fallen asleep, so we headed back to hotel so that the baby could finish sleeping inside.

Upstairs in St. Lawrence Market (South)

Meat for sale at St. Lawrence Market

While Liam finished sleeping, we ate lunch and then I went to the Business Centre to book our final hotel room of the trip.  There were two computer stations, each one has a work space with new computers (with Microsoft Office), a phone, notepad and pen and there is a printer that the two computers share.

Inside of Ritz

After I returned from booking our hotel, the baby ate lunch and then we set off for Ritz to get some roti.  We ended up with a vegetable roti, chicken roti, 1/4 lb of jerk chicken and a Ting which we took to Grange Park.  Liam ran all over the park chasing birds, running in circles, playing with his tennis ball and playing on the playground.  After eating lunch and letting Liam play, we were all tired and went back to our hotel.  For supper in the room we had: Fruit salad, veggies and hummus, left over Roti and jerk chicken, and two pieces of pizza from the night before.

Fun in the park

Mural by Grange Park

Near Grange Park

Wednesday (July 6)

Since breakfast went so well on Tuesday, we went back to Sunset Grill on Wednesday.  It was just as good the second time.  When we had finished, we went to St. James Cathedral to let Liam play in the park.  It's a wonderful park, a combination of grassy field under trees and garden.  Liam had a blast.  When we had finished outside, we went inside the Cathedral.  It's a beautiful church and the has the highest steeple in Canada.  Had I not seen so many larger, older Cathedrals (in Europe) I would have found this more impressive, but it's a beautiful church.  We left the church and walked down to the water, but Liam fell asleep and it started to sprinkle so we headed back to the hotel.  Liam slept through the rain until it was lunchtime.

Liam and the fountain near St. James Cathedral

Liam playing in park next to St. James Cathedral

St. James Cathedral, Toronto

Headstones inside the cathedral

Inside of St. James

St. Lawrence Market  (South) - one of our favorite places in Toronto

We had been hoping to have a crepe before we left Toronto, so we headed to St. Lawrence Market.  We ended up getting a gyro, fries and Greek salad.  My gyro, fries and coke were way more than I could eat ($7.50).  We then walked along the water until we got tired and returned to the hotel.  We had Portico send up supper in the evening because we got a $25 food credit because we booked for four nights.  The food was great: Roasted salmon, coconut and Chicken soup, Hearts of Romaine and chicken fingers with fries for Liam.

Picture from our last walk in Toronto

Last breakfast in Toronto: Tim Horton's, where else?

The next morning we returned to Buffalo and began the the trip home.  Before we left Canada though, we made a stop off at the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory.   On the way, we pulled off at Thompson's Point to use the restroom, eat lunch, let Liam finish his nap and take in the view.  Now well rested, Liam was absolutely amazed by the building full of butterflies both flying around and landing on us.  Certainly, this was one of the highlights of our trip.

The Niagara Whirlpool viewed fron Thompsons Point

Eating FroYo on a warm summer day at the Butterfly Conservatory

We all loved our first time in Toronto and are excited to return.  For our trip home we spent the night in Buffalo again (We loved our stay there as well) and then the next night in Pittsburgh.  In Pittsburgh, we stayed at the Embassy Suites by the airport.  Before the hotel though, we stopped at the Primanti Bros. in Moon Township.  We thought it would be waste to be in Pittsburgh near mealtime and not get an "Almost Famous" sandwich.

The Embassy Suites was very nice.  When you enter there is a large lobby with a large sitting area.  After you leave the lobby, the rooms surround a large atrium complete with a little stream with fish in it.  This is where the meals are served, but also gives an additional place to spend time outside of your room.  The room was nice (as always).  The main difference between this location and the downtown Buffalo location was the Manager's Reception.  Here, it was like happy hour.  Lots of alcohol choices, but not very much food.  It was essentially vegetables and dip with small bags of chips.  So, that led us back to our room to order a pizza and chicken wings (which were good).  There are some pictures of our room below: