Friday, 6 September 2013

Toronto & Niagara Falls

So we left Montreal on Tuesday to Downtown Toronto. We arrived downtown at about 9.30pm and caught a few trains and a bus to Zab's parents (Vilayil and Susan - henceforth Aunty and Uncle's) house in Mississauga.

Wednesday Morning once we were up and breakfasted we headed back into Toronto to explore for the day. Our first stop was BMV books which is a huge second hand book store where we stocked up on a few books for some of the longer flights and bus trips we are going to be doing over the next few weeks. After putting it off for the last few years I have finally caved and decided to start reading Game of Thrones (So to answer your question Randi - I do read fiction not just business and finance books). After the book shop we strolled down to Kensington Market, which was about 5 blocks south of the bookshop. It was a really interesting mix of shops and not what we were expecting at all. There were lots of little food/spice stores and coffee shops mixed in with a good dose of hippy culture and dope smoking paraphernalia. We stopped for coffee at this corner shop which opened out on to the road. It reminded me of a cafe you would see in Golden Bay because there was a sign on the counter which said "Cellphone or Service, you choose". I asked about it and the man behind the counter rudely answered, we got tired of people using cell phones in here - fair enough, very Golden Bayish I think.





We left the market and took one of the street cars south towards Lake Ontario. The Toronto International Film Festival is on at the moment, so we were kind of movie star spotting but didn't actually see anyone we recognized. We got off the street car and walked around the CN tower and Rogers Stadium down to the lake front where we went for a walk along the boardwalk and stopped for a late lunch.




The rest of the afternoon we spent just exploring around the different streets. We went for a huge walk through the financial district, town hall and around the University, which was fun. 

Yesterday, we got up a the crack of dawn and caught the bus to Niagra Falls. The trip was really nice and the falls were incredible. They were pretty much exactly how we expected them to be. Kimilla did her thing with the camera and had fun getting some great shots. I'll be honest, Canada wins when it comes to a good view of the falls. Anyone else who has been there will likely agree that the USA side of the river just does not decent view. 




I have a confession - I have to get this off my chest. For all the criticism of Tim Horton that I have given over the last two years but to Canadian and to Kiwi's thinking of coming to Canada, Kimilla and I have been finding we are becoming increasing dependent on it. Its not the terrible coffee, the chewy sandwiches or the sugary donuts. Its the cheap prices, the familiarity and the ease of access. Where ever you are no matter how touristy you can guarantee that there will be a Timmy's and that the prices will be low and the food consistent. It is in that light that we must have somewhere along the lines become reluctant frequenters of Tim Hortons. So yes, that is what we had for lunch yesterday and I'm not ashamed.

We spent the afternoon just looking around the falls and enjoying being in the sun.

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